ABSTRACT
Erik Erikson is reasonably on target in the developmental sequences through which most individuals in modern Western society pass. This is not to disparage other developmental theories or to put all of one’s “developmental” eggs in one basket. In the same vein, Bowen’s theory is not the last word in systems analysis. Nevertheless, Bowen Family Systems Theory remains functionally relevant and sufficiently practical in both the psychology of the self and also in understanding how we grow and develop within the daily context of intimate familial relationships. 1 Bowen Family Systems Theory is based on a careful and thorough mapping of intrafamilial events affecting each and every member of the family, present or absent, living or deceased. Bowen’s concepts grew out of his extensive research with families at the National Institutes of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, in the 1960s. 2
