Weakland Biografia

John H. Weakland. Biografia

John H. Weakland, 76, a Bay Area resident for 42 years, died July 8 in Palo Alto. Born and raised in Charleston, W.Va. , he was a 1939 graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. A pioneer in the field of family therapy, he did graduate work at Columbia University's New School for Social Research. In Palo Alto, he researched human communication at the Veteran's Administration Hospital, studying schizophrenic patients and their families. He was an original member of the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, where he was co-director of the Brief Therapy Center and senior research associate. He was also a clinical associate professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. A co-author of more than 60 professional papers and six books, he received the American Family Therapy Association Award for Distinguished Achievement in 1981. He is survived by his wife, Anna Wu Weakland of Palo Alto; two sons, Alan W. Weakland of San Marino and Lewis F. Weakland of Los Angeles; a daughter, Joan Weakland of Williamsburg, Va.; and two grandchildren.