Dr. Murray Bowen's Family Systems Theory

Data Collection Process Paper
The theoretical framework used to guide this assessment is the family systems theory. According to Dr. Murray Bowen, the family systems theory suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their family, as the family is an emotional unit. This theory “has the capacity to inform therapeutic work aimed at engaging children and families for whom childhood behavioral concerns represent a significant challenge” (O'Gorman, S. 2012). Behavioral concerns are tied to the functioning of the entire family a shift in one part is likely to have an impact on other parts with the reverse true as well.
A prominent concept of Bowen’s eight is triangulation. “Bowen described triangles as the smallest stable relationship unit” (Brown, J. 2014). The process of triangulation is central to his theory. Triangulation is known to occur when there is tension in the dyad relationship or in other words a relationship between two people. It is reduced by involving a third party who tends to take sides whether

Until she realizes this it’s usually too late and the grandmother is trying to keep her away from the mother as she claims the mother is toxic and incapable of providing proper care for her daughter. When the mother wins back the daughter she instantly makes Betsy hate her grandmother making her think that the grandmother held her from her mother. Theoretically this triangle is a negative triangle because it usually presents as Betsy and one caregiver against the other caregiver. Because the two-person system is an unstable system in the sense that, under stress, it tends to draw in a third to stabilize, creating a three-person system of two-against-one, or two-helping-one. In this case this three-person system is two-against-one when the goal is to get this relationship to be