2007 Conference
Keeping a wide angle view
A Family Systems Approach to Clinical Problems
Our 2007 annual conference spanned two days: Fri 20 and Sat 21 July.
Our keynote speaker was Dr. Michael Kerr MD.
Michael is Director of the Bowen Centre for the Study of the Family,
Washington DC. He is a highly regarded researcher and presenter on Bowen Theory and its applications.
| Clinical Conference: |
| Date: | Friday 20 July |
| Topic: | Differentiation of self rather than a focus on treating symptoms.
Dr Kerr will explore this process using tapes of clinical interviews. (See below for more detail.) |
| Theory Conference: |
| Date: | Saturday 21 July |
| Topic: | Examples of systems thinking about symptom development. (See below for more detail.)
Program includes:
Why do siblings often turn out very differently?
Panel discussion: empirical evidence and clinical observation about siblings
and symptom development.
How does chronic anxiety translate into clinical problems? |
Day One (Clinical Conference)
The process of differentiation as an alternative to treating the symptom.
The clinical conference explored what happens in the process of therapy when
the goal is to invite differentiation of self rather than a focus on treating symptoms or
the symptom bearer.
Dr Kerr used edited tapes of clinical interviews (clients reflecting on their efforts)
along with theoretical explanations for various segments of the interview.
Day Two (Theory Conference)
Examples of systems thinking about symptom development.
Morning topic: Why do siblings often turn out very differently?
Dr Kerr has had a long research interest in the commonly observed variation in the emotional functioning of siblings. Murray
Bowen’s effort towards understanding how one child could develop severe clinical problems while his / her sibling(s) could
function well was key to developing his theory. Dr Kerr has worked to detail more specifically factors that create such
striking variations in sibling functioning.
Panel Discussion: Reflections on the degree of fit with empirical evidence and clinical observation
about siblings and symptom development.
Afternoon topic: How does chronic anxiety translate into clinical problems?
Dr. Kerr’s research has helped explicate how the chronic anxiety generated by relationship stresses translates into
physiological processes that can ultimately surface as clinical symptoms. This presentation integrated these many levels
of systems understanding.
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