Become a Friend of the Family
Your donation will help us to carry out our mission to improve the lives of the families of Rochester and beyond. We are dedicated to effectively addressing the health and mental health needs of our community through integrated research, clinical services, and training.
The three components of the University of Rochester Institute for the Family—Strong Family Therapy Services, the University of Rochester Family Therapy Training Program, and the Wynne Center for Family Research—continue to strive for excellence.
Your gift makes our commitment to research, training and improved clinical treatments a reality.
Strong Family Therapy Services
As the clinical arm of the Institute for the Family, Family Therapy Services serves thousands of Rochester patients each year for a variety of mental health problems. Its goals are:
- To diversify its case mix to offer students and faculty a more balanced selection of patients
- To increase the number of units of service it can provide to the community
- To widen its offerings to include health and wellness programs.
Key Objectives for Family Therapy Services:
- Build awareness and referrals from the primary care physician base in the Rochester area that increases units of service (patient visits) by 1500-2500
- Widen services offered to the Rochester Community that reach beyond psychiatric diagnoses to prevent violence, illness or relationship breakdown and promote wellness in families.
- Launch the empirically supported study of therapist-patient/family treatment alliance.
Family Therapy Training
This is the training arm of the Institute for the Family; it offers both masters degree and post-degree certificate programs in couples and family therapy. Its goal are:
- To grow its student enrollment
- To provide training to other URMC professionals
- To expand upon its week long Professional Intensive Program Series.
- To provide training to workers in Rochester’s community agencies
Key Objectives for Family Therapy Training:
- Maintaining our current high standards, by 2011 have at least 15 students per year enrolled in the program, and 20 per year by 2015.
- By 2010 secure top 5 national applicants.
- Develop Merit scholarship program for top 25% of class over 12 (i.e., 4 students out of 16 receive merit scholarships for half their tuition) by entering class of 2009.
- Evaluate feasibility to add Ph.D. program with the Wynne Center by 2012.
The Wynn Center for Family Research (WCFR)
This is the research arm of the Institute for the Family. The WCFR conducts clinical studies to advance the knowledge that will ultimately help families cope with a variety of challenges and stressors. Its goal are:
- To build a critical mass of family scientists for the Wynne Center in order to apply for a federally funded Center grant
- Attract talented faculty and fellows
- Conduct state-of-the-art clinical research focused on the biology of family relationships, mind-body relationships, attachment, and the prevention and intervention with partner violence.
Key Objectives for the Wynne Center for Family Research:
- Recruit new scientists and trainees who will become self-sustaining
- Grow the Wynne Center Family Research Postdoctoral Fellowship program by recruiting 2-3 fellows per year for a 2-3 year fellowship
- Collect pilot data for NIH research funding.