Faculty

Froma Walsh, Ph.D.

Froma WalshFroma Walsh is the Mose and Sylvia Firestone Professor in the School of Social Service Administration and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Pritzker School of Medicine, at the University of Chicago. In addition, she is co-director of the Chicago Center for Family Health. Her fields of special interest include family systems and developmental theory, family resilience practice applications, family and couples therapy, end-of-life issues, recovery from trauma and loss, and contemporary family diversity and challenges.

At SSA, Professor Walsh teaches courses in family and couple therapy; loss, recovery, and resilience; and family systems theory and research. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois.

Professor Walsh has published extensively in the areas of family systems and family therapy. Her books include: Strengthening Family Resilience, 2nd Edition (Guilford Press, 2006); Living Beyond Loss: Death in the Family, 2nd Edition (W.W. Norton, 2004); Normal Family Processes: Growing Diversity and Complexity, 3rd Edition (Guilford, 2003);  Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy (Guilford, 1999/2003); Women in Families (Norton, 1989/1993); and Chronic Disorders and the Family (Haworth, 1988).

A leading authority on family resilience, contemporary family challenges, and recovery from trauma and loss, Professor Walsh is a frequent speaker at conferences, seminars, and workshops worldwide. She is the past editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and has served on the boards of numerous journals and professional associations. She is past president of the American Family Therapy Academy and is recipient of their Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy, Theory and Practice award, among other awards in her field.

Professor Walsh earned a B.A. with honors in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, a M.S.W. from Smith College, and a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco and has offered training and consultation for mental health services internationally.