Annual Symposium Recordings

about the Symposium

Established in 1965, The Annual Symposium on Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy is the most important meeting on Bowen theory and its applications. It brings together the liveliest minds in the Bowen network to present, question, and discuss their latest research and ideas. The Symposium also features a Distinguished Guest Lecturer from another scientific discipline whose research is relevant to Bowen theory.

watch symposium recordings

Symposium information and purchase options are available here beginning with the 50th Symposium in 2013. Scroll down to view information on these conference years. If you attended a Symposium for a year you wish to purchase, contact Emma Voorhes, Conference Coordinator, for assistance with your discount.

Contact Paulis Waber, Media Coordinator, for all other questions.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Caitlin O’Connell, PhD
Dr. O’Connell is an Instructor at Harvard Medical School, studying the elephant’s low frequency ear and hearing, funded by NIH. She has been studying elephant society in the wild in Namibia for thirty years and has written dozens of scientific articles on her research, in addition to eight popular books, several winning numerous awards. She was awarded a National Geographic research grant to study seismic communication in elephants, resulting in numerous scientific publications. . See the 60th Symposium conference page for all recording purchase options.

Dr. O’Connell is the author of Wild Rituals. She spoke on the following topics:

• Wild Rituals: What families can learn from nonhuman animals about the importance of ritual in strengthening bonds and reducing stress

• Elephant Family Rituals and Parallels to Humans 

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Erik Hom
Dr. Hom is an Associate Professor in Biology and member of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research Center at the University of Mississippi (UM) in Oxford, Mississippi. His lab studies a variety of symbioses involving microbes, with the intent of understanding the ecological principles and evolutionary dynamics that undergird symbiotic interactions and the potential to couple complementary, genetically-encoded functional traits to fuel biological novelty and biodiversity. See the 59th Symposium conference page for all recording purchase options.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Corrie Moreau, PhD
Dr. Moreau is the Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University in the Departments of Entomology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in Ithaca, New York, USA. She is also the Director and Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection with over 7 million specimens.Dr. Moreau is the Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University in the Departments of Entomology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in Ithaca, New York, USA. She is also the Director and Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection with over 7 million specimens. Dr. Moreau's research focus is on the evolution and diversification of ants and their symbiotic bacteria couples field-based research with molecular and genomic tools to address the origin of species and how co-evolved systems benefit both partners. See the 58th Symposium conference page for all recording purchase options.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: David Sloan Wilson, PhD

Dr. David Sloan Wilson is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and president of the Evolution Institute. Dr. Wilson is an evolutionary biologist who is one of the leading thinkers and communicators in evolutionary theory. He oversees programs that apply the evolutionary sciences to real-world issues in fields as diverse as education, public policy, and the study of religion and spirituality. One of his recently published books is This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Karl Pillemer, PhD
Dr. Pillemer is professor of gerontology in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Senior Associate Dean for Research and Outreach in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell. He conducts research on the development of the human across the lifespan, with a special emphasis on family and social relationships in later life. His interest in estrangement brought him to the Bowen Center to better understand the concept of emotional cutoff.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Thomas D. Seeley, PhD
Dr. Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology at Cornell University. His research focuses on collective intelligence in animal groups, especially honey bee colonies. In recognition of his scientific work, he has received the Alexander von Humboldt Distinguished US Scientist Award and has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Distinguished Guest Lecturers: Dr. Gregory Miller and Dr. Elizabeth Skowron
Entitled Family and Its Influence on Development throughout the Life Course, the 2017 Symposium focuses on the developmental process of the human in health and adjustment across the life course. The Distinguished Guest Scientists present their research and participate in a roundtable discussion and panels. Victoria Harrison, MA is the lead faculty throughout the conference. Other presenters address how Bowen theory gives a framework for understanding the impact of family life on the child and her future development.

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Jan Sapp, PhD
Dr. Sapp is a Canadian-born historian of biology and faculty member at York University, Toronto. He has written extensively about evolutionary biology and the importance of symbiosis and has co-written a monograph entitled, A Symbiotic View of Life: We Have Never Been Individuals. Mounting evidence suggests, “Animals cannot be considered individuals by anatomical or physiological criteria because a diversity of symbionts are both present and functional in completing metabolic pathways and serving other physiological functions.” (325) This paper and other writings by Sapp challenge the boundaries of the biological individual. His writings include the first extended history of symbiosis, Evolution by Association: A History of Symbiosis, (1994).

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Steven Cole, PhD

Guest Lecturer: Larry Young, PhD
Dr. Young is the William P. Timmie Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine. He conducts research on the neurobiological bases of complex social behavior and social cognition. He is interested in understanding the neural circuitry and genetics underlying social information processing and the formation of social bonds. He is also interested in understanding the biological bases for diversity and the evolution of social behaviors. 

Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Nathan A. Fox, PhD
Dr. Fox is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Human Development at the University of Maryland College Park. He has completed research on the biological bases of social and emotional behavior, developing methods for assessing brain activity in infants and young children during tasks designed to elicit a range of emotions.