{"id":1198,"date":"2008-11-10T00:05:59","date_gmt":"2008-11-10T04:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2008-11-09T17:24:30","modified_gmt":"2008-11-09T21:24:30","slug":"why-triangles-are-%e2%80%9cbad%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/1198","title":{"rendered":"Why triangles are \u201cbad\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One misunderstanding about basic concepts of Bowen Family Systems theory has to do with assigning value statements. For example, the notion that overfunctioning is \u201cbad.\u201d Overfunctioning, like other behaviors are not \u201cbad\u201d or \u201cgood,\u201d they are merely functions, symptoms, or manifestations of emotional process played out in the way people relate to one another. This is why it\u2019s more helpful to observe function in the system than it is to assign motives to people\u2019s behaviors. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>That said, we must also accept that all functioning, while not \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d, either contribute to the health of the system or work at keeping the system stuck. While we can say that triangles are neither good nor bad, merely one of the many ways systemic anxiety gets played out and structured, we can identify when triangles do not help the system toward growth and health. So, here are ways that triangles are \u201cbad\u201d:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When they promote the development of symptoms in relationships. For example, in a family and underfunctioning parent triangles a spouse and a child to \u201ctake care\u201d of the symptomatic adult in the family. <\/li>\n<li>When they perpetuate chronic symptoms or conflict. For example, when a system\u2014a family or organization\u2014reacts to problems by immediately identifying a scapegoat or identified patient rather than striving toward accountability without blaming. <\/li>\n<li>When they work against the resolution of toxic issues. For example, because of its inability to deal with a willful but esteemed patriarch a congregation perpetually fails to deal with the individual\u2019s willfulness by triangling the minister, the patriarch, and the congregation\u2019s reticence at holding people accountable.<\/li>\n<li>When they get so structured so as to block change over time. When triangles get formatted and entrenched, they deprive people of options. For example, when a triangle becomes part of the structure so that every decision needs to involve one person\u2014whether or not that person has anything to do with the issue or decision. In a small congregation this may involve a \u201cgatekeeper\u201d and in a family, this may involve a patriarch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While it is not helpful to identify triangles as \u201cbad\u201d it is appropriate to identify when they are detrimental to the health and to the functioning of the system in mature, responsible, ways. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.galindoconsultants.com\"><img src='http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/galindobanner5.jpg' alt='galindoconsultants.com' \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One misunderstanding about basic concepts of Bowen Family Systems theory has to do with assigning value statements. For example, the notion that overfunctioning is \u201cbad.\u201d Overfunctioning, like other behaviors are not \u201cbad\u201d or \u201cgood,\u201d they are merely functions, symptoms, or &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/archives\/1198\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,37,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bowen-family-systems-theory","category-congregational-life","category-leadership"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1200,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1198\/revisions\/1200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grace-ed.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}