How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 293

D. Development of behaviour disorders
1. Symptoms develop when level of anxiety exceeds system’s ability to cope
2. Most vulnerable individual is most likely to develop symptoms
3. Bowen’s primary approach: calm down the parents and coach them to deal more effectively
with the problem
4. Guerin and fogarty put more emphasis on relationship with symptomatic child and nuclear
family triangles
5. According to bowen, behavior disorders result from emotional fusion transmitted from one
generation to the next
E. Goals of therapy
1. Keys to therapy: process and structure
2. Primary goals: decrease anxiety and increase differentiation of self
3. Creation of new triangle in therapy between husband, wife, and emotionally neutral therapist
4. Goals for extended family: developing one - to - one relationships and avoiding triangles
5. Approaches of Guerin and McGoldrick
F. Conditions for behavior change
1. Therapists must avoid taking sides and promoting triangulation, and avoid being reactive to
inevitable emotionality in families
2. Change requires awareness of entire family
3. Development of personal relationship with everyone in family
G. Techniques
1. Bowenian therapy with couples
a. Use of displacement
b. Therapist concentrates on process of couple’s interactions
c. Use of the "i - position"
d. Didactic teaching
2. Bowenian therapy with one person
a. Goal of differentiation
b. Genograms
c. Identifying triangles, reentry into family of origin
H. Evaluating therapy theory and results
1. Major shortcoming: can neglect im