ABSTRACT
The second group of models we will consider are the intergenerational models, which have in common a focus on rebalancing across generations. They could be, and at times are, grouped with the preceding psychoanalytically informed models as they also are concerned with patterns across generations and increased insight. However, these intergenerational models, Bowenian and contextual, are set apart by their unique mutual interest in the individual’s progress toward increased differentiation. Differentiation is a concept from natural systems theory, the overarching model of systems developed by Murray Bowen. But it is reflected in contextual family therapy as well. As Iván Böszörményi-Nagy noted, “It is the claim of the contextual approach that there is a dynamic linkage between steps towards differentiation and an engagement in the process of balancing one’s debts and entitlement” (Böszörményi-Nagy & Ulrich, 1981, p. 171). Balancing one’s debts and entitlement are key elements of Böszörményi-Nagy’s concept of relational ethics, in which the individual must find a balance between obligations to family and obligations to self. The therapist in both of these intergenerational models coaches the client toward increased differentiation and/or a more relationally balanced life ethic.
