Research
Improving Mental Health Care Through Clinical Research
The Family Institute is dedicated to intervention - making a difference in the lives of families, couples and individuals from all walks of life. Through research, we scientifically investigate our interventions to better understand the therapeutic process and to develop improved treatments. As one of the leading centers for marriage and family therapy, with a large and diverse client population, The Family Institute is uniquely positioned to pursue path-breaking research on families and relationships.
The Institute's clinical research activities are focused on three areas:
- The process and determinants of how people change in psychotherapy
- Anxiety and mood disorders over the life course, within the context of the family
- The relationship between illness and couple functioning
Research at The Family Institute is conducted under the auspices of Northwestern University's Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies. The Center is operated by The Family Institute and housed at our headquarters in Evanston, Illinois. All research projects receive approval from the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board to ensure protection to volunteer participants enrolled in studies.
Current Research Initiatives
Principal Investigator: William Pinsof, PhD
This long-term research project aims to delineate how people change in psychotherapy, to identify the therapist behaviors associated with those changes, and to develop a procedure for regularly feeding that information back to therapists during the process of therapy.
Principal Investigator: Richard Zinbarg, PhD
Through this research, we hope to learn more about the relationship between GAD and how couples function, with an ultimate goal of developing a more effective and longer lasting treatment for married adults with the disorder.
Principal Investigator: Lynne Knobloch-Fedders, PhD
This project investigates the links between interpersonal behavior, relationship distress, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder in couples, with the goal of improving psychotherapy outcomes for this population.
Principal Investigator: Tamara Goldman Sher, PhD
This research examines the relationship between illness and couple functioning, including how the illness process affects couple functioning and how couple functioning affects the illness process.
Support
The Research Program at The Family Institute is supported, in part, by gifts and grants from individuals, families and foundations. Your contribution will help us continue important research work and advance the science and practice of mental health care. To make a gift online, please click here. If you prefer to send your gift by mail, please call the Director of Development at 312-609-5300, ext. 484.
Research Department Faculty and Staff
