Spring Conference 2023

Family Violence: A Systems Perspective

The 2023 Spring Conference has ended. The topic was Family Violence: A Systems Perspective. Information about the conference and recording purchase options are available below.

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The Spring Conference is an annual conference that focuses on a single concept related to Bowen theory. Guest scientists, researchers, and leaders in the study of family systems offer presentations related to the topic during this two-day conference. There is ample time for questions and discussion with the audience.

The 2023 Spring Conference provided an opportunity for presenters and attendees from a variety of backgrounds to come together and consider how Bowen theory provides a unique way of thinking about the complex problem of family violence.  This year’s conference was a hybrid conference held in-person at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, Virginia and online.

Purchase Recordings

• Full recorded set = $300. | Morning or afternoon sessions = $75 per session | Full audio MP3 set = $125

• Conference attendees: If you haven’t received your discount code to purchase recordings, please contact Emma Voorhes.

• View the conference brochure for the conference schedule and presenter abstracts.

Conference Description | Guest Speaker | Schedule | Recommended Resources | CEU/CEs | Previous Spring Conferences | Questions

Family Violence: A Systems Perspective is a professional conference that provides an opportunity for people from a variety of backgrounds to come together and consider how Bowen theory provides a unique way of thinking about the complex problem of family violence. 

Students of Bowen theory from around the world, including Dr. Dan Papero, Dr. Alejandro Astorga, Dr. Jenny Brown, and Dr. Walter Smith will engage distinguished guest scientist, Dr. Karen Bales.  Dr. Bales, will present on how social and environmental experiences during development affect adult pair bonding and parenting and pair bond maintenance strategies in coppery titi monkeys. Presentations and discussions with produce a robust dialogue that considers the difference natural systems thinking can contribute to the understanding and effectively engaging families facing the challenges of violence.

Attendees of this conference will consider how Bowen theory invites a new way of thinking that can expand pathways to help and promote long term family safety, stability and function.  This conference will explore how individuals across the system can make sense of big questions: "how can I respond to this complex problem in a responsible way?" and "what is the help that is helpful?".  Bowen theory offers a distinct way to thoughtfully engage the complex challenges of family violence and deal with the reactions stirred.

Attendees of this conference will have a chance to consider questions like:

• What does it take to see one’s family as part of the natural world?

• How does violence in other species have to do with the human family?

• How does the family connect to and derive from larger systems to resolve violence?

• How can thinking differently about an intractable problem make a difference?

• Who is responsible for change?

• How does one think for oneself in an anxious family or group?

Dr. Karen Bales | Professor of Psychology - University of California

Dr. Bales started studying primates as an undergraduate at the University of New Orleans, finishing her honors project as an intern at the Audubon Zoo.  Since then, she has worked with multiple primate species including common marmosets, golden lion tamarins, rhesus monkeys, and titi monkeys, finishing her Master’s at the University of Tennessee, her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, and a post-doc at the University of Illinois, Chicago.  She has spent the last 18 years at the University of California, Davis studying the neurobiology of social bonding in titi monkeys (a socially monogamous primate), prairie voles (a socially monogamous rodent), and now seahorses (a socially monogamous fish).  In the course of this research, she has also investigated potential long-term effects of clinical applications of the hormone oxytocin, as well as long-term effects of other basic mammalian experiences like parenting.  She is a past President of the American Society of Primatologists, a Kavli Fellow, recipient of the 2021 Exemplar Award from the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, and a UC-Davis ADVANCE Scholar. She also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Primatology and is very proud that her laboratory won the 2019 UC-Davis Laboratory Safety Award. 

DR. BALES WILL SPEAK ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS AT THE SPRING CONFERENCE:

• Developmental Influences on Pair Bond Formation From Titi Monkeys, Prairie Voles, and Seahorses

  Our ability to form successful attachments as adults may start developmentally, even prenatally. We utilize three different animal models (titi monkeys, prairie voles, and seahorses) to study the mechanisms by which social and environmental experiences during development affect adult pair bonding and parenting.

• Pair Bond Maintenance in Titi Monkeys: Separation Distress and Jealousy

  After we form pair bonds, these bonds are maintained by less positive emotions: our distress upon separation from our pair mate, and our jealous response to threats to the relationship.  We have studied the neural and behavioral expression of these pair bond maintenance strategies in a pair-bonding primate, the coppery titi monkey.

Friday, April 21st

Donor Reception: Friday 4:30pm. What are the current priorities of, and challenges before, the Bowen Center? What questions do people in the Bowen network have about and for the Bowen Center? Bowen Center donors and any conference attendee who'd like to learn more about the work of the Center are invited to a reception to engage these questions and to connect with current Bowen Center leadership. The reception will begin with 30 minutes both in-person and on Zoom. The last hour, complemented by hors d’oeuvres, will be in-person only, allowing for less formal connections.

Saturday, April 22nd

recordings

“Violence in the Family: An Overview.” In this video, Family Matters host Dr. Roberta Holt interviews Bowen Center faculty member, Douglas Murphy, MA., LMFT, who has particular training and experience in the subject of violence in the family. The problem of violence in the family varies greatly in severity and in a family’s responsiveness to intervention. Bowen theory offers a unique way to view the phenomenon of violence in the family. Each person in a relationship system can get trapped in an intense interdependent reciprocity that may escalate to violence. Each one has an exquisite sensitivity to the other leading to extreme difficulty staying together and equally extreme difficulty moving apart.

Journal Articles

Family Systems Forum, Volume 20, No. 3, Fall 2018.  “On Violence.” Daniel V. Papero, PhD. Published by the Center for the Study of Natural Systems and the Family. 

*Family Systems Journal. Volume 5 (2). “Child Abuse in Family Emotional Process.” Walter Smith, PhD.
*Family Systems Journal. Volume 5 (1). “Commentary: What is Help? A Theoretical and Social perspective.” Stephanie Ferrara, MA
*Both Family Systems Journal articles are free after conference registration. Use the Promo Code provided in your confirmation email.

This two-day conference provides a maximum of 9.5 CE credit hours of Category I continuing education (CEU/CE) for counseling and social work.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CEU/CE ELIGIBILITY:

• Pay the CEU/CE fee of $30 at time of registration. Be sure to choose “Add On” when purchasing your ticket on Eventbrite.

  · Attend each livestreamed or in-person class in its entirety. The conference coordinator will note your attendance.

  · If livestreamed, enable video and show your name on screen so that you are visible throughout the entirety of the class, except during designated breaks or lunch.

  · Submit a completed evaluation no more than 60 days after the event. Shortly after the submission of your completed evaluation, you will be emailed a certificate.

Policies: The Bowen Center does not offer refunds for CE. We do not offer continuing education credit for viewing any recordings. It is the sole responsibility of the participant to verify their state’s professional licensure criteria for CE qualifications.

Learning Objectives

• Describe a natural systems perspective on family violence. 

• Define the relationship pattern of a triangle in family emotional process. 

• Analyze the differences between a family systems perspective and attachment theory in considering the problem of domestic violence. 

• List three key characteristics of leadership informed by Bowen theory. 

• Critique a family systems theory approach to family violence. 

The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/ Georgetown Family Center is authorized by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners and the District of Columbia Board of Social Work to provide continuing education credit. This program is a Category I offering.

The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/Georgetown Family Center has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6225. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/Georgetown Family Center is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

If you have any questions about CEU/CEs, please email ceu@thebowencenter.org.

2022- Family Vitality and Variation in Aging

2021- Unlocking the Mystery of the Family Emotional History

2020 - Creating a Climate for Change

For questions and further information, please email evoorhes@thebowencenter.org.