Current neuroscience research lends credibility to Bowen theory and differentiation of self. In this video, Dr. Michael Kerr discusses research that contributes to the understanding of Bowen theory and chronic anxiety. The lecture is of interest to those seeking information about neuroscience and differentiation of self, chronic anxiety, and Bowen theory, and the neuroscience of differentiation of self.
Research by LeDoux and Pine, and other scientists, provides an understanding of how anxiety and fear impact the brain. Pathways in the brain involve ways that acute and chronic anxiety impact the body and explain differences in how people experience emotions. The concept of differentiation of self and Bowen theory is defined as well as how brain states play out in understanding acute and chronic anxiety.
Dr. Kerr’s interest in this presentation is to show that neuroscience lends credibility to Bowen theory. He touches on aspects of subjectivity and objectivity and the different pathways involved in acute and chronic anxiety, which impact the human’s experience of emotion.
Viewers will gain an understanding of how emotional states impact our overall well-being, providing insights for both professionals and individuals interested in Bowen theory, differentiation of self, neuroscience, emotional patterns of functioning and chronic anxiety.
Aspects of neuroscience described in the tape lend support to Bowen theory’s’ linking of anxiety, emotional function and differentiation of self to symptoms and describes how mind and body interact as a whole with the variables of chronic anxiety and differentiation of self. This understanding of Bowen theory and neuroscience and it’s link to patterns of emotional functioning assist in the understanding of symptom development.
Bowen theory was developed by psychiatrist Murray Bowen, MD in the late 1940’s and early 1950s. It was first published in 1966. It is based on research Bowen conducted at the Menninger Clinic, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Georgetown University Medical Center, and the Georgetown University Family Center in Washington, D.C., now called Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. Bowen’s research involved having family members live on a psychiatric ward with a family member, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Bowen observed that the family worked as an emotional unit, and that the symptom expressed in an individual is reflective of the functioning of the overall relationship system. Bowen describes the family as an emotional unit in his work and how each person functioned as part of the whole.
Bowen theory is based on the assumption that the human is a product of evolution and that human behavior is significantly regulated by the same natural processes that govern all living things. This is a departure of a theory that views the problem as in the individual. Systems thinking differs from a “cause-effect” view. Systems thinking views the individual as part of a system and regulated to some degree by the family system.
Key variables involved in understanding symptom development, and Bowen theory are the basic level of differentiation of self, chronic anxiety and patterns of emotional functioning.
If you are interested in more information on Bowen theory, differentiation of self, chronic and acute anxiety and emotional patterns of functioning, you will find recommended readings as well as papers written by individuals interested in Bowen theory, and additional videos on the website.
Viewers interested in differentiation of self and Bowen theory, chronic anxiety and Bowen theory and/or neuroscience and Bowen theory will benefit from this video.
