Journal 18.2- Bowlby's Attachment Theory and Bowen Family Systems Theory: McKnight (PDF)

BOWLBY’S ATTACHMENT THEORY AND BOWEN FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY: THEIR DIFFERENCES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE
Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW
John Bowlby (1907-1990) and Murray Bowen (1913-1990) were contemporary pioneers who departed from traditional psychoanalytic thinking that dominated psychiatry in the years after WWII. They were both trained as physicians and psychoanalysts, and served in the war and studied the impact of it on soldiers who fought. This article explores how Bowlby and Bowen each developed their thinking during the post-war period and examines some of the significant theoretical differences between their theories and the implications for clinical practice.