Rhoda Robin Shralow, 78, family therapist
During her career as a marriage and family therapist, Rhoda Robin Shralow was known by friends and family to demonstrate the kind of care she showed her clients to everyone she met.
During her career as a marriage and family therapist, Rhoda Robin Shralow was known by friends and family to demonstrate the kind of care she showed her clients to everyone she met.
"Her work with people and the difficulties they faced in life as a therapist really is an outgrowth of the way she was as a person," said son Bill. "Just so selfless."
Mrs. Shralow, 78, died of melanoma on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Bryn Mawr Hospital.
She was vice chair of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors from 2008 to 2014. She had been a member of the board since 2004.
Mrs. Shralow advocated for the regulation of marriage and family therapy, which was adopted into the Pennsylvania Code in 2002, the year she received her license.
Mrs. Shralow also maintained a private practice in marriage and family therapy and counseling for more than 30 years. She was administrative director of the former Family Institute of Philadelphia and director of the clinical training program when the organization became the New Family Institute of Philadelphia.
"From the very beginning, she was really dedicated to learning everything she could about family therapy so she could be a good therapist," said Jackie Scharff, a Wynnewood therapist who supervised Mrs. Shralow in the program.
In 2009, Mrs. Shralow was named Marriage and Family Therapist of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She served as the association's secretary from 1994 to 1997 and treasurer from 1997 to 2000.
Mrs. Shralow was born in Philadelphia. Her father, Morris Robin, co-owned Center City's Robin's Books, which closed in 2012. She grew up in Wynnefield and attended Overbrook High School. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, but transferred to Boston University to be close to her future husband, Melvin Shralow, who was attending Harvard Law School. They were married in 1958 and she graduated in 1959.
Melvin Shralow recalled that he and his wife would wake up early to make breakfast and read the Inquirer at the kitchen table. She would read the local news and obituaries, and he would read the sports section and front page.
"We were kind of inseparable," he said. "Every group she touched, she became part of, and beloved."
Mrs. Shralow was a teacher as well, and after receiving a master of arts degree in education from Villanova University in 1974, she taught with the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, an education services agency. In her free time, she and her husband were active boaters and members of the U.S. Power Squadrons.
In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Shralow is survived by another son, Jeffrey; a daughter, Donna Nadel; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, at Temple Adath Israel, 250 N. Highland Ave., Merion, with interment at Mount Sharon Cemetery, Springfield.
Contributions can be made to Bryn Mawr Hospital, 130 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010, or to a charity of the donor's choice.
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