Bowen's Family Systems Theory Discussion

Bowen’s Family Systems Theory Discussion, Assumptions and Concepts Name Institution Date Bowen’s Family Systems theory discussion, assumptions and concepts Bowen’s family systems theory Murray Bowen developed Bowen's Family Systems Theory. This theory was given a lot of attention in New Zealand and Australia and has highly influenced many nurses who practice family therapy in America. The major focus of this theory is on patterns that families can create to help them diffuse anxiety. The theory helps nurses develop plans that can help their patients to reduce stress by encouraging awareness of how emotional systems manifest and ensuring that family members have an increased level of differentiation. According to this theory, anxiety depends on the closeness or distance in the relationship of family members. Nurses work with patients suffering from different ailments like mental illness. These patients come from families and these family members play a significant role in promoting or contributing to the emotional wellness of these patients. Emotional symptoms noted in the patient could represent the psychological traits of the family that manifest in the patterns of behavior from many generations in the past. When a patient is emotionally dysfunctional, it can disturb the person’s relationship systems with the rest of the family members. Therefore, when nurses assess a patient, the therapist must also examine the kind of background the individual comes from, especially the family structure. Assumptions in this theory One of the assumptions of Bowen’s theory is that all driving forces that determine the kind of behaviour an individual adapts results from the relationships one has with the family members. These family members can push or pull a person, making it challenging for an individual to attain emotional balance no matter the distance between these people. With this fact in mind, nurses need to work with this assumption that patients, more so, children, and adolescents treatment plans should be prepared with their families in mind because these patients are part and parcel of their families. Another assumption of this theory is that all families are the same. Same in the sense that family patterns and problems can repeat themselves in one family after the other for generations. This then means that the theory applies to all families in all ages. Thirdly, all families have emotional systems, which search for ways they can use to reduce tension in the family relationship and ensure there is long-term stability. Major concepts of Bowen’s Family Systems Theory Bowen’s...