Intergenerational Family Therapy Some of Freud’s students didn’t like emphasis on sex, focused on relationships In early writings, mothers were often blamed for most if not all problems Emphasis now is on finding a balance between closeness and autonomy

2nd generation Freudians Object relations (James Framo contemporary).

2nd Generation Contextual (Ivan Boszormengi-Nagy): Patterns are passed on from generation to generation through the ledgers we keep internally. Through this ledger we develop a sense of indebtedness or entitlement.

Murray Bowen Two counterbalancing life forces- togetherness and individuality

Bowen’s Model Assumptions Differentiation:  Basic Model   Emotional Triangles: Nuclear Family: Undifferentiated Ego Mass:  Emotional Cutoff: Family Projection Process: Sibling Position: Societal Emotional Process

Interventions: Goal is to increase differentiation Genogram Therapy triangle Relationship experiments Coaching I-position Multiple family therapy Displacement stories

Transitional Character Definition: A person who in single generation changes the entire course of a lineage. This means they find a way to stop destructive patterns and create healthy and happy patterns of interaction. Research and theory indicates there are a number of things you can do to become a transitional character. Carlfred Broderick (1988) identified a number of these helps.

Helps for transitional characters Deliberateness Distinctive family rituals Maintain emotional distance Marry later than average Read good self help books about marriage and family Support groups Seek higher education Work to identify a “philosophy of life”