The Leader’s Edge is pleased to recommend these books dealing with family system theory and its application. You can get further information about each book, and can even purchase it on-line, by clicking on its title.
Friedman’s Fables/With Discussion Questions by Edwin H. Friedman
Review: “Teaching by parable has an old and honorable tradition. Ed. Friedman, beloved rabbi and noted family therapist, is a great modern master of the art…” Frank Pittman, M.D.
Mickie’s Comment: Great stories about life, challenge and growth.
Generation to Generation:Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin H. FriedmanReview: “Well written and lively…required reading for pastoral counselors of every persuasion….Any therapist will find here new techniques for bringing about changes and will enlarge his or her conceptual framework of the human dilemma..” Jay Haley
Mickie’s Comment: A must for all clergy! A survival guide to navigating the muddy waters of the congregation, the church as a work system and family pressures.
- Friedman’s Fables (audio tape) by Edwin H. Friedman
Review: “Ed Friedman, with humor, wisdom, and a devious mind, has created a series of fables that highlight the classic dilemmas and struggles of relationships. His characters haunt the reader long after the stories are over and inflict insight better than any formal interpretation ever could. These parables make great lessons and great reading for those caught in the web of trying to change another person or themselves…” Carol Anderson, Ph.D.
Mickie’s Comment: On tape–great stories about life, challenge and growth.
Creating a Healthier Church : Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and Congregational Life by Ronald W. Richardson
Review: “Ronald W. Richardson helps us to understand how congregations function emotionally. Without being simplistic, he gives clear directions on how to improve the quality of life together in the church for the purpose of achieving mission goals.”
Family Ties That Bind : A Self-Help Guide to Change Through Family of Origin Therapy by Ronald W. Richardson
Review: “This book provided valuable insight and information surrounding family of origin and birth order. It helped in understanding how and why we interact the way we do in our families. A very good basic and easy-to-read book. Excellent as a referral for clients.” Paula from Denver, CO
Clinical Applications of Bowen Family by Peter Titelman
Review: “A guide for family therapists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and related professionals to applying Murray Bowen’s ideas in a range of situations. Among them are emotional dysfunction in children, alcoholism, incest, depression, and phobias. Considers such populations as the elderly, college students, troubled couples, and children with severe medical problems.” Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR
Genograms : Assessment and Intervention by Monica McGoldrick
Review: “Replete with genograms (now computer-generatable), three therapists explain interviewing for and formatting this tool to map family patterns and apply it in interpreting the family structures of 32 notables from Freud to President Clinton. The bibliography is sectioned into text references, references by topic, and biographical sources on the featured families.” Previously titled (c. 1985). Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Ethnicity and Family Therapy by Monica McGoldrick
Review: “Forty-eight articles encompass the broad range of cultural influences encountered in clinical practice today. The articles are arranged by ethnicity into nine sections: American Indian, Latino, Asian American, Middle Eastern, Asian Indian, Jewish and Slavic families and families of African and European origin. Each section includes an overview chapter and chapters which address specific nationalities. The text is designed for advanced courses in family therapy, social work, psychotherapy, and counseling. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
You Can Go Home Again : Reconnecting with Your Family by Monica McGoldrick
Review: “Nothing captures the poignant struggles, dreams, and themes of family life with such precision as does the genogram, and in You Can Go Home Again Monica McGoldrick explains this method of family history-gathering with remarkable ease, clarity, and compassion.” Maggie Scarf
- Clinical Applications of Bowen Family Systems Theory by Peter Titelman(Editor)
Review: “A guide for family therapists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and related professionals to applying Murray Bowen’s ideas in a range of situations. Among them are emotional dysfunction in children, alcoholism, incest, depression, and phobias. Considers such populations as the elderly, college students, troubled couples, and children with severe medical problems. Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR
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Family Evaluation : An Approach Based on Bowen Theory by Michael E. Kerr, Murray Bowen (Contributor)Review: “Comprehensively presents Bowen’s principles for assessing families, enabling the family therapist to organize clinical data and make therapy decisions.” James L. Framo, Ph.D.
Family Therapy in Clinical Practice by Murray Bowen
Review: “Dr. Bowen begins by exploring the mother/child bond to understand human functioning. Soon fathers are seen as vital to this understanding, then the nuclear and extended family. Multi-generational patterns, cutoffs, sibling positions, and triangles are some of the family issues explored. Bowen shows how this broad family perspective inpacts family therapy, as well as understanding societal emotional process.” A reader from Ashtabula, OH
Bowen Family Theory and Its Uses by C Margaret Hall
Review: This is the book to read as a basic introduction to family systems thinking. There is less jargon than the other texts.
Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking about Human Relations by Roberta Gilbert
Review: “Whenever I’m asked to recommend a book on systems theory, I suggest Gilbert’s book. She does an excellent job of accurately covering the theory, but an added bonus is her clear writing style, which makes often difficult concepts easier to digest. The book enjoys good organization. A good first choice for anyone needing an introduction to Bowen Family Systems Theory that focuses on relationships.” Israel Galindo from Richmond, VA
Working With Relationship Triangles : The One-Two-Three of Psychotherapy by Philip J., Jr. Guerin, et. al
Review: The authors present an overview of relationship triangles; argue for thinking in terms of triangles for clinical work; explain the structure, process, and function of triangles; set forth a typology of triangles most often seen in various types of practice; and describe intervention and treatment methods. — Copyright © 1999 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR All rights reserved
Birth Order and You (Self-Counsel… By Dr. Ronald W. Richardson
- From Event Tapes, PO Box 41455, Brecksville, OH 44141 (440 526-8938)
A four audio casette set of two lectures, 2 1/2 hours each, by Ed Friedman given in 1992 to an Ohio Methodist Pastor’s School. $18, postage included.An eight audio cassette set of four lectures by Ed Friedman on “A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of he Quick Fix” given in 1996, a few months before his death, in Michigan. $38, postage included.
- From Seven Oaks Foundation, 9145 Sligo Creek Pkwy, Silver Spring, Md. 20901 (301 587-0030)
“Reimaging the Image of God” a two cassette set”Dr. Friedman Speaks” series of audio cassettes: “Family Party Poopers”, “Body and Soul in Family Process”, “Work Systems as Family Systems”, Leadership Through Self-Differentiation”, “The Family of Origin Approach”, “My Own Basic Beliefs”, “Willfulness and Change”, “Therapeutic Street Savvy”, “Communication as an Emotional Phenomenon”, “Paradox in Therapy ind Paradox in Life”, “Perspective” and “How to Get Your Kid to Drop Out and Save $60,000 in Tuition”
- Georgetown Family Center, 4400 MacArthur Blvd., NW, Suite 103, Wshington, DC 20007 (202 965-0730)
Write for a catalog of audio and video tapes available for rental and purchase by Murray Bowen, Mike Kerr and others on the Family Center staff and speakers at annual symposia and training and conference events.
- Guilford Publications, Inc., 72 Spring Street, NY. NY 10012 (800 365-7006)
Publisher of Ed’s two books, a set of audio tapes of the Fables and the video-study guide “Reinventing Leadership”
- The Alban Institute, Suite 1250 W, 7315 Wasconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md. 20814
Publisher of Ed’s video “Family Process and Process Theology”