Lauren Errington will be presenting this one-day workshop which provides an introduction to applying family systems theory ideas to working with families in clinical practice. It draws on key aspects of theory to create thinking about presenting symptoms or dilemmas as part of the bigger picture of the emotional process in the relationship system, and some basic skills to accompany this in practice. Learning goals include:

• Understanding relationship patterns - The ways families naturally make relationships work and understanding when things get stuck
• Considering the role of the therapist when working with families – the therapeutic triangle and developing a role as a collaborative researcher with the family
• An introduction to the use of family diagrams and timelines in clinical practice
• An introduction to the use of sequences to track emotional process in relationship interactions in clinical practice
• Developing a first session structure to meeting a family

About Lauren Errington

Lauren Errington is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AASW) and Clinical Family Therapist and Accredited Supervisor (AAFT). She has experience working in tertiary level mental health services and private practice contexts in Australia and Scotland, and currently offers counselling through the Family Systems Practice. Lauren has been the Executive Director at the Family Systems Institute since 2021, and is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Charles Sturt University.

Lauren has a Masters in Couple and Family Therapy (UNSW) and has had an interest in Bowen Family Systems Theory since first encountering Bowen theory through her counselling training in 2008. She finds Bowen theory a compelling description of the dilemmas we all face in life’s relationships, with the ideas resonating across therapeutic, workplace and ministry contexts. Lauren is always interested in the application of theory to practice in her work which has led to her publishing articles with the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy and co-editing a book with Jenny Brown entitled Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry.