More about triangulation
Feb 1st, 2008 by Jill
From The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family:
“A triangle is a three-person relationship system. It is considered the building block or “molecule” of larger emotional systems because a triangle is the smallest stable relationship system. A two-person system is unstable because it tolerates little tension before involving a third person. A triangle can contain much more tension . . . because the tension can shift around three relationships. . . .
Spreading the tension can stabilize a system, but nothing gets resolved. People’s actions in a triangle reflect their efforts to ensure their emotional attachments to important others . . .
Paradoxically, a triangle is more stable than a dyad, but a triangle creates an ‘odd man out’ . . .” (More)
