Family Systems Theory in Community (5-week course)
A five-week interactive series on how groups function, and how our experience in our families and prior groups affects how we function in them now.
In childhood, the ways we learned to relate and survive in our families affects us all, so we can find ourselves behaving in ways other than what we might intend. Understanding how families and groups work can help us to be more intentional and less reactive in the present.
This workshop addresses those issues from the perspective of Murray Bowen’s Family System Theory.
5 Online Sessions
Workshops will meet weekly via Zoom for five, 2-hour sessions. Participants should plan to attend all five sessions; sessions will be recorded and made available to those registered for the course.
This workshop addresses those issues from the perspective of Murray Bowen’s Family System Theory. Using theoretical and practical perspectives, this workshop encourages participants to broaden their picture and understanding of how groups of all sizes, including communities, have a characteristic response to the inevitable challenges and crises of life and how they affect the future behavior of individuals.
Participants will prepare a personal genogram for session 5 and be prepared to explore how experience in one’s families of origin can affect present and future functioning in any community. This exploration will take place in small groups.
The course will use Family Systems Theory as articulated by Murray Bowen as well as biographical material brought by participants to explore the interface between personal “family of origin stories” and community functioning. CLICK HERE to view the full course syllabus.
Cost: $50 (5 sessions)
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About the Instructor
Wayne Gustafson has spent over 50 years as a prison chaplain, psychotherapist, interim minister, and teacher of pastoral care, psychology, and psychotherapy. He retired from his clinical practice at the beginning of 2020 and now teaches ministers how to integrate psychology into their work and teaches psychotherapists how to integrate spirituality into their work. Family Systems Theory has been a valuable resource in all his work.
He and his wife, Phebe, have lived at Ecovillage Ithaca for 20 years. Wayne has also written two novels, Community of Promise: The Untold Story of Moses and The Wisdom Weaver. Information at entospress.com