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HISTORY

1932: The Beginning
Dr. Emily Hartshorne Mudd premiers a new organization, The Philadelphia Marriage Counsel (253 S. 15th Street), whose goal is preparation and prevention for young married couples and those contemplating marriage. 

1940's: Leading the Field
This was considered to be a "revolutionary" organization, which began to grow, with several new locations on Chestnut Street. In 1946, we changed our name to Marriage Council (at that time, only lawyers could be referred to as "counsel"). In 1947, following World War II, the Navy became concerned with the problems sailors were experiencing after they returned home from the war. Family problems and marital readjustment were affecting the men's performance in the military, so the Veteran's Administration set up neuropsychiatric residencies at the Marriage Council.

1950's: The Training Program
In 1952, we affiliated with University of Pennsylvania, and became an operational unit of the Division of Family Studies in the medical school. We introduced the country's first course on family, marriage and sex counseling, and provided courses and internships for medical students. Marriage Council was 1 of only 3 training centers for marriage counselors in the country, and provided post-graduate training for doctors, MSWs, sociologists, psychologists and clergy. Throughout the 1950s, Dr. Emily Mudd served as President of National Conference on Family Relations and American Association of Marriage Counselors (forerunner of AAMFT), as well as directed marriage counseling courses at Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Colleges and Temple University.

1960's and 1970's: Expanding to Research
We affiliated with the Masters and Kinsey research group, and developed a strong focus on sex therapy and research.

1980's and 1990's: Recommitting and Strengthening Our Mission
Under the leadership of Martin Goldberg, MD, we shifted the focus back to marriage and family therapy, while continuing to develop affiliations with the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, Widener University and Temple University.

Today: 
We are an independent, non-profit organization, whose mission is to help people understand, respect and improve the quality of the important relationships in their lives by providing unsurpassed clinical care, education, research and training. With 13 offices and an extremely diverse and expert staff, we serve our communities through individual, couples and family counseling, educational courses and outreach efforts that aim to bring hope and healing.