When It Is Used
Use it when current coaching needs better evidence about family-of-origin facts, relationships, or events rather than impressions alone.
Family-of-Origin Research Plan
Family-of-Origin Research Plan is a Bowen-oriented planning and tracking tool for practitioners and clients gathering multigenerational family facts, relationship information, and relevant events. It helps them identify what is known, what remains unknown, what new information has been gathered, and how findings relate to observation of the client's own functioning.
Explore a sample research plan, adjust its focus, and review how findings and uncertainty are organized.
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Tool guide
Learn more about this tool
Use this background section to understand when the tool fits, how practitioners use it, and what to consider before sharing it with clients.
What It Captures
The plan captures research focus, known information, open questions, new findings, uncertainty labels, fact/impression distinctions, client reflections, and practitioner review notes.
Limits
The tool is not a generic family-history builder and does not automatically infer family-system meaning or require a complete family tree.
Does this tool create a family diagram?
No. It can organize information that may later inform a family diagram, but a diagram is not part of the required mechanic.
Can unknown or conflicting information be recorded?
Yes. Unknown, uncertain, and conflicting information can remain in the plan without forcing certainty.
Does the system generate Bowen hypotheses?
No. It organizes findings and open questions; hypotheses remain practitioner-interpreted.
Can the plan continue across sessions?
Yes. The persisted plan supports updates, open questions, new findings, and practitioner review across sessions.