Douglas C. Breunlin, MSSA, LCSW, LMFT

Douglas Breunlin is licensed both as a clinical social worker and a marriage and family therapist and is a certified mediator. Currently, he holds the McCormick Tribune Foundation Chair in Marriage and Family Therapy and is Director of the Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy program at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. In addition, he is a clinical professor of Psychology and teaches graduate classes in Northwestern University's Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy program.

Mr. Breunlin received his Master in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University. His undergraduate degrees are in arts and letters and aeronautical engineering. Prior to attending graduate school, he was a research engineer at NASA. He has practiced for 38 years, both in the United States and abroad. He is a fellow, approved supervisor and Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

His professional areas of interest have included family therapy training, the integration of family therapy models, working with school systems and consultation to family business. He has made unique contributions to the study of structure and sequences in families and the issue of personal competence within the family life cycle. Mr. Breunlin implemented the Peaceable Schools Initiative, designed to personalize a high school environment with the two-fold goal of improving performance of non-traditional learners and reducing school violence. Published studies have documented the efficacy of this program.

As Program Director of the Family Business Program, Mr. Breunlin is the principal investigator of a study on the narrative of founders regarding succession. He also spearheads a group who provide consultation to family businesses.

Prior to joining The Family Institute, Mr. Breunlin was the director of the Family Systems Program at Chicago's Institute for Juvenile Research. He also consulted for 12 years to Cook County Hospital's Departments of Pediatrics and Family Practice, and has provided consultation to mental health centers, special education programs and residential facilities. He serves on the editorial boards of Family Process and The Journal of Family Therapy. He is co-author (with Schwartz and MacKune-Karrer) of Metaframeworks: Transcending the Models of Family Therapy; editor of Stages: Patterns of Change Over Time; co-editor of the Handbook of Family Therapy Training and Supervision(with co-editors Liddle and Schwartz). He has written more than 50 articles and conducts workshops nationally and abroad.

Mr. Breunlin treats individuals, couples and families.

Clinical Interests: Family business issues; couples; siblings; male development; mediation and conflict resolution; intimacy and sexual problems; marital conflict; long-term marriages; school problems

Family Institute Locations:Downtown Chicago, Evanston