To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Western Pennsylvania Family Center hosted a social event on Friday, October 17, 2025, after the Fall Conference and Symposium. While I publicly thanked the founders during that event with brief remarks, I would like to expand here on my personal gratitude for the Center’s founding and existence.
When I transitioned to St. Francis Mental Health Center in 1982, I was searching for a framework to support my growing interest in families and the questions I was developing about their dynamics. I quickly realized I needed a solid theoretical foundation. Prior to this, while working at St. Francis Medical Center inpatient unit, I had already observed the vital role families played in both the experience and recovery of hospitalized patients. It was during this time that I heard about a course on Bowen family systems theory led by Mrs. McCullough at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. I immediately called to register for the September class—a call that would mark the beginning of a unique and transformative learning journey.
What began as an interest in improving my clinical work expanded into something much more personal. I found ways to change myself and strengthen my marriage. I came to know my extended family in a more grounded, thoughtful way. The Center became a space for me to process a tragic event in my family’s life—an experience that aligned with one of the Center’s founding principles: that the Center should be a place where people could thoughtfully explore the complexities of their family lives in a learning environment.
My involvement with the Center led to unexpected opportunities. I helped establish the Center’s library, which eventually added to my volunteering at the National Library of Medicine where I reviewed Bowen’s original research. That research later became the foundation for my book on Bowen’s early work, Making Sense of Human Life. The first stitch in this entire tapestry was that phone call and my decision to attend that first class.
Forty years later, I remain deeply grateful that the Center was here in Pittsburgh, I had access to it because it was local, the environment oriented to personal growth and, as the years went on, I could continue involvement though I no longer lived locally.
I’m especially thankful to the founders for their resolve and vision: their willingness to invest financially in a start-up and their belief that Bowen theory offered a pathway to long-term, meaningful change in family relationships. The leadership and the many hours they have devoted to maintaining the programs and offerings of the center have made an immeasurable impact.
Their founding vision grew well beyond Pittsburgh. The first International Conference on Bowen Family Systems Theory, attracting participants from around the world, took place here. Since then, international conferences have been held in Hong Kong, Sweden, and Miami.
Thank you, Mrs. McCullough, Dr. Cynthia Larkby, Dr. Walter Smith, Mr. Jim Smith, Dr. Stuart Libman, and Mrs. Anne Vogeding Read. The Center and Bowen theory have deeply enriched my life.
Well done!
Catherine Rakow, MSW
WPFC Faculty
Thank you, Catherine, for this thoughtful review of how WPFC has supported your growth as a professional over the years. I especially resonated with the idea that “The Center became a space for me to process … aligning with one of the Center’s founding principles: that the Center should be a place where people could thoughtfully explore the complexities of their family lives in a learning environment.” The WPFC learning environment also provided me with the space to gain a more objective understanding of myself and my family. Offering me a theory to support my ongoing personal and professional growth. I also give thanks to the founders for having the vision to establish WPFC.
Ms. Perla, the difference between teaching and learning caught my attention early on. I remember discussing this with Mrs. McCullough when I first became involved at the Center. It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea, let alone live it, that the emphasis on learning suggests personal responsibility while teaching suggests a giving from one to another. It seemed a subtle but important distinction in how the Center functions.