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This paper overviews Bowen family systems theory and its approach to family therapy. It aims to introduce this influential approach and a sample of developments in theory and practice since Bowen's first publications of his research and theory. This paper is the second edition of a 1999 article with the same title (Brown, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 94 and 1999) and, 25 years later, offers new insights from the original author's ongoing research into the theory. This new edition is in collaboration with a second author and Bowen theory scholar, bringing fresh perspectives on the theory's applicability to family therapy practice. The core concepts are presented briefly, and a case example with a parent and symptomatic adolescent demonstrates how theory informs the role of the therapist and the therapeutic work. Examples of criticisms of Bowen theory are also discussed, including the misinterpretation around the idea of emotion in Bowen theory that is communicated in Gottman's training. Differentiation of self is clarified as the integration of emotion and intellect rather than privileging one over another, which affords the opportunity for individuals to avoid being governed by the invisible strings of sensitivities in relationships and instead be themselves in good emotional contact with the other person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of differentiation of self and its relationship to the natural capacity of humans and other social animals to adapt underpins clinician and researcher Victoria Harrison's long‐term investigation of the biology of reactivity in relationships. Victoria's early research related to infertility and reproduction demonstrated how reactivity in at least three prior generations can contribute to chronic conditions, such as endometriosis, that are less amenable to intervention. Her most recent project, the 'Observations of Change in Physiology and Family' research, highlights how work on differentiation of self improves functional outcomes in physical and mental health for the family. While an individual may not experience the 'calm mind' that is often the goal of conventional therapeutic intervention, a significant reduction in symptoms and an improvement in overall functioning and relatedness are outcomes. This occurred when participants focused on increasing person‐to‐person contact with extended family members, reducing their emotional reactivity to significant others in the important triangles of their life and family and maintaining intellectual activity, often described as curiosity, even while reacting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the development of a programme component within an alcohol and other drugs residential service. Designed to improve relational competence, this pilot component was designed to have multiple levels of function: from the specific, for example, stimulating residents to formulate and monitor relationally oriented goals, to the more pacific, for example, embedding relationally focused learning as an ongoing rehabilitative concern. Development of the component began with a literature review. After finalising a set of relationship types (friends, siblings, etc.), this review identified three domains: 'values', 'knowledge' and 'skills'. To create an initial draft, these categories were populated by items selected from a multi‐stage inspection of the relevant literature. This draft was then reviewed by multiple stakeholder groups. Feedback from these consultations resulted in substantial modifications to the initial draft. In addition to the component having a broad‐spectrum interventive purpose, the authors propose that this component could play a role in (i) pre‐admission assessment and (ii) programme evaluation insofar as data concerning individual residents are aggregated and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent relational violence has significant and pervasive impacts for young people's current and future relationships. It is known that there is a cross‐over between adolescent family violence and other offending behaviour, meaning there is a need for youth justice systems to recognise and respond to these forms of violence. This paper outlines a pilot intervention, the KIND Program, run in Youth Justice South Australia, and aimed at intervening with adolescent family and dating violence. KIND aims to provide tailored systemic intervention to young people and their support network, reducing violence while increasing connection and strength within relationships. The pilot of KIND ran for seven months in 2017, and had eight families participating in the program. Participation in, feedback from, and impact of the program suggest that participation was worthwhile and useful for young people and their families. The KIND Program would benefit from a more extensive pilot period to explore the outcomes of this form of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article was inspired by a reflection on what unfolded with the COVID‐19 virus, especially how it brought to light the interconnectedness of individual and collective well‐being. This calls for a reassessment of the family therapy approach, which has traditionally focussed on the internal dynamics of the family to explain problems faced by individuals inside the family system without taking into account social, political and historical aspects. This approach, which is referred to in the article as 'familialism,' is challenged using the relational philosophy put forward by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, and a fresh viewpoint is also given from the concept of the 'outside.' This outside perspective seeks to prevent the family system from closing in on itself, allowing for the creation of open systems. By doing so, it is argued, it is possible to incorporate different elements of the social, political and historical order in therapeutic practice and prevent underestimating the complexity of the human experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores an abusive wife's symptoms and risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a heterosexual relationship. A qualitative approach, using a conceptual cluster network, was used to analyse the family therapy case of a wife abusing her husband. Findings indicate that the wife's IPV‐related symptoms included victim mentality, despair, depression, insomnia, aggression, and the desire to divorce the husband. The wife's risk factors were present at the personal, family‐relational, and sociocultural levels. This study indicates that therapists counselling violent Korean couples may explore couples' communication styles, undifferentiation of self, transference, the culture of filial piety, and the influence of Confucian culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore the clinical application of tracking sequences in family therapy with a particular focus on Bowen family systems theory. It considers how sequences can be used to track the emotional process occurring in relationship interactions, and the similarities and differences of a Bowen theory‐informed approach compared with dialectical behaviour therapy and both classic and contemporary family therapy models. Case examples are utilised from the author's clinical practice to raise ideas about the therapist joining the client as a co‐researcher in this exercise and facilitating a process that helps assist the client develop their own self‐awareness and problem‐solving resources in the context of their relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on shift the perspective from ethnocentrism to multiculturalism. Topics include attending conferences by the American Family Therapy Academy and the European Family Therapy Association; and social expectations of academic performance being high especially among middle-class families in rapidly developing Asian countries.

In 2018 I wrote an auto‐ethnographic paper about my relationship with Open Dialogue and how it helped me restore my interiority after a commitment of technique‐oriented Post‐Milan therapy. I attempted to document this as an emergent writing style, inviting you into my own momentary world (ing). This current paper serves as a second assemblage, one that surprised me, revealing itself fully this week, focusing instead on Matter, and how the post‐humanist commitment to radically different 'systems' has led to new inchoate relations between my body, that of other species and actors. and caused me to associate further into the rhythms of the seasons, both ecological and in the lives of the families I work with as a therapist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are no published studies investigating the effectiveness of relationship counselling (RC) where only one individual attends (individual relationship counselling (IRC)), in improving client psychological distress (PD). This is important to investigate considering the high prevalence of PD in this client group and the potential for its negative effects to cascade into other domains of an individual's life. The current study aims to address this gap by investigating the short‐term effectiveness of IRC on PD. This study further builds on previous research by investigating variables that may explain changes in counselling outcomes, including client demographics, interpersonal factors, and therapeutic factors. Data were collected from a national sample of 273 individuals presenting for RC at an Australian not‐for‐profit organisation. Results from multilevel modelling showed a significant reduction in PD over time with moderate effect size. Further, relationship status, family functioning, and the Task subscale of the Working Alliance Inventory emerged as significant predictors of PD. The results of this study have important implications for routine practice in informing opportunities to target these key variables as an avenue to increasing the effectiveness of IRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how attachment relationships and traumatic events affected an unmarried adult's relationship dissolutions as well as a therapeutic intervention. Thematic Analysis was applied to ten sessions of family therapy utilising counselling transcripts, video recordings, and counselling logs. The client's experiences of attachment relationship and traumatic events included an anxious mother, inconsistent parenting in infancy, physical and emotional abuse and unempathetic parents (the absence of a secure base), parental conflict, and divorce. This is described in terms of the absence of an internal working model (the aggravation of an insecure attachment system), and an anxious attachment style and relationship dissolution in adulthood (the fixation of attachment pattern). Effective therapeutic intervention strategies included providing a secure base, mentalising and facilitating a relational experience to help the client resolve their attachment problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on the local and international flavors beginning with a valuable and timely exposition of contemporary dialogical theory and practice in family therapy. The article discusses that he effectiveness of individual relationship counseling in Australian community counseling; and a Turkish study of family triangulation and experiential avoidance in relation to anxiety.

Reflecting teams (RTs) represent both an epistemological stance and a therapeutic technique. Most commonly associated with narrative and systemic approaches to therapy, RTs offer an outsider perspective that can bring hope and alternative narratives and perspectives for therapists and clients to explore. Relational hope is a little researched concept in the field of couple therapy research. This study explores the experience of RTs in couple relationships and the aspects of the experience that couples describe as connected to a sense of hope for their relationship. The study also considers whether difference in attachment style shows any relationship with hope in couple relationships before and after the clients' session with a reflecting team. Couples completed questionnaires about their attachment style, demographics, and relational hope and were given the option to complete an interview about their experience with the reflecting team within 1 month of their therapy session. Our findings suggest that RTs contribute positively to hope in couple relationships particularly for clients who present with an anxious attachment style. This direction for research is important because there is very little research about hope in couple relationships despite its importance (Merolla, 2014; Snyder, 2002) and there is no research about what aspects of a reflecting team contribute to hope in couple relationships. Analysis of interviews indicates a number of features of the reflecting team feedback that were valued by clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and youth who have shown serious difficulties or if it is surmised that parents over time will not be able to care for the child or youth, could be placed in a child protection institution. The therapeutic work in such institutions is often described as milieu therapy. There has been little focus on the milieu therapist's relational work in child protection institutions. The research question for this study was: What factors are described by milieu therapists as significant for relational work with youth placed in institutions? To answer this question, we collected data from qualitative semi‐structured interviews with four milieu therapists working in child protection institutions. Interpretative phenomenological analysis helped us identify three overarching categories: (1) structural and personal factors as a basis for relational work; (2) various forms of communication in relational work; and (3) relational work with a starting point in everyday events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic‐dialogical therapy originates from an evolution of Milan systemic therapy, through a reflection on Bakhtinian dialogue and on power and knowledge dynamics in therapeutic sessions. The model considers both emergent patterns in human interaction and the dialogical nature of human exchanges in which emotions play a relevant part. Such theoretical considerations prompted the creation of specific practices, such as emotional micro‐hypothesising, considering heteroglossia in the session, dialogue with the context, finding one's place in the relational network, and fostering relational responsibility in both therapist and clients. The practice of systemic‐dialogical therapy is illustrated by a clinical case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are suspicious of the mob, the gang, the enmeshed relationship. We also know no one can be an island. Our heroes tend to be loners – the solo detective, those who live free under the stars – but we esteem individuals who devote themselves to others. We want to belong, but we don't want to be owned. Like a game of Snakes and Ladders, there are trap‐doors and escalators in the theme Dependence or independence: Which is the dirty word? This paper explores the frisson and the conflicts in the complex relationships between dependence and independence. Following an introductory vignette, a schematic account is presented of the diverse ways 'dependence' and 'independence' can be theoretically interpreted including by systems theory. A deeper attention is then paid to honouring the importance of 'dependence' and 'independence' as key referents in everyday subjectivity. A first‐person account of mental illness is drawn on to illustrate this theme. A final section examines the implications for family therapy practice that arise from the above analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The needs of refugees are of crucial concern internationally. Relational trauma is an area that is particularly under‐emphasised and under‐researched. The Strength to Strength program (STS) was a relationship and family counselling service for recently arrived refugees in Sydney, Australia. The service model built on post‐Milan systemic family therapy principles to include cultural and trauma‐informed aspects of care. This study explored the design and impact of the program, through qualitative accounts provided by service users. This paper focuses on the experiences of staff of the program, and the ways in which more traditional, Western‐informed modes of family therapy were transformed by refugee client needs. The specific study aim was to identify and describe transformations to the delivery of relationship and family counselling with refugees that enabled care, from the perspective of STS staff. A thematic analysis of interviews with STS service staff (bicultural workers, family therapists, managers; n = 10) was undertaken, guided by an interpretive description framework. Findings revealed that acceptable and useful clinical innovations to standard care included the use of community groups, the unique role of the bicultural worker, and increased reliance on more directive and practical modes of family therapy rather than insight‐oriented post‐Milan techniques. The role of community‐based intervention to enrich existing Western‐informed models of care for use with refugees was vital. STS was an example of staff‐driven innovation to the therapeutic care of refugee families resettling in a Western country and took into account their unique and complex set of cultural, practical, and psychological client needs. Future service delivery is best guided by the incorporation of multi‐faceted approaches to care that allow for phasing of treatment in line with client culture, needs, and readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on Family Therapy through its tradition of nurturing tolerance, diversity, dialogue and difference, an empathic understanding of others, resilience, creativity, values and becomes all the salient as persons are increasingly confined to and dependent on household living and family groups. Topics icnlude the Australia on dialogical family therapy for young people with serious mental health issues, and the Czech Republic on innovations in solution-focused brief therapy.

This study investigates therapeutic factors of a Family Support Group (FSG) intervention for family members of mentally ill offenders. Seventeen family members completed the ‘Group Therapeutic Factors‐Client Questionnaire’ (GTF‐CQ‐28) during four sessions of two FSGs. Results indicate that family members experienced the following therapeutic factors over the course of treatment: the relational climate, interactional confirmation, expressing and experiencing mutual positive feelings, forgetting own problems, hope from seeing progress in others, guidance from therapists, and getting interpersonal feedback treatment. The therapeutic factors, including learning by observation, support from the group, and universality of problems, correlated with a decrease in self‐blame, improved emotional well‐being, and experiencing less loss of control over one's life, respectively. Further, family members were satisfied with what the FSG has provided for them personally and for the relation with their relative. Finally, clinical implications of the FSG are discussed. The study sheds light on valuable therapeutic factors within an FSG and the important role of therapists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of agency is relevant in family therapy. As family therapists we approach each family member as a full agent, which means that what each person thinks and feels, makes sense, and that each person contributes in a significant way to the construction of a relationship. A person's sense of relational agency is constructed in relationships through processes of relational influence. Thus, agency is a relational construct and is dependent on bidirectional transactions in a relationship. A person's sense of relational agency refers to the belief a person has about being able to influence another person, that this influence is significant for the other, makes a difference for the other, and contributes to the construction of the relationship. Many family members who enter therapy have lost their sense of relational agency. In this paper we discuss ideas how to reconstruct family members’ sense of relational agency in therapeutic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deception, in its many forms, is present in families and relationships across the globe. The impact of the presence and discovery of family secrets or deceptive acts on the individual, the family unit, and the therapeutic process, particularly in the field of marriage and family therapy, has not been thoroughly studied or discussed. Further, deceptive acts during the therapeutic process may have implications for effective treatment planning. This article defines the various forms of deception and its systemic effects on relationships and on the therapeutic process. Possible interventions to address deception in a family therapeutic setting are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusess topics within the issue including psychobiological development of infants; stabilising arousal in child; and family treatment for developmental trauma.

This article is based on a qualitative research project about how the professional lives of family therapists affect their private relationships. The overarching research question was: How does your professional work as a family therapist affect your private relationships? To answer this question, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with four therapists from two different Family Counseling Services. Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, three main findings were identified: (1) family therapists' knowledge and values are a basis for interpersonal encounters; (2) participants describe resonance in relation to clients' stories; and (3) therapists can be challenged in managing confidential knowledge particularly where they belong to the same communities as clients. The study also explores societal expectations and discourses that accompany the role of therapist, which can affect therapists' freedom of movement in their private lives. These issues are discussed in relation to family therapy theory and relevant research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including important role of emotions and the therapist’s systemic positioning in therapy; and the influence of the safety first assessment intervention’ on the family environment.

This paper draws on the authors' clinical experience as family therapists, working predominantly with families who have experienced trauma such as sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect, to demonstrate that taking a systemic trauma-informed approach is a powerful therapeutic modality that can facilitate positive outcomes for all family members. The paper discusses the impact of trauma on relationships, and then outlines a rationale for a trauma-informed, systemic approach with those traumatised families who are, at times, challenged by excessively heightened behaviour and emotional dysregulation. Drawing from parenting research, it includes a discussion of the place of parent work and how this can be integrated with systemic family work. Key constraints and considerations are highlighted followed by a discussion of key interventions the authors have found useful in building a clinical framework for this work, including what is critical for the therapeutic process. While working with traumatised families is complex and challenging, offering a safe place for families to be in the presence of each other's pain and 'ride the wave' of emotions can be a powerful path to recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions are connected to meaning making in human interactions. This can be seen not just in terms of the immediate participants and their developmental history but also through broader cultural, social, and gender lenses. In times of relational tension, which require system flexibility, some emotional interaction can constrain alternative actions or meanings being constructed. Therapists can hypothesize about these emotional dances (including those that are taking place in the therapist/client system) and such hypotheses can inform interventions aimed at generating different emotional sequences. If participants in therapy experience alternative emotional responses as a result of therapeutic intervention, then change can occur (e.g., a greater sense of agency or hope, or a different perception of the situation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I would like to investigate the place of the couple in family therapy intervention. Within this I will look at the usefulness of the concepts of triangulation and triangles in families and as to whether it is a theory that translates to be useful in practice and in technique. Attention will be paid to both the experience of this phenomena and emerging theories of the mind which casts new light on the concept of the emotional triangle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I wish to argue that the qualities and dynamics of sibling relationships may have been over-looked in family therapy. In overlooking them, we have also overlooked a significant feature in the emotional life of children. I would like to suggest that sibling relationships are where children practise identity. In these relationships we can learn how to be one in a group. Family Therapy treatment may not make enough use of the dynamic of the sibling relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ron Perry has recently retired from his position as Director of the Institute of Counselling in Sydney, a position that he held for 35 years. Over the course of his career, his interest in all aspects of counselling, and his enthusiasm for family therapy, led him to attend numerous training programs and workshops overseas as well as in Australia. Like others at the time, he progressed through the ‘new’ models of therapy as they evolved over the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He has been a consultant to many individuals and groups across Sydney, and was a trainer and supervisor for 10 years with Margaret Topham's Family Therapy Institute of Australia. In 2005 Ron was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for ‘service to the community as a counsellor, particularly as one of the founders of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the relationship of living space with family relationships. Significantly, it is viewed that the way family organize their living space is an indicator of family relationships. The unchanging physical shape and organization of houses are historical, cultural, economic, and family constructions. Furthermore, therapists are like families because they do not see what they do not see since they are partly blind. The therapeutic task illuminates the organization of family bonds, provides insight into the causes of family suffering as exemplified in a given clinical sample.

The article highlights the adverse effects on professionals who regularly work with very abusive families and seeks to identify what protective factors in the work team and its management mitigate these effects. The author compared the behavioral consequences of living in a dysfunctional family with the consequences of working with a dysfunctional team. She is hoping that she will: identify practical things that are doable; protect staff from the all too familiar costs of such work. Finally, she contended that mentoring of future managers has often been a hit-and-miss process in the caring professions.

The article looks into the application of the therapeutic storytelling intervention (TSI) in people's habit of scapegoating. Significantly, scapegoating is an interpersonal process which is as old as humanity. The author contended that it is self-defense mechanism in which one protects a social group from disintegration, but at the cost of blaming one individual for having a problem which he or she cannot fix. Furthermore, family therapy aims to assess the scapegoating process and address the underlying issues. However, such attempts fail since the family responds fearfully and reasserts the scapegoating. TSI offers a way of adding individual therapy to family therapy without reinforcing scapegoating.

An introduction to the journal is presented on topics related to family therapy, including bioecological implications of narrative exposure therapy in low-resource settings, how a co-design methodology is used in the delivery of parents building solutions, and the impact of reflecting teams in generating relational hope in couple therapy.

Although not always named, grief is central to the experience of mental illness — for people diagnosed, their families and their friends. Yet grief is almost absent from the literature and practice of mainstream psychiatry. This curious fact led to the writing of this article by two workers and a carer, with editorial and political advice from a consumer, as a small step in the direction of integrating perspectives of workers, carers and consumers. It examines the nature of grief associated with mental illness, its impact on family members, and why mainstream mental health services do not directly address it, with suggestions for some therapeutic ways to conceptualise and work with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the cultural relevance of video game to families, therapeutic alliance, and the impact of family secrets to the therapeutic process.

Information about the first combined 6th Congress of the European Family Therapy Association and 32nd Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice UK Conference on October 4-6, 2007 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center in Glasgow, Scotland. The conference emphasized on current thinking about how families can be supported in their different cultural contexts throughout Europe through family therapy and systemic practice. There were various themes dedicated for each day.