Murray Bowen (1913-1990)

Professional Life
Murray Bowen was born on January 31, 1913 in Waverly, Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee with Bachelors of Science in 1934. He continued his education at the university’s Medical School and earned his MD in 1937. Bowen spent time interning at various hospitals, including Grasslands and Bellevue, both in New York. Shortly after, he entered the military and began to develop an interest in psychiatry. After leaving the military, Bowen took a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic but left there in 1946 to accept a position as a fellow in psychiatry at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka Kansas. Bowen stayed with the foundation until 1954.

Bowen joined the National Institute of Mental Health in 1954 and began to form his renowned Bowen Theory. For several years, Bowen explored family theory constructs while working with parents of schizophrenic children. He continued his research when he left the NIMH for a position at Georgetown University Medical Center. As the director of Family Programs, Bowen was responsible for researching and teaching and founded the Family Center at the University. Bowen spend more than two decades at Georgetown, during which time he studied the emotional, physical, and social aspects of psychiatry as it related to family theories.

Bowen received many awards for his years of work in the field of psychiatry, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Alumnus of the Year from the Menninger Foundation. He was a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and was the president of the American Family Therapy Association in 1961.

Contribution to Psychology
Family Systems Theory was developed by Bowen as a result of his many years of clinical practice with families and decades of research. While working with schizophrenic clients, Bowen identified a relationship that was unique to these individuals and their mothers. This unique form of autonomy, which led to Bowen’s theories of differentiation, set the framework for what would become his idea of “triangulation.” This concept refers to a three person relationship in which conflict is diverted from the primary two members by the third member in the triangle.

Expanding on this theory, Bowen further expanded his Family Systems Theory, believing that the behavior of a family member was influenced by their birth order and position in the family construct. As he delved deeper into the psychological depths of the family dynamic, Bowen realized that family members had different strategies for diffusing a highly emotional situation. Some members would leave the room, others would look away, others would not speak. Bowen referred to these behaviors as the family member’s “emotional cutoff.” Through all of his work, Bowen always maintained a belief in differentiation. He thought that people could achieve emotional maturity during the course of their lifetime, developing close intimate relationships, manage reactions and behaviors, and ultimately develop a sense of full individuality.

Books by Murray Bowen

Bowen authored around fifty book chapters, papers, and monographs based on his work. His most influential publications include:

• The Use of Family Theory in Clinical Practice (1966)
• Toward the Differentiation of Self in One's Family of Origin (1974)
• Family Therapy in Clinical Practice (1978)