Family Counseling Approach

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Running head: FAMILY COUNSELING APPROACH 1 Family Counseling Approach Laquata Binn-Walker Liberty University FAMILY COUNSELING APPROACH 2 Abstract This research paper discusses Murray Bowen’s Theory. Bowen was a key figure in the development of family systems theory. Bowen’s therapeutic approach is a part of the Transgenerational Model of therapy. Bowen believed that family conflict and issues were a result of unresolved family issues from past generations. This paper also discusses my Christian worldview and how I will apply it to my counseling approach. I discuss applying spirituality and religion in therapy. This paper shows the similarities of Bowen’s theory and spirituality and religion. Keywords: Bowen, spirituality, therapy, family FAMILY COUNSELING APPROACH 3 The Bowenian Theory During the 1950s, psychiatrist, Murray Bowen assisted with the research of schizophrenia at the National Institute of Mental Health (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2013). Bowen believed that the cause of schizophrenia began in an unhealthy attachment of the mother and child relationship. Bowen conducted an experiment by having mothers live on clinic grounds of a National Institute of Mental Health near their schizophrenic children who were hospitalized there. Bowen wanted to identify the unresolved association of mother-child interactions. Bowen stated that this relationship was a disharmonious situation, in which preoccupied parents fail to create a satisfactory parental role that is compatible with their spouse. The parental relationship is strained and there is competition for the children’s affection. As a result of the distant parental relationship, the rearing of the children, who show emotional disturbance, will show signs of schizophrenia. This study was often disrupted by the fathers and the siblings of the patients, which caused the
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