How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 131

Because the family is not a static entity, a change in one part of the system affects the actions of all others
involved. Bowen sometimes worked with one member of a conflictual dyad (or couple). He did not require
that every family member be involved in the therapy sessions.
Bowen tended to work from the inside out: Starting with the spousal relationship, he helped the two adults
establish their own differentiation.
As a therapist, he attempted to maintain a stance of neutrality. If the therapist becomes emotionally
entangled with any one family member, the therapist loses effectiveness and becomes part of a triangulated
relationship.
Bowen maintains that, to be effective, family t