{"id":561,"date":"2026-01-02T20:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/?p=561"},"modified":"2026-02-17T15:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:23:26","slug":"3-supervision-from-murray-bowens-theory-perspectivesimilarities-and-differences-in-supervision-and-psychotherapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/3-supervision-from-murray-bowens-theory-perspectivesimilarities-and-differences-in-supervision-and-psychotherapy\/","title":{"rendered":"IJSP 7.3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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International Journal of Supervision in Psychotherapy<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Volume: 7, 2025
Number of articles: 5<\/p>\n

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3. SUPERVISION FROM MURRAY BOWEN\u2019S THEORY PERSPECTIVESIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN SUPERVISION AND PSYCHOTHERAPY<\/h2>\n

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Received: 26.02.2025; Accepted: 22.03.2025; Published: 15.05.2025<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In my professional carrier, I had multiple occasions to talk, to comment and debate or to write about Murray Bowen\u2019s 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\u2019s wish to make at least a few small steps towards one\u2019s own development. If for the sake of comparison, we would take Bowen\u2019s 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 \u2026). As such, we will use elements of Bowen\u2019s theory as \u2018bricks\u2019, 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\u2019s cup of tea. Consequently, we will use the same note of warning Michael Kerr mentioned in his introduction to Bowen\u2019s theory: \u201cA note of caution as you embark on reading this book: Bowen theory can be dangerous to your psychological and emotional equilibrium.\u201d [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 \u2026 but how else could we evolve?<\/p>\n

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Solid self, pseudo-self, Ego, persona, differentiation, supervision<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”References” admin_label=”ReferencesBlurb” module_id=”references” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Kerr, M. E. (2019), Bowen Theory\u2019s Secrets. Revealing the Hidden Life of Families<\/em>, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, p. xxv, author\u2019s underlining<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  2. Piaget, J. (1998), La psychologie de l\u2019intelligence, 7e \u00e9dition,<\/em> Armand Colin, Paris.<\/li>\n
  3. Kerr, M. E. (2019), Bowen Theory\u2019s Secrets. Revealing the Hidden Life of Families<\/em>, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, p. xxv<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  4. Adler, A. (2009), Understanding Life<\/em>, Oneworld Publication, London.<\/li>\n
  5. Sloman, S. and Fernbach, P. (2017), The Knowledge Illusion. Why We Never Think Alone<\/em>, Riverhead Books, New York, p. 35.<\/li>\n
  6. Kerr, M. E. (2019), Bowen Theory\u2019s Secrets. Revealing the Hidden Life of Families<\/em>, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, p. xv<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  7. Feyerabend, P. (2010), Against Method<\/em>, Verso, New York, p. 15.<\/li>\n
  8. *** (2001), Concise English Dictionary<\/em>, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., London, p. 1169.<\/li>\n
  9. Sloman, S. and Fernbach, P. (2017), The Knowledge Illusion. Why We Never Think Alone<\/em>, Riverhead Books, New York, p. 35.<\/li>\n
  10. Bowen, M. (2004), Family Therapy in Clinical Practice<\/em>, Aronson, Lanham.<\/li>\n
  11. Bowen, M. (2004), Family Therapy in Clinical Practice<\/em>, Aronson, Lanham, p. 365.<\/li>\n
  12. Bowen, M. (2004), Family Therapy in Clinical Practice<\/em>, Aronson, Lanham, p. 306.<\/li>\n
  13. Jung, C. G. (1997), Tipuri psihologice<\/em>, trad. Ni\u0219cov, V., Humanitas, Bucure\u0219ti, 515.<\/li>\n
  14. Harding, M. E. (1993), The I and the Not I. A study in the development of consciousness<\/em>, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, p. 72.<\/li>\n
  15. Harding, M. E. (1993), The I and the Not I. A study in the development of consciousness<\/em>, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, p. 13.<\/li>\n
  16. Kerr, M. E. (2019), Bowen Theory\u2019s Secrets. Revealing the Hidden Life of Families<\/em>, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, p. 13.<\/li>\n
  17. Salmon, C. (2017), Bewitching the Modern Mind<\/em>, transl. Macey, D. Verso, London, p. 57.<\/li>\n
  18. Bowen, M. (2004), Family Therapy in Clinical Practice<\/em>, Aronson, Lanham, p. 311.<\/li>\n
  19. Brooks, D. (2019), The Second Mountain. The quest for a Moral Life<\/em>, Penguin Random House UK, London, p. 59.<\/li>\n
  20. Sloman, S. and Fernbach, P. (2017), The Knowledge Illusion. Why We Never Think Alone<\/em>, Riverhead Books, New York, p. 160.<\/li>\n
  21. Giphart, R. and van Vugt, M (2018), How Our Stone Age Brain Deceives Us Every Day<\/em>, transl. Heukensfeldt Janseen, S., Robinson, London, p. 86.<\/li>\n
  22. Fromm, E. (2008), Man for Himself<\/em>, Rutledge Classics, London, p. 13.<\/li>\n
  23. Giphart, R. and van Vugt, M (2018), How Our Stone Age Brain Deceives Us Every Day<\/em>, transl. Heukensfeldt Janseen, S., Robinson, London, p. 87.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    10.47409\/ijsp.2025.7.3<\/p>\n

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    International Journal of Supervision in Psychotherapy Volume: 7, 2025Number of articles: 53. SUPERVISION FROM MURRAY BOWEN\u2019S THEORY PERSPECTIVESIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN SUPERVISION AND PSYCHOTHERAPYReceived: 26.02.2025; Accepted: 22.03.2025; Published: 15.05.2025\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In my professional carrier, I had multiple occasions to talk, to comment and debate or to write about Murray Bowen\u2019s theory. Speaking from such a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ijsp-number-7-2025","category-zeno-gozo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":765,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561\/revisions\/765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijsp.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}