James Framo (1922-2001)

Professional Life
James Framo was born in 1922 and was a leader in the field of marital and family therapy. He earned his master’s degree from Penn State University and then continued his education at the University of Texas, earning his doctorate in clinical psychology in 1953. Framo stayed in Pennsylvania as a researcher at the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute for over a decade before he ventured out to Temple University, where he remained until his retirement.

Framo believed in treating the source of the problem, and as unorthodox as it was in the 1950’s, encouraged fighting family members or partners to come together to receive treatment. He also believed that a troubled child often stemmed from a troubled marriage. He theorized that if the marriage could be fixed, the problems of the child would disappear.

Framo held many positions throughout his distinguished career, including President of the Family Institute of Philadelphia and Professor of Psychology at the United States International University in San Diego. He also founded the family mental health therapy unit at Jefferson University and oversaw it for many years. Framo was affiliated with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, and the American Psychological Association.

Contribution to Psychology
Framo spent most of his career studying, practicing and implementing object relations theory in combination with family systems theory. This unique integration became the basis for the family and couple therapy that is widely used today. Framo was an active practitioner, lecturer, teacher and author, writing more than 60 publications in the field of family therapy. He wrote several books, including Family of Origin Therapy: An Intergenerational Approach and Family Interaction: A Dialogue Between Family Researchers and Family Therapists.

In his spare time, Framo loved reading about World War II and history in general. Before his death in 2001, he was working on writing his memoir, which recaptured his own service during the war.