The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center, Inc. became a corporation in July, 1999. PCFTTC is an outgrowth of the Training Center founded in 1975, by Salvador Minuchin, MD, for systemic family therapy and training. His training center was associated with the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic connected to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Our History
The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center offers Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) training, education, consultation, and research in family and couples therapy, and developmentally-based approaches to child, adolescent and adult behavioral health issues.
ESFT was created by Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg. She had studied at the Training Center run by Dr. Salvador Minuchin, associated with the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. When Minuchin was ready to transition Lindblad-Goldberg took over the training center and it became the PCFTTC.
The Center has trained thousands of mental health and other human service professionals in the practice of family therapy, examining the social ecology of the home, school, and community environments.
Our Teaching Philosophy
First, the training center uses TEACH, SHOW, PRACTICE to enhance learning outcomes. This form of deliberate practice engages the professional to take ownership of their own growth and development.
Second, systemic thinking & systemic family therapy requires the professional to engage each family’s unique culture. Using a lens that is relational, contextual, developmental, and trauma informed the family’s culture becomes pivotal for a strength-based healing to occur. This approach underpins every “family is their own best resource for change” (Lindblad-Goldberg, et al., 1998, p.26) and there is no challenge too big for the family to solve!
Our Mission
The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center promotes effective, strength-based, systemic behavioral health services through training, supervision, consulting, and competency development. The Center embraces innovation, ethical practice, and the use of data to inform training and competency development programs. Our mission is to collaborate with systemic behavioral health clinicians and organizations to build on and support the healthy development and relational functioning of children and families with an appreciation of socio-political contexts and its impact on children and families.
