Established in 1977, the Institute of Family Therapy is the largest family therapy organisation in the UK. It provides high quality training and clinical work in the field of systemic psychotherapy with families, couples and individuals.
It has a membership of 180 qualified therapists and a multidisciplinary teaching faculty with a wide range of experience and interests. The Institute has an excellent international reputation and runs a variety of training courses in this country and abroad.
Therapy Service At the Institute of Family Therapy (IFT) we offer help to couples, families and other relationship groups who are finding relationships problematic and would like the opportunity to explore and think about those issues.
IFT works alongside clients to create a way of working that seems most helpful to them. IFT uses a team approach to ensure that clients have the benefits of a number of views and ideas. In order to use the team to its full potential we work with a one way screen and video. This enables the other team members (usually 4) to observe the sessions from an adjoining room. Their ideas and comments will be shared with you and most clients find this very valuable.
Some of the issues we regularly work with are listed below: * Parenting issues with all age groups * Couple and marital difficulties * Issues relating to divorce, separation, step-parenting and lone parenting * Issues arising out of illness and disability * Problems relating to alcohol and other substance abuse * Lesbian and Gay family issues * Coping with the effects of violence, sexual or emotional abuse in the family * Re-building relationships after traumatic events * Coping with the effects of stress on relationships * Meeting the challenges of life cycle change
Fees and Payment
Payment is on a sliding scale dependent of income. We do not ask any details of your financial affairs but ask you to decide what is appropriate to pay.
Services Offered To: Adults Couples Teens Children
Special Groups: Bilingual Faith-Based LGBTQ
Payment: Sliding Scale Pro-bono Medicare Medicaid
Were You Able To Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.
