Thinking Systems Blog

Chronic Anxiety in Physical Illness

January 22, 2023From the Archives

Chronic Anxiety and balancing self in relationships

From the Archives - Chronic Anxiety in Physical Illness 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

Function UP in 2023

January 14, 2023Define self

Function UP in 2023 It's that time of year when I think about my intentions for functioning up in the coming year. A systems perspective has me thinking about how I'm functioning in my family and workplace systems. The concept of functioning is an im

Family Projection Process – From the Archive

December 22, 2022family projection, From the Archives

Family Projection Process 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 i

Defining Self – Always do this

December 16, 2022Define self

Defining a self - always do this. Defining one's self is a lot of work and a lifelong process. However, one can improve their functioning at any time. Here are some ideas, from a system's perspective, that can increase one's level of differentiation,

Workplace Systems – From the Archive

November 24, 2022From the Archives, workplace systems

Workplace systems and family systems theory. 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 an

Value of Family History

November 15, 2022Uncategorized

The value of family history There are multiple reasons for the value of understanding the facts of one's family history. It supports one's development of more objective thinking on family matters. The process of gathering family history facts expands

Family as Systems

October 27, 2022Uncategorized

Families act as a system for a reason. Our desire to be calm drives more behaviour than we realize. This is a significant factor in families acting as systems. This month’s previous post pointed out that emotions, like being anxious, are contagious

Emotional Contagion

October 15, 2022emotional system

Emotional contagion is real Emotional contagion is a field of study that validates much of what Dr. Bowen conceptualized in the 1960s. Dr. Bowen, who read widely across scientific disciplines, believed that we inherited the basis for the human emotio

Immune System’s Defining of Self

September 24, 2022Define self

The Immune System defines self Nature has a way of defining the physical self for all organisms via the immune system. Evolution built our immune system to recognize non-self from self. Accordingly, mechanisms like the immune system are the root of t

Personal Growth: Six Key Learnings

September 12, 2022Define self

Personal growth: Individual Effort in Social Systems Does an individual's anxiety level vary when embarking on a journey of personal and spiritual growth? How would the existing social system react to the change? Would the level of anxiety vary over