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Oh No!

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I have an exam coming up.

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What is trans generational systems theory?

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Woah there!

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You sound a little nervous.

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Don't worry,

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I am here to help.

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First! All trans generational theorist share the belief that

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present day problems are related to issues in a persons family of origin

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and all though their theories and practices may differ.

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They all agree that the way to problem resolution involves

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working with more than on generation in therapy.

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Trans generational approaches to family therapy grow out of the work of

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such pioneers as Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy

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James Framo,

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Norman Paul,

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and Murray Bowen.

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Although their theories and practice my differ,

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all of them agree that the royal road to problem resolution

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involves working with more than one generation in therapy.

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Specifically, it is the unresolved conflicts, beliefs and roles in a individual

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that are thought to be transmitted across generations.

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And I know you want to know about all the theories,

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but how about we just stick to one today.

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Today lets talk about Bowen's Model of family therapy.

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And to help me

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I brought along Murray Bowen.

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Hi class!

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I am Murray Bowen.

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Bowen conducted clinical studies at the National Institute of Mental Health

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in which entire families lived on a psychiatric ward with their family members.

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He noticed the patients and their parents

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acted in predictable inter-actional patterns.

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He found that anxiety was often transmitted from

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one family member to another

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and even to other staff members working on the unit.

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In fact, he found that a families anxiety often subsided

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as various members of the unit staff

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began to take on the anxiety for them.

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These observations lead Bowen to develop a system concept for

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Schizophrenia and other disorders.

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A core assumption of Bowen system theory

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is that families and other natural systems

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response in organized pattern behaviors.

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This instinctual organizing into repetitive patterns

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is called the emotional system.

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Although there is a lot of information in my theory

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I really want to talk about the six major concepts.

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Good idea, Murray!

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There are Differentiation of Self,

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Triangles,

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Nuclear Family Emotional Process,

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Family Projection Process,

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and Multi Generational Transmission Process.

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I think that's it, right?

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You forgot Sibling Position.

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And then there is my other ideas:

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Genograms, Coaching, Eye Position, Person to Person Relationship,

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Process Questions, Emotional Reactivity, Emotional Cutoff, Projective Hypothesis.

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I could go on and on.

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Yes Murray! But we don't have time to talk about all of that.

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So how about we pick a few and talk about them individually.

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How's that?

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Yeah! Let's do it!

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Bowen theorized that families are living organisms

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with identifiable patterns of behavior.

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In the family organism patterns of dysfunctional behavior

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tend to be repeated and become stabilized over time

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and can under mind family relationships.

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Individuals within the family system are pulled between

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belonging to the group and being separate.

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Ideally there should be balance.

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Can you talk more about that?

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Isn't it your idea of differentiation?

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Yes! My idea of Differentiation of Self

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explains the degree of closeness and distance individuals are in their family.

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Bowen coined the term differentiation to address the life long process individuals

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go through to define the self within the family emotional system.

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Differentiation of Self is demonstrated by the degree to which a person can

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think, plan, and follow his or own values or convictions separate from

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their families emotional system.

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Highly differentiated individuals are able to react to the world

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rationally and enter into relationships while balancing competing needs

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for belonging and being an individual.

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Would you say differentiation is the corner stone of your model?

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Yes! And the goal of therapy is to help one or more family members to a

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higher level of differentiation

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so that they can form open and honest relationships with others.

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Those persons with low levels of differentiation

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cannot think clearly for themselves and tend to be emotionally reactive.

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Without their own identity these persons mimic views they have heard

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rather than developing ideas of their own.

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In order to classify all levels of human functioning,

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Bowen developed the differentiation of self scale.

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The scale quantifies from zero to hundred the basic level of self in a person.

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People at the higher end of the scale or said to have a solid self.

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A person with a solid self is more differentiated and is able to function

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based upon a personal defined set of values, beliefs and life principles.

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Those at the lower end of the scale have a pseudo self

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that is negotiable in relationships

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and are easily influenced according to others emotions.

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The pseudo self is composed of beliefs and ideas

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that are essentialy borrowed.

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Those with a pseudo self live according to feelings not facts.

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Bowen developed this scale from zero or no self

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to one hundred, the highest level of differentiation

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as a way to evaluate the degree of emotional fusion one has

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with others and their families of origin.

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Bowen believes that people chose mates with levels of differentiation

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similar to their own.

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His concept of Nuclear Family Emotional System

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describes three possible patterns in a nuclear family

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when patterns are intensely fused.

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They are

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Martial Conflict,

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Impairment In One of More of the Children,

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and Dysfunction In The Spouse.

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Let's meet the Smith Family, who will show us examples.

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My mom's coming over for dinner.

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Can you get rid of that hat?

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You know how much she hates it.

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No way!

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I don't care what she thinks.

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I love this hat.

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You never do what I ask you to do.

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I ask you to mow the lawn,

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you don't mow the lawn.

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I ask you to clean the dishes,

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you don't clean the dishes.

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I ask you to take your hat off,

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you don't even take your hat off.

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Blah, blah, blah, that's all I ever hear is blah, blah, blah.

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You don't do this,

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you don't do that.

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I can't take it anymore.

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The Family Projection Process described the primary way

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parents transmit their emotional problems to a child.

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Children can inherit problems as well as strengths

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through the relationship with their parents.

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Undifferentiated parents can transmit their immaturity

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or lack of differentiation to their children through the Family Projection Process.

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Let's see how one child was affected.

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Mom can I please have candy?

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Please, please, please, please, so much please.

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I will give you a dollar.

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Please?

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Can I please have candy?

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Can I please have candy?

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Can I please, please, please have candy?

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According to Bowen, the position the child has within the family

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impacts their development and behavior.

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This child is the youngest and has turned out to be quite demanding.

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Dad give me candy, but you don't.

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Please just give me some candy.

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Wow! This family could use some help.

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How bout Murray?

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But wait! Now is a good time to talk about triangles.

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I know what a triangle is.

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It's?

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It has one face and three corners.

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CORNERS!!

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Yes! In my model a triangle is the smallest unit in a family system.

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When anxiety forms between two people

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drawing in a third person helps stabilize the system.

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And let's bring in the mother in law to show us an example.

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Hey honey!

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I bought you some groceries seeing we all know your wife hates to cook

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and doesn't know how to food shop.

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Thanks mom!

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You're the best.

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Triangles are the basic build blocks of an emotional system

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and serves to connect individuals to each other

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as anxiety builds between two members of a family.

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A third individuals involved to stabilize the relationship

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or bind the anxiety.

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Bye guys.

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Love you.

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Glad I could help.

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According to Bowen; roles, patterns, emotional reactivity and family structure

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is passed from one generation to another.

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In each generation, the child that is most fused with the family

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is the less differentiated.

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Conversely, the one that is less anxiously involved

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becomes the most differentiated.

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Mr. Murray are you almost done?

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I really want to talk about treatment.

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Yes! But first let me tell the class a little about some of my treatment ideas.

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First, my model doesn't required all members of the family to be present.

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But it does require an understanding of how they family system operates

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across multiple generations.

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Second, I will do a family Gemogram and collect important information including

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ages, marriages, divorces, births, deaths and the quality of relationships.

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It will indicate any loyalties, conflicts and cutoffs.

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In Bowen's model, the therapists role

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is one of helping the client start a life long process

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of self discovery and differentiation.

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The therapists encourages family members to take

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increasing responsibility for their roles in creating and maintaining problems

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by coaching them to make statements to reflect their own thoughts and feelings

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instead of blaming others.

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And of course without getting triangulated into the system themselves.

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Simply put,

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the therapist teaches them how emotional systems operate.

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and initiate the work of differentiation from the respective families of origin.

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Well! I've got to get back to class.

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But thanks for your help Murray.

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And to everyone else good luck on your exam.

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Now we can relax.

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[upbeat music]