LEARN ABOUT BOWEN THEORY

Murray Bowen Archives Project
Dr. Murray Bowen left an unprecedented collection of audio and videotapes, letters, original research records, and photographs chronicling his life’s work toward a science of human behavior. This material documents the thinking and research that led to Bowen Theory and includes continued theoretical development until his death in 1990.
Murray Bowen Archives Project will give scientists, researchers, historians, clinicians and the public access to this material. Dr. Bowen’s professional collection is housed at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and is currently open to researchers. The Williamsburg Collection features materials from the Bowen home and office which is currently being processed for a move to NLM.
The website provides up to date information about both collections and how you can contribute toward opening the archives for the world. Donations to Murray Bowen Archives Project will assist in preserving and processing the written material, selecting material to be available in digital format, and supporting scholarship drawn on Dr. Bowen’s archives.
The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family (formerly Georgetown Family Center)
Dr. Bowen founded The Family Center, now independent of Georgetown University, to be a center for research, study, and practice in this theory. Dr. Michael Kerr became the second director in 1991. The faculty there apply Bowen theory toward problems facing families, organizations, and human society. The Bowen Center Postgraduate Training Program provides ongoing training to professionals from various fields throughout the US and world.
Families Reunited – Where Do We Go From Here?
The practice of separating children from their parents and resulting consequences continue to be current concerns. In spite of the previous court order, families are still being separated at the border.
The Impact of Separation from Family: A Timely and Timeless Lesson
Separating children from their parents while attempting to cross from Mexico into the United States without authorization often also means separation from the family. Both have adverse affects on the children and parents, the family and future generations.
Bowen’s Family Systems Today
Bowen theory clinicians and educators share some insights on how Bowen's Family Systems Theory has continued to impact the field of mental health for decades, not only in marriage and family therapy, but reaching into other mental health fields, and how it influences current theory, teaching, and interventions.
Managing Challenge = Managing Self
Houston and the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana are recovering from the worst flood in history. How can people best deal with the emotional impact for themselves as well as their family and friends?
Being Human
Join in the discussion of the CSNSF Symposium right here.
Discussion Paper April 2016
My most important learning from the readings is a growing appreciation of the interconnectedness of life throwing up questions about the usefulness of the idea of the individual. The other important emphasis from the readings for me was the fragility of balance within the wide variety of these interconnections whether we are describing intimate associations between cells, with symbionts and hosts right through to the balance of the individual with family members.
Charles Darwin & Murray Bowen
I often find myself thinking about Charles Darwin and Murray Bowen and their ability to see the world from a different point of view. They are not unique in their ability to do this but it is a rare quality.
The Difference Bowen Theory Makes
"The therapist's theoretical assumptions about the nature and origin of emotional illness serve as a blueprint that guides his thinking and actions during psychotherapy." -- Murray Bowen, page 337 Family Therapy in clinical Practice
Evolution and the Family
When I began to teach Bowen family systems theory in Texas in the early 1990’s, people would walk out when I mentioned the evolutionary history of the family.
The Human as a Part of Nature
In an earlier seminar, one of the participants responded to a query, "What would tilt people toward systems thinking?" by stating, "When there is an understanding that "man" is a part of nature; man is part of other living things."