This collaborative research, authored by Steve Simms, Jennifer Benjamin, Todd Franke, and Pinky Patel, focuses on validating the MFAF within Pennsylvania families, aiming to enhance the tools available for family assessment in therapeutic settings.
The study’s findings contribute to the field of systemic family therapy by providing a reliable instrument for practitioners working with diverse family structures.
We invite fellow professionals and researchers to read the full article here:
Systemic family therapy stands at the intersection of healing, connection, and transformation. The MLG Awards not only celebrate the incredible achievements of today’s leaders in the field but also pay homage to the foundational work of systemic family therapy’s pioneers, such as Salvador Minuchin and Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg. Minuchin’s groundbreaking contributions established structural family therapy as a cornerstone for understanding and addressing relational dynamics, while Dr. Lindblad-Goldberg advanced this legacy by integrating ecological and trauma-informed approaches. This award recognizes the profound impact systemic family therapy has on families, communities, and professionals. By honoring those who exemplify these values, the MLG Awards inspire ongoing innovation and excellence in a field dedicated to addressing complex challenges and fostering meaningful change. It’s more than an award; it’s a continuation of a legacy that transforms lives, one relationship at a time. Join us in celebrating the extraordinary contributions of systemic family therapy practitioners who, like Minuchin and Lindblad-Goldberg, are committed to making the world a brighter, more connected place.
As we close out the calendar year, the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center (PCFTTC) reflects on 2024 with deep gratitude for our incredible community of systemic family therapists, faculty, alumni, and partners.
This year, we’ve witnessed remarkable milestones:
Through it all, we’ve seen our community grow stronger, embracing systemic approaches that honor the resilience of families and the dedication of those who serve them.
As we step into 2025, we are excited to continue offering cutting-edge training, supervision, and resources to empower therapists. Together, let’s build on this year’s momentum and keep advancing the transformative work each of you do with professionals and the families they serve.
From all of us at PCFTTC, we wish you a joyous close to this year and a new year filled with hope, health, and connection. Thank you for being part of our journey!
Warm regards,
The PCFTTC Team
Home Alone: A Perfect Movie for Practicing Family Assessment Tools
The 1990 classic Home Alone isn’t just a beloved holiday movie—it’s also a surprisingly effective way to practice family assessment tools. While the film’s focus is on an 8-year-old boy named Kevin, left behind during the holiday chaos, it offers a clear depiction of family dynamics, relational challenges, and conflict resolution, all of which are key aspects of family therapy.
Incorporating these family assessment tools while watching Home Alone offers an engaging way to reflect on family systems, communication, and resilience. It’s a reminder that behind the humor and slapstick, the heart of the story is about reconnecting and understanding family bonds—a valuable lesson for both therapists and families alike.
In the rapidly evolving field of mental health care, ensuring a consistent, systemic approach across the care continuum is vital. Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) is an evidence-based model that understands behavior within the intricate web of family and community relationships. Rooted in systemic, trauma-informed, strength-based, and attachment-focused principles, ESFT provides the tools necessary to disrupt negative cycles and foster transformative change in family dynamics.
Empower Your Organization with ESFT Training
Position your organization as a leader in modern mental health care by equipping your team with ESFT’s robust family systems therapy approach. Our comprehensive certification program goes beyond training—it includes full program implementation support, preparing your team to deliver personalized, context-sensitive interventions that meet today’s mental health challenges.
Key Clinician Goals with ESFT:
Comprehensive ESFT Integration:
Why Invest in ESFT Training?
Expand Your Professional Horizons at PCFTTC
At the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center (PCFTTC), our continuing education and competency development programs are designed to keep you at the forefront of systemic family therapy. Whether you’re a therapist looking to deepen your expertise or a supervisor aiming to enhance leadership skills, our certificate programs are crafted to support your growth at your own pace.
Explore Our Certificate Programs:
Why Choose PCFTTC?
Start Your Journey Today!
Don’t miss the opportunity to elevate your expertise and make a lasting impact in your field. Visit PCFTTC.com to explore our full range of courses and certifications, and take the next step in your professional growth. Let’s build stronger, more resilient families and communities—together.
Dr. Tom Thomas found a deep interest in a new care approach, “Family Therapy,” and was drawn to explore it further in Philadelphia. He attended training sessions conducted by Salvador Minuchin. At The Child Guidance Clinic in Philadelphia, he studied families and took part in a project evaluating the effectiveness of structural family therapy for adolescent girls and their families dealing with anorexia nervosa. During his internship, he also learned from Dr. Lester Lubrosky, a prominent psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania renowned for his research on the dodo bird effect, which compares the impact of different clinical models. Dr. Lubrosky stressed the importance of the therapeutic relationship, motivating Dr. Todd to enhance his relationship-building skills under the mentorship of Harry Aponte. By the third session, Dr. Todd consistently noticed positive changes in the families he worked with.
The Child Guidance Clinic, situated in South Philadelphia next to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), relocated to a new facility in the University of Pennsylvania Medical complex in 1974. The period of seven years from Minuchin’s arrival in Philadelphia to the Clinic’s relocation marked significant progress in developing the theories, practice, and research of Structural Family Therapy. The following seven years post-relocation allowed for further development and, notably, the dissemination of these ideas and practices.
The innovative rich tradition of systemic thinking inherited from the original Family Therapy Training Center established by Dr. Salvador Minuchin is still practiced at PCFTTC.com. Join the alliance as a lifelong member and equip yourself to adopt a strength-based approach that is relational, contextual, developmental, and trauma-informed when assisting children, youth, adults, and families in need of care across the continuum of services.
Jessica says – “The training through the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center has taught me to look through a systemic lens to support staff within supervision. I have been able to help staff see how their own life experiences impact the way they enter homes and see families. The training center has provided me with an alliance of individuals who are all working toward a common goal of inspiring families to be their own best resource for lasting generational change as they navigate trauma, tragedy, and hardship in a new way. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to continue to learn and grow both personally and professionally and support staff on their own learning journey to be ethically competent clinicians. “
Congratulations to all the awardees! Your contributions are invaluable, and your passion for systemic change is a beacon of hope and progress for us all. Here’s to continued success and to the many more lives you will touch in the years to come.
This award has been established by the Philadelphia Child and Family Training Center in honor of Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg whose personal and professional mission was to make the world a better, brighter, and more connected place one family at a time. She believed wholeheartedly in each of us – in our ability, through systemic and relational interventions, to heal disengagement and cultivate belonging.
Each year the award is given to a trainer, clinician, and program director/supervisor, from the ESFT-FBMHS Training Program, who exemplifies the following:
Maintains a systemic perspective. Nominees have an appreciation for the isomorphic process in training, treatment, supervision, and across systems. Nominees maintain awareness of the “whole” while working the “parts.”
Maintains balance between professional boundaries and collaborative relationships to foster positive change and competence. Nominees take a strength-based approach, balancing their professional/expert knowledge while collaboratively engaging the ecosystem to draw on existing strengths and create experiences of trust, building individual competence for all members of the system.
Engages in social ecology. Nominees have a deep appreciation for intersectionality and the lived experiences of others. As such, they express an unwavering commitment to understanding how their own social ecology and zone of proximal development informs their professional work. Nominees consistently utilize their support system to engage in deliberate practice to grow their professional skills.
Makes the most of intensity and crises. Nominees have an ability to see struggle and chaos as an opportunity for growth and development. They demonstrate facilitative leadership by keeping second order change in the forefront of their approach to individual or system distress. They nurture others’ capacity to make meaning, promote new relational patterns and shift belief systems towards lasting change.
Assesses with complexity while acting with simplicity. Nominees have a belief that training, treatment and supervision are relational, contextual, developmental and trauma informed. They demonstrate these concepts actively in their work through systemic assessment and conceptualization. While their understanding of people and situations are complex, those around them experience the person’s actions and communication as accessible and validating.
Congratulations Elena, you have been nominated for the Marion Lindblad-Goldberg Award! This award recognizes and celebrates professionals from across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania shouldering the legacy of Dr. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg, creator of ecosystemic structural family therapy. Your nomination means someone has taken the time to tell us about how they believe you are working to make the world a better, brighter, and more connected place one family at a time. They believe wholeheartedly in you and your ability, through systemic and relational interventions, to heal disengagement and cultivate belonging!
“She has shown a commitment to systemic thinking and an unwavering belief in the power of relationships to overcome challenges during a time when many Family Based programs and their agencies are under tremendous pressure. She did all of this utilizing her natural ability to foster attuned and responsive relationships. She validated and lifted up the voices of her staff
even when it was hard to do so. Elena exemplifies servant leadership, stepping in to help wherever help is needed, working to shift processes whenever possible and supporting new thinking so that barriers are eliminated for those she leads.”