Professional Lecture Series

The Two Hierarchies

Presenter: Laurie Lassiter, PhD, MSW

Presentation description: “The Two Hierarchies” offers a broad exploratory discussion of the variation in differentiation of self on the one hand and the variation in socioeconomic status on the other. As Murray Bowen posited, the natural process of variation in level of differentiation of self is independent of social status, beauty, intelligence, or talent. Roughly equivalent to emotional maturity, it is a separate characteristic that has to do with the degree that an individual can sustain a separate self while engaging in relationships with others.

While hierarchies based on social status have been more researched, I propose that the natural process of variation in differentiation of self, especially as it can be observed in the human, is also a social hierarchy of sorts. There is no doubt that level of differentiation of self is a determining factor in life outcome. Those with higher levels of self, all things being equal, are more likely to be invited to social events, to be hired and promoted in a job, and to receive romantic interest, marriage proposals, and success in any endeavor that involves the respect and admiration of other people. In addition to their social skills and appeal, these are people who tend to be effective in what they set out to do. One’s level of differentiation is automatically assessed and compared to others regardless of whether the observers have ever heard of Bowen’s concept.

While both kinds of hierarchy, variation in differentiation of self, and variation in social status, show up in the individual, they are the result of processes at the level of the group. What are these automatic processes that take place at the level of the family in one case, and at the level of society in the other? How are they different, and what may they have in common? What are their functions? If there are similarities at the biological molecular level, at the level of physiological health, or at the level of relationship, could the study of one be enriched by the study of the other?

From sleuths to saints, authors write about every genre under the sun. How does the writing process help in defining a self? Creating a self? Insights from the works of Dorothy Sayers and other writers will be reviewed.   

Dr. Laymon is a writer, grandmother, researcher, licensed professional counselor, and faculty member at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. With a PhD from the Pastoral Counseling Department of Loyola University, Maryland, she aims to be a thoughtful presence, offering new perspectives with a wry sense of humor. Her most recent book, All the Families of the Earth, is a biblical fiction published by Wipf and Stock in October 2023.  She and her husband live in Washington, DC, where they are avid Nationals baseball fans, hoping for a miracle. 

Cities, Climate Change, and Disease: How Science Can Help Humanity Solve Big Problems.

Presenter: Christa Brelslford, PhD

Quantifying interactions between social systems and the physical environment we live within has long been a major scientific challenge. A better empirical understanding of dynamic interactions between the physical or natural context and urban social structure is necessary to support predictions of how people and cities might respond to climate change, disease, and other emergent threats, ensure energy and water security for their residents, and to facilitate urban sustainability and resilience. In her lecture, Dr. Brelsford will describe research focusing on Diphtheria cases in the early 1900s, recent COVID-19 cases, and predictions of the urban built environment. These projects use different datasets, methods, and theoretical backgrounds, but are all aimed at developing empirical strategies to increase our understanding of how social and physical systems are coupled. 

Christa Brelsford, PhD,  is a Research Scientist in the Geospatial Science and Human Security Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  Her research uses data science tools from economics, geography, network science and spatial statistics to describe the co-evolutionary processes between human systems and the built and natural environment.   These analyses have been particularly focused on urban contexts; exploring themes of urban water management, infrastructure provisioning and resilience, and human behavioral responses to surprising events.  Dr. Brelsford was previously the Liane Russell Fellow at ORNL, and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. She obtained her PhD from the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University in 2014 for research on the determinants of residential water demand. Dr. Brelsford is currently leading efforts to use novel data sources such as digital trace data to generate real-time measures of community structure and behavior change and to describe the drivers and consequences of those outcomes from a national security perspective. 

Bowen Theory and the Geometry of Crafting Fictional Families

Presenter: Michelle Brafman

Faculty member Priscilla Friesen joins novelist Michelle Brafman to discuss how she relies on Bowen theory to create and intubate her characters. Brafman’s newest book, Swimming with Ghosts, explores how addiction operates within the context of a family system and in turn a broader tightly knit community. Her goal is to write “no fault fiction,” where there are no villains or heroes, just regular folks trying to understand, manage, and often transcend their multi-generational triangles.   

Bio: Michelle is a writer and teacher. Her debut novel, Washing the Dead, was included in Book Riot’s list of 100 must-read books about women and religion. Her second book, Bertrand Court, features stories that have won numerous awards including a Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Slate, LitHub, Tablet, The Nervous Breakdown, The Forward, and elsewhere. Michelle teaches fiction writing at the Johns Hopkins MA in Writing program and also founded the Glen Echo Workshops where she leads monthly multi-genre workshops and teaches summer college essay writing classes. 

How Bowen Theory Helps Facilitators and Board Chairpersons Manage Emotionally Charged Groups.

Presenter: Robert L. Davis, DMin

Dr. Robert Davis will discuss how he has utilized Bowen theory to inform his efforts to be a more effective facilitator of community-led initiatives. He will present on how he uses Bowen theory to assist in his work organizing and leading the Denver Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety to bring together community organizations, activists, community leaders, and city officials to develop over 112 public safety policy recommendations. He’ll also talk about using theory to inform his other facilitation responsibilities such as the Colorado's Healthy Start, Community Action Network (CAN) initiative.  

Bio: Robert L. Davis, DMin is founder and Executive Director of Seasoned with Grace UnBoxed, a nonprofit committed to helping develop strong authentic leaders who create healthy workplace cultures, as well bringing communities together to develop solutions around public safety and policing. He has over 20 years of experience as a senior pastor, Family Life Educator, hospice chaplain, bereavement coordinator, and community leader. Dr. Davis also serves as project coordinator for the Denver Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety.   

Top 5 Questions About Bowen Family Systems theory Now and Then: Murray Bowen's Archival Letters from the Bowen Center Collection.

Presenter: Carrie Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC

The results from a 2022/2023 qualitative research analysis conducted by Dr. Collier and Dr. Ashley Mader demonstrates the importance of Bowen's correspondences and this collection to better understand systems thinking and Bowen Family Systems theory. Responses from Murray Bowen over a 20-year period and 800 letters, from the Bowen Center collection, reveal Bowen's consistency and clarity in his thinking. The letters offer Bowen's facts and thinking on some of the most tested constructs in Bowen Family Systems theory. The researcher's data collection processes and research analysis of the 400 archival letters will be reviewed and discussed.

Life on the Campaign Trail: Running for Office in Anxious Times

Presenter: John Bell, MDiv

In 2021 John Bell ran for City Council. This presentation will explore the influence of the emotional process on the decision to run for office and the design and implementation of the campaign. Using Bowen theory as a lens, it will explore the interplay between differentiation of self, societal emotional process and community development approaches. It will answer the question, How might elected officials shift the way they relate and function with their constituents that leads to better problem solving?

Life at the Helm: What does the leader see (and not see)

This presentation will be an effort to describe what it means to lead self and not others in congregations, clinical settings, and organizations. Differentiation is the blueprint for managing self in a contagious environment where human beings work together. The presentation will describe the importance of making an effort in one’s own family in order to understand the importance of seeing patterns that one takes to the workplace. Also Included will be the pitfalls of not seeing these patterns in one’s own family. The importance of principles as a guide will be covered, and there will be plenty of time for discussion.

Bowen Family Systems theory in Toni Morrison's novel God Help the Child

Dr. Rhone Fraser is an independent scholar and taught on the faculty of Temple, Princeton, and Howard Universities. He is the author of Pauline Hopkins and Advocacy Journalism, which is a literary criticism of the four historical novels written by self published journalist Pauline Hopkins. He is the co-editor of Critical Responses about the Black Family in Toni Morrison's God Help the Child. He edited a special collection on the meaning of the fiction of novelist Elizabeth Nunez and he published an article about Marlon James's novel entitled A Brief History of Seven Killings. He is currently working on an edited collection about the scholarship of Dr. Tony Martin who is the editor of the Marcus Garvey Library.

The Emotional System in the Natural World and in the Human Family

This presentation addresses a concept, the emotional system, as central to the understanding of human functioning as well as other living species in the natural world. The human family adapts to the challenges it faces as do other species through the co-regulation of the individual’s behavior with the demands and pressures of the group. In the lecture, studies on the behavior of bees, chimpanzees, and a forest ecosystem as systems will be discussed. Research on the emotional system of a family, as viewed through the multigenerational patterns of handling stress and anxiety, will also be presented with the concept of differentiation of self as a uniquely human capacity.