Family Therapy
By Herb Leibacher
The school of Extended Family Systems Therapy (Bowen; Bowenian) family therapy extends General Systems Theory beyond the nuclear family and views dysfunction as part of an intergenerational process. Thus, therapy often starts with the construction of a genogram. The primary goal of Extended Family Systems Therapy is to encourage Differentiation of self, which is one's ability to separate their intellectual and emotional functioning. According to Extended Family Systems Therapy, Triangulation occurs when two family members in conflict involve a third person, which usually immobilizes the third person.A practitioner of Extended Family Systems Therapy often joins a dyad, creating a Therapeutic triangle, in an attempt to reduce the original level of fusion and achieve higher self-differentiation.
