In Search of Facts

  • November 18, 2020
  • Carl A. Jensen
  • 2 Comments

How can we understand human functioning?  Through facts? Feelings?  Something else? Philosophy, theology, literature, ethics, and other disciplines have their own methodologies for making sense of being human.  However, Dr. Bowen took a scientific approach.  This did not replace other disciplines, but rather provided a ...

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Bowen Nuggets – A Light Comes On

  • November 04, 2020
  • Sandra Block, LCSW
  • 1 Comment

I emerged from my family of origin into the adult world at a time when new possibilities were happening for young women.  It was the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and the women’s movement was in full swing.  But along with excitement and enthusiasm for a future ...

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Bowen Nuggets – From Father to Son

  • October 07, 2020
  • Avrum Nadigel, MSW, BComm
  • 4 Comments

My relationship with my father was tepid, punctuated by occasional violence. Like many men, I swore I’d never treat my child the way he treated me. As a young camp counsellor, my glowing evaluations confirmed that I was nothing like him. This was an understandable, ...

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Bowen Theory Nuggets – A New Blog Series

  • September 23, 2020
  • Sandra Caffo, LCSW
  • 4 Comments

Students of Bowen theory find all sorts of ways to make the theory their own, often beginning with a single idea that commanded their attention. The point of this series is to describe how one tidbit gleaned from Bowen theory has stuck with or influenced ...

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Still White, Still Privileged – Now What?

  • September 09, 2020
  • Ann Depner, LCSW
  • 4 Comments

Will history recall 2020 as the start of a new civil rights movement? This year’s events have certainly moved me.  Violent policing of people of color, widespread protests, a deadly virus that disproportionately affects Blacks  – all have prompted me to examine my role in ...

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Reflections on White Privilege

  • August 19, 2020
  • Ann Depner, LCSW
  • 4 Comments

“White people have to see how they will benefit from racial equality.” Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be an Anti-Racist, uttered these words in response to a question posed at the University of Pittsburgh’s recent Diversity Forum – “Can white people be engaged in ...

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Pandemic Parenting and Differentiation of Self

  • August 05, 2020
  • Jane Adams, MS
  • 2 Comments

My daughter-in-law recently called me after her school district's superintendent announced tentative reopening plans for the upcoming school year. Like parents the world over, she and my son are torn among the varied options to provide a safe school reentry for their children in light ...

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Family Secrets and Bowen Theory

  • July 22, 2020
  • Sandra Caffo, LCSW
  • 4 Comments

I just finished reading the book When I Was White, a memoir by Sarah Valentine, Ph.D., who found out she was Black at age 27. It served as a vivid illustration of what Bowen theory describes as “the family emotional unit.” Ms. Valentine’s narrative centers ...

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Taking Sides and Managing Self at the Protest

  • July 08, 2020
  • David Swanson, M.Div.
  • 8 Comments

Turn on the news today and you will see people in the streets protesting and demonstrating. These movements are activated around the question of race and the role it plays in our society. The question has become personal for me as an opportunity to deepen ...

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Searching for Self in This Time Outside Time

  • June 10, 2020
  • Wendy Levin-Shaw, LCSW
  • 6 Comments

[ Editor's note: The WPFC blog posts every 2 weeks - "Searching for Self in This Time Outside Time" was written on May 14, 2020. Still the search for self is always important, and during this time of high emotions and concern perhaps even more ...

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