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KEEPING BOWEN THEORY OPEN ONLINE EVENT
Thursday, September 5, 2024
2 pm – 4 pm EDT

Last November, Dr. Patrick Stinson gave a groundbreaking talk at the Bowen Center’s annual symposium entitled “Barriers to Science for Bowen Theory.” The talk critiqued the current state of Bowen theory, but also detailed a path forward on its odyssey towards science.

At this two-hour online event, Erik and Patrick will review his key ideas about how to keep Bowen theory an open system. Building on years of lively conversation, Erik will interview Patrick about the latest developments in his thinking. Please join us for a structured dialogue between Erik and Patrick, and the audience.


ABSTRACT OF PATRICK’S TALK

Barriers to Science for Bowen Theory: The field of Clinical Psychology has no broad, predictive theory to diagnose and guide the treatment of behavioral problems. Bowen theory is one attempt to organize all observations of human behavior into a single, integrative, and predictive framework. Bowen theory also stands alone as a conceptual system grounded first in evolution, with an emphasis on logical coherence in a world of divergent species.

However, Bowen theory has yet to enjoy scientific critique from outside the network of professionals who are already interested in it. With no formal explicit predictive models or comprehensive data set to support its claims, even good faith critics are left with mere mental logic and insufficient attention to evaluate its complex ideas. Further, a lack of explicit predictive models leaves the ideas vulnerable to erosion through a group process, a problem articulated by Murray Bowen himself. 

These problems will be examined as impacted by pseudoscience. The term pseudoscience refers to knowledge systems mistakenly regarded as being scientific. This presentation will begin with a review of previous critics of psychological pseudoscience such as Popper, Lilienfeld, and including Murray Bowen. New markers will be proposed from experience learning and applying Bowen theory both within and without professional circles interested in the theory. The reviewed markers will be used to assess current limitations in Bowen theory and point to areas of future work. The goal is to help clarify when resources are steered toward generating scientific knowledge versus merely maintaining relationships.


PATRICK STINSON, PSY.D.

Dr. Patrick Stinson founded Alaska Family Systems in “an effort to address limitations in applied psychology as a science. Whether in the clinic, business, or policy, the state of the art is formed with discrepant theories about how people work. This is one attempt to integrate research and practice toward a natural science of the human.” Stinson has developed the Family Diagram App which allows users to visualize a family system for use in family or individual psychotherapy, organizational coaching, and case presentations.