Updates & Announcements

With your health and safety, as well as that of our team and larger Chicagoland community in mind, The Family Institute at Northwestern University will be providing teletherapy for all upcoming appointments; in person sessions will not be available following the close of business today, Wednesday, March 18. 

As you are no doubt aware, COVID-19 is affecting communities, gatherings, travel and many planned events across the country. The Family Institute at Northwestern University is closely monitoring these developments and has created a plan that we will adjust as conditions shift.

The Family Institute at Northwestern University is pleased to announce our partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana!   

The Family Institute’s annual Education Luncheon took place on February 25 in downtown Chicago, and was a wonderful way to kick off the celebration of our 50 years leading in the behavioral health space through research, education and clinical practice. This year’s event hosted more than 80 students, faculty, alumni, board members and donors. During the program, students shared about their experiences and visions for how they will apply their degree once they graduate.

The American Psychological Association is presenting awards this year to three psychologists at The Family Institute, Erika Lawrence, Gihane Jérémie-Brink and Anthony Chambers, in recognition of excellence in research, scholarship and service to the field.

Up to 20% of pregnant and new mothers experience some form of maternal mental health disorder — that’s over 600,000 women every year. One in seven new mothers experience postpartum depression. This month, listen to our Transitions to Parenthood program director, Nikki Lively, as she interviews moms, dads and specialists about the postpartum life stage in “Let’s Talk,” The Family Institute’s podcast series.

Over the past decade, empirical feedback has emerged as a key area of focus for improving clinical outcomes in psychotherapy. Empirical feedback systems collect data from clients and feed it back to therapists to aid in decision making in therapy. The Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change is the first systemic feedback system — the first tool to assess change across multiple relationships and multiple domains of functioning, so it can be used in individual, couple and family…

Focusing directly on the concerns that families, couples and individuals bring to therapy, Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) values client participation in planning therapy and seeking solutions to their concerns.