The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center occupies a prominent position in the history of family therapy. In 1967, with the recently published research report in hand, Families of the slums: An exploration of their structure and treatment, Dr. Salvador Minuchin left the Wiltwyck School for Boys, located in Esopus, New York to lead the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. World renown as an incubator for the development, application, training, and research of Structural Family Therapy, innumerable employees, trainees, trainers, and researchers gathered at the Clinic to grow from and contribute to the Center’s clinical, educational and research missions. In 1983, Dr. Minuchin handed the reigns of the Clinic’s Training Center to Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg. During the late 1990’s, the Clinic sadly began to dissolve as a freestanding institution. On the heels of her recently published book, Creating competence from chaos: A comprehensive guide to home-based services, in 1998, Marion relocated the Training Center and rebranded it as the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center. In 2019, Marion retired, appointed Dr. Steve Simms as the director, and assumed the emeritus director role. This page serves to connect all persons -- past, present, and future -- committed to two efforts. One, preserve and promote the legacy of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic by connecting and sharing their perspectives on the Clinic’s pivotal role in the development of family therapy. Two, promote the practice and advancement of Structural Family Therapy and Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy by sharing theoretical perspectives, tips on clinical application, and research news.
