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December 2020
Speaker: Victoria Harrison, MA, LMFT Bowen theory defines anxiety as “emotional reactiveness to real or imagined threats”. These reactions are fundamental to adaptation and also play a part in symptom development. This theoretical perspective differs from the framework popularized in DSM diagnostics and other therapy. The conference will include a presentation of examples of anxiety…
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Speaker: Doug Graber Neufeld, PhD Director of the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA As a major threat to humanity, climate change elicits emotions such as anxiety, grief and loss. As we “breathe in” (absorb) these emotions from the situation around us, they can lead to a range of adaptive and…
Find out moreJanuary 2021
Speaker: Barbara Laymon, PhD, MPH In a clinical setting, some clients seem to get interested in systems thinking, while others find it inapplicable to their lives. How does a person become interested in a family systems view? When does the perspective become its own motivation for understanding more? What facilitates the capacity to explore multigenerational…
Find out moreFebruary 2021
The coronavirus has limited the ability of faith communities to gather. This has been the case for nearly one year. Communities have made great efforts to remain in contact using online worship and limited “safe distance” gatherings. Social times, in-person groups, and activities remain largely curtailed. What can Bowen family systems theory tell us? How…
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April 2021
Speaker: Carrie E. Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC What does Bowen family systems theory offer the modern family? The family vitality is motivated by emotions and fear about survival or challenges in relationships. A lot has changed since Bowen observed families at NIMH but the four adaptive mechanisms are still alive in the family emotional system.…
Find out moreMay 2021
Speaker: Kenton T. Derstine, MDiv, DMin This conference will explore the idea that the effort for differentiation of self in one’s own family contributes to enhanced functioning in one’s work. Increasing one’s awareness of emotional and relationship patterns across one’s previous generations informs the effort to become a more connected and a more defined self…
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Speaker: Randy T. Frost, MDiv This day will focus on the integration of theory and therapy by explicitly linking theoretical concepts of Bowen theory with the conduct of family psychotherapy. Two clinical families will be presented as examples of the way in which theory and therapy ideally proceed in tandem. Portions of a clinical interview…
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