International Journal of Supervision in Psychotherapy

Received: 26.02.2025; Accepted: 22.03.2025; Published: 15.05.2025

     In my professional carrier, I had multiple occasions to talk, to comment and debate or to write about Murray Bowen’s theory. Speaking from such a background, I think that there still are some ideas and concepts to be developed starting from such a profound and far-reaching theory. In the followings, we will try to extract some ethical ideas and probably a few anthropological perspectives (dimensions so vital in therapeutic practice as well as in supervision), which can be enhanced morally in order to fit to everyone’s wish to make at least a few small steps towards one’s own development. If for the sake of comparison, we would take Bowen’s theory as a paradigmatic scaffolding, it is more than clear that we will build another conceptual construct than he did, one that will be at least slightly different (a different differentiation …). As such, we will use elements of Bowen’s theory as ‘bricks’, or components in order to build another edifice, one that goes beyond the purely therapeutic aspects (the one that medical doctors, therapists, psychologists or psychiatrists usually enhance). Nevertheless, we have to say it from the beginning, as a preliminary precaution and maybe as a warning as well, that Murray Bowen and his theory are not and cannot be every man’s cup of tea. Consequently, we will use the same note of warning Michael Kerr mentioned in his introduction to Bowen’s theory: “A note of caution as you embark on reading this book: Bowen theory can be dangerous to your psychological and emotional equilibrium.” [1] Psychotherapy is about change and as such aspects of differentiation occur as the core item to do it. As such, the differentiation of the self is just another expression for self-development which, of course, can be a dangerous to an emotional equilibrium … but how else could we evolve?

Solid self, pseudo-self, Ego, persona, differentiation, supervision

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