The Bowen Center

Rabbi Edwin Friedman was a colleague and student of Murray Bowen’s family systems theory. As a dynamic speaker and brilliant thinker, he applied systems theory to the lives of clergy and the work of congregational life. Although he adopted some of Bowen’s concepts taken from natural systems, he added his own ideas in distinctive ways. […]

The multi-faceted concept of differentiation of self includes numerous variables which, taken together, describe variation in lifestyle of individuals and families. This presentation will review and evaluate some of the ways in which the concept has been operationalized for purposes of family research. Other concepts such as resilience, coping, adaptation, and self-esteem will also be […]

Like a small rowboat in a big ocean, parenting an adolescent can leave adults feeling like they are far from safe harbor with no oars. Spend any time on Facebook and a parent will encounter advice, cajoling, and even criticism about how to parent. Carpool lines and soccer field sidelines are full of stories of […]

This presentation will describe the approach to preserve Dr. Bowen’s original letters and videotapes at the National Library of Medicine where they will be available for the ages and to also create an online digital database so that researchers can do their primary work. To enable both NLM researchers and the public to explore how […]

Dr. Anne S. McKnight will discuss J. D. Vance’s best-selling book in which he describes his life growing up in the Rust Bowl with his addicted mother and her ever-changing partners. His grandmother played a pivotal role in providing a connection out of the family chaos and instability. He went into the Marines, and then […]

African American Maroons (people who permanently self-removed from enslavement) and indigenous Americans founded a novel society in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia beginning with the rise of colonialism in the Mid-Atlantic region. After over a decade’s work on several sites in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, archaeology is showing […]

Twenty-eight years of leadership in the Episcopal Church has provided an opportunity to think about and practice leadership principles. Bishop Stacy F. Sauls says he may have learned a thing or two, some painfully, about the relationships among responsibility, authority and power; the destructiveness of secrets; and the supreme importance of the moment of asking […]

In her recent book, The Beauty of What Remains, Dr. Susan Hadler reveals the details of her journey to break through barriers of absence, silence and prohibitions. This effort was an opportunity to gain strength and support to persevere in the face of reactivity to find the lost, to bridge cut-offs and to bring her […]

The development of higher cortical systems involved in the ability to manage self is embedded in the relationship circuitry of the family. The differentiation of the intellectual system and its relationship to the family will be discussed in its developmental and evolutionary contexts. Robert J. Noone, PhD is co-founder of the Center for Family Consultation […]

Mr. Keith Tignor has worked closely with the beekeeping industry for over twenty-five years. He is coordinator of the regulatory and assistance programs for beekeeping in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This presentation will include his recent research on the beekeeping industry that demonstrates how bees are a symptom of the environment in which they live. […]