James Framo

James Framo (1922–2001) was an American psychologist and pioneer family therapist. He developed an object relations approach to intergenerational and family-of-origin therapy. He collaborated with other early family therapists and wrote or co-wrote several books on family therapy. The final chapter of his 1992 book Family-of-Origin Therapy: An Intergenerational Approach describes his early family experiences and their relationship to his therapeutic ideas.

Early life and education

James Lawrence Framo was born on June 25, 1922 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into an Italian American family with five children. He worked as a dishwasher during high school to save money for college, and graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1940. He enrolled at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), but he left college after his freshman year to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served in an artillery unit during the Italian campaign, and spent approximately two years in combat. He was wounded before the end of the Italian campaign and returned to Penn State after the war.

Framo changed his major from English to psychology after his wartime experiences, and ultimately earned a B.A. in psychology from Penn State in 1947. He also earned an M.A. in psychology from Penn State in 1948, and later received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1953.

Framo worked as a research scientist at the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (EPPI) from 1957 to 1969. During this period he collaborated with Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy on the development of family therapy techniques and models. He created an approach emphasizing transgenerational family relationships, and argued that problems in adult relationships often reflected unresolved issues with families of origin. and served as its second president from 1981-1983.

Personal life and death

Framo’s married Mary Framo (nee D’Adamo) in 1946. Mary Framo was also a therapist, and together they had four children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1986. Later he married psychologist Felise Levine.

Honors and awards

Distinguished Achievement in Family Therapy Award, American Family Therapy Academy, 1984. Distinguished Contribution to Family Psychology Award, American Psychological Association Division 43 (Family Psychology), 1997. Fellow, American Psychological Association. Fellow, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology.

Selected publications

Boszormenyi-Nagy, I. & Framo, J.L. (1965; 1985). Intensive family therapy: Theoretical and practical aspects. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Framo, J.L. (1970). Symptoms from a family transactional viewpoint. In N. W. Ackerman, J. Lieb, & J. K. Pearce (Eds.) Family therapy in transition. (pp. 125–171). Boston: Little & Brown. Framo, J.L (Ed.) (1972). Family interaction: A dialogue between family researchers and family therapists. New York: Springer. Green, R.J. & Framo, J.L. (Eds.)(1981). Family therapy: Major contributions. New York: International University Press. Framo, J.L. (1982). Explorations in marital and family therapy: Selected papers of James L Framo. New York: Springer. Framo, J.L. (1992). Family-of-origin therapy: An intergenerational approach. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Framo, J.L., Weber, T. & Levine, F. (2003). Coming Home Again: A Family-of-origin Consultation. New York: Brunner/Routledge.