Douglas C. Murphy has been a faculty member of the Georgetown Family Center/Bowen Center since 1992. He received his graduate degree from Antioch College in human communication theory. He trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Georgetown University Family Center, 1977-1981, and was a clinical intern at the Family Center, 1982-1984.

Since 1984, he has served as a family therapist in the Bowen Center Clinic. He became the Clinic director in 2009. In June 2015, he became director of the Postgraduate Program. Mr. Murphy is on the editorial board of Family Systems and serves as the book review editor.

His primary clinical interest is in family conflict and violence, and he has presented nationally on this topic.

Contact Information: dmurphy@thebowencenter.org

Robert Noone began his formal study of Bowen theory when he entered the Postgraduate Program at the Family Center in 1975, when it was affiliated with the Georgetown University Medical Center. He has continued his involvement at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family since then as a participant, presenter, and organizer of conferences and seminars. He has served as an editorial consultant to Family Systems since its beginning and is currently its editor.

He is on the faculty at the Center for Family Consultation in Evanston, IL, which provides programs on Bowen theory and which he co-founded in 1979. He served as the executive director at the Family Service Center of Wilmette, Glenview, Northbrook, and Kenilworth for twenty-eight years and was on staff and later director of an alcohol and drug abuse program at a mental health center serving Chicago’s western suburbs. He continues his private practice in Evanston, IL.

Dr. Noone succeeded Michael E. Kerr, MD, who established Family Systems and served as its editor for twenty years. Dr. Kerr fulfilled Dr. Bowen’s original idea of publishing a journal to advance the understanding of human behavior based on family systems theory.

Contact Information: rnoone@thebowencenter.org

After graduate training in social work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dr. Papero entered postgraduate training in family systems theory and psychotherapy at the Georgetown University Family Center. In 1982, Dr. Bowen invited him to join the faculty of the Family Center, now the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family. Over the years he has served in many administrative and teaching roles at the Center. He currently organizes a research seminar and coordinates the Theory Meeting, a bi-weekly working group dedicated to the exploration and expansion of family systems theory.

He has written numerous articles and book chapters on various aspects of family systems theory and family psychotherapy. In 1990, he published a basic introduction to family systems, Bowen Family Systems Theory. He and Robert Noone, PhD, co-edited the volume The Family Emotional System: An Integrative Concept for Theory, Science and Practice in 2015.  He has served on the editorial board of the journal Family Systems since its founding. He currently gives many invited presentations yearly to various professional groups across the country and around the world on topics related to family systems theory, family psychotherapy, and the functioning of corporations and organizations.

In recent years he has consulted increasingly with organizations in both the private and public sectors about the impact of relationships on functioning and the emotional process of organizations.

Contact information: dvpapero@thebowencenter.org

Kathleen Smith is a licensed professional counselor and writer. A graduate of The George Washington University and Harvard University, she also works as a mental health journalist. Her writing has appeared in Salon, Slate, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, Counseling Today, Psychotherapy Networker, and many other publications.

 Dr. Smith trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, 2012-2014. She is interested in exploring how young adults engage with Bowen theory. She is the author of the book Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down, a collection of stories about her work with young adults using Bowen theory.

Contact information: ksmith@thebowencenter.org

Kent Webb works in both the organizational and mental health worlds with practices in each field. He is an executive coach and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who has obtained broad experience and education as both a chief executive officer and a mental health coach. 

He is a Professional Certified Coach endorsed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), of which he is a member. He has earned a Multidimensional Leadership Certificate from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management’s Executive Education program, and is a certified Korn Ferry Leadership Architect and 360 coach. For 12 years, he was CEO and principal of Psychotherapy Provider Network, PC, a statewide network of behavioral health care providers. There he was clinical director and manager of contracts with national health insurance companies.

After receiving a master of social work and an undergraduate degree in music therapy from the University of Kansas, Mr. Webb trained in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center. He became a faculty member of the Bowen Center in the summer of 2020.

Kent is the Vice President and board member of The Murray Bowen Archives Project, and also served on the Denver Mayor’s LGBTQ Commission. Additionally, his background includes training, facilitating seminars, and speaking. He has been a trainer for the US Department of Justice, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Denver Center for Trauma and Resilience. He has given presentations at the National Bar Association, The National Managed Healthcare Congress, The National Employee Assistance Association, the Bowen Center, and the Colorado State Mental Health Conference.

Mr. Webb’s experience as a trainer and facilitator also includes various aspects of organizational development and management. He has conducted such trainings at QWest Communications, Coors Brewing Company, and the Department of Behavioral Health for the District of Columbia.

His publications include a chapter in Chronic Death and Illness in the Family and a chapter in The Emotional Side of Organizations: Applications of Bowen Theory.

Contact information: kwebb@thebowencenter.org

Kathleen Wiseman is a business advisor whose work is based on Bowen family systems theory. Her 30-year professional experience is focused on being a strategic thought partner to family enterprises, family foundations, family offices, and families of wealth.  Her prior experience includes consulting to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and multi-site manufacturing facilities. She works with lawyers, wealth advisors, trust officers and financial professionals as they plan for the next generation’s role in decision-making with regard to their family assets.

Along the way, she has gained an appreciation for the challenges individuals and families encounter in their working relationships with family and a respect for people’s ability to adapt creatively. Her perspective is one of a “business anthropologist.”

Ms. Wiseman received an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The George Washington University. She was appointed to the faculty of the Bowen Center in 1994.

She is founder and president of Working Systems Inc, a consulting firm located in Washington, DC, and co-founder of Navigating Systems, a rigorous educational forum dedicated to bringing family systems thinking to professionals who serve families.  She is a past president of the Family Firm Institute and leads their Research and Education Foundation.

Contact information: kwiseman@thebowencenter.org