Triangles are mechanisms to deal with the tension or discomfort that will inevitably arise in a two-person relationship. This is because the majority of individuals are not highly differentiated. We have a level of immaturity that leads to tension in our relationships. This often shows up as the tension and discomfort that arises when people disagree. We perceive the disagreement as a threat to ourselves and or the relationship (which is also a threat to ourselves).
Dr. Bowen spoke at a conference on cancer in 1978 about his thinking of how a disease like cancer could develop. It was quite different thinking at the time. He started by making the point that most psychiatrists (which he was) talked about families as systems or the family as a unit, but didn't really operate from a systems perspective. "I seriously doubt if even the most experienced family researcher, therapist, can think and act systems more than a fraction of the time."
The family projection process is one of eight concepts that make up Bowen theory. Dr. Bowen believed that there were enough observations from his research and clinical work that it warranted being a separate concept. It is important to remember that this is just one of eight concepts and other ideas that make up a system's way of thinking about human behaviour. Dr. Bowen wondered how levels of differentiation get transmitted from one generation to the next. While he didn't like the term projection, he couldn't come up with a better one.
In 1978, Dr. Bowen gave a thirty-minute presentation entitled "Overview of Bowen Theory and Organizational Systems." By then, he had years of experience in leadership roles from his time in the military and at several medical and psychiatric institutions. He was also working to apply the principles in the Georgetown Family Center, where he was the director.
901 3rd Street West, North Vancouver
(at Hanes and 3rd St W, behind Capilano Mall)
Telephone: 604.926.5496
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Living Systems Counselling and Training is a registered society since 1974, charity# 107784308RR001. We offer affordable counselling for individuals, couples, and families with a wide range of relationship and mental health issues in various locations in the Lower Mainland.
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Living Systems gratefully acknowledges that our organization operates on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. This acknowledgment is a small part of the ongoing work to foster reconciliation.
