Current Issue — Volume 18.1
30th Anniversary Issue!

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FROM THE EDITOR: Volume 18.1
Robert J. Noone, PhD
Volume 18.1 of Family Systems is a special anniversary edition marking the Journal’s thirtieth year of publication. In recognition of this anniversary, three reprints of the journal’s first editor, Michael Kerr, are included, along with a manuscript by Murray Bowen and a review of the recently published book by Anne McKnight. 

FROM THE EDITOR: Volume 1.1
Michael E. Kerr, MD
This is the inaugural issue of Family Systems, a journal based on Bowen family systems theory. Bowen theory views the human family as a system that follows the laws of all natural systems. The theory addresses the full range of human adaptation, from the highest to the lowest levels of emotional functioning. 

ARTICLE: Journal articles reflect natural systems thinking or are relevant to it. These may include concept papers as well as research studies.

DARWIN TO FREUD TO BOWEN: TOWARD A NATURAL SYSTEMS THEORY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Michael E. Kerr, MD
Over the last four decades, Georgetown University psychiatrist Murray Bowen has developed a new theory of human emotional functioning and behavior called family systems theory, which views the family as a naturally occurring system. The theory not only provides new insights into human behavior, but it can contribute to bridging the compartmentalization of knowledge that exists in medicine and the life sciences. Since the theory has roots in the insights of Darwin and Freud, the story of its development begins more than a century ago.

FACULTY CASE CONFERENCE: Presentation of a faculty clinical case, followed by a discussion with faculty members of the Bowen Center.

EFFORTS TO DIFFERENTIATE A SELF IN RESPONSE TO A CANCER DIAGNOSIS: From Volume 7.2
Michael E. Kerr, MD
The diagnosis of a serious illness often motivates people to take a hard look at how they have been living their lives. It is easy to put off examining the emotionally charged aspects of relationships with important others. This case is of a person who had been recently diagnosed with metastatic cancer. 

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A special feature of Family Systems is a previously unpublished manuscript by Murray Bowen and other researchers in the family field.

TRIANGLES AND THE SCALE OF DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF
Murray Bowen, MD
Introduction by Daniel V. Papero, PhD, LCSW
In 1970, Murray Bowen’s family systems theory represented a new entry in the world of psychiatry. Interest in the family ran high as reports appeared from various sources touting the value of a family approach to the treatment of mental illness. In that year Bowen, using the relatively new medium of videotape, recorded a series of lectures at the Medical College of Virginia in which he laid out his theoretical work. That series of lectures, now referred to formally as the Basic Series and informally as the chalk-talks, remains a much-viewed classic presentation of family systems theory. In preparation for the lecture series, Bowen wrote out a script or text to follow in the lectures. The manuscript, printed here for the first time, covers the first lecture of the series. This manuscript has neither the structure nor tone of a research article. Instead, it captures Bowen’s relatively straightforward, even at times folksy, way of describing his ideas simply and clearly.

BOOK REVIEW: Reviews on books relevant to Bowen theory and its many applications.

Thinking Systems: Applying Bowen Theory in Clinical Practice
Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW
Reviewed by: Vanessa M. Roulette Ellison, MSW, MDiv