"This year's campaign theme for International Women's Day is #BalanceforBetter and individuals are pulling together to promote a gender-balanced world, including the phenomenal female therapists at 

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. 

CHICAGO – March 4, 2019 – January 1 officially ushered in The Family Institute at Northwestern University's 50^th year of strengthening and healing families, couples, children and individuals from all walks of life through a high-quality system of results-oriented care.

"The marriage benefit describes the fact that married adults live longer, rate their health better and report fewer chronic conditions and functional limitations compared to their non-married counterparts.

According to Jacob Goldsmith, Ph.D., thinking about embarrassing moments in the past is a normal part of how we function. It actually helps us identify opportunities for self-improvement and change our behaviors. 

In this article on Bustle, Anthony Chambers, Ph.D., ABPP, discusses the signs that you and your partner could benefit from seeing a couples therapist.

"One common reason why people feel depressed after getting married is because they spend most of their time, energy, and attention on planning for the wedding day rather than planning for the marriage," says Erika Lawrence, Ph.D., Director of Translational Science at

As a weekly guest, Maru Torres-Gregory, J.D., Ph.D., will appear in three- to four-minute segments every Tuesday to discuss relationship and family issues of interest to the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicago area.

Past topics include:

In speaking with Business Insider, Anthony Chambers, Ph.D., ABPP, shares a few relationship tips to help couples strengthen their bond in 2019. 

In this Chicago Tribune article, Jacob Goldsmith, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, offers insights on how to improve your mental health in the new year.

Bustle recently published a series of articles to help readers navigate the coming holidays, addressing issues like holiday anxiety, stressful family reunions and heated family discussions about politics and religion.

Dr. Nancy Burgoyne describes how to help a loved one who is suffering with depression in an interview with Elizabeth Bernstein, Bonds columnist from The Wall Street Journal.

"Even the happiest, healthiest, most connected families can have some tension around the holidays. So whatever you're going through, rest assured, there are lots of other people out there going through the same thing," Dr. Goldsmith said.

As Thanksgiving approaches, listen to Jacob Goldsmith, Ph.D., in conversation with Bonds columnist from The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Bernstein, discussing how to avoid family drama during the holidays.

In the December 2018 cover story of The Atlantic, Kate Julian writes about young people having less sex and "the sex recession." In her section on "hookup culture," Ms. Julian visits Dr. Alexandra Solomon's "Marriage 101" class for undergrads at Northwestern and describes a conversation with The Family Institute's graduate students.

Jessica Rohlfing Pryor, Ph.D., was quoted in a variety of media outlets about the potential risks of maladaptive perfectionism in conjunction with a campus event the Perfectly Imperfect Lab hosted at Northwestern University.

In a Business Insider article, Jayne Kinsman, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, is quoted on how jealousy can impact your own happiness. Ms. Kinsman discusses jealousy making one become selfish, which can ruin romantic relationships and interfere with work performance, especially in collaborative work environments.

Nancy Burgoyne, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist, was interviewed about how to persuade someone you love to see a doctor in Self. Dr. Burgoyne suggests strategies including leading with compassion (rather than guilt) and setting a good example through looking after your own health.

Aaron Cooper, Ph.D., Director of Child, Adolescent and Family Services at The Family Institute, commented on the revised policy on spanking announced by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"You should trust their judgment, their ethics, and their competency," Dr. Sher says. "You should feel understood. You should feel like a partner in your care."

In this article in the Women's Health Magazine, Heather Lofton, Ph.D., acknowledges the difficulty of navigating a relationship with someone who is suffering from depression, but reassures that there are ways to make it work.

Eric Beeson, Ph.D., LCP, core faculty member in the Counseling@Northwestern program at The Family Institute, has recently been awarded the prestigious NCACES Research Award by the North Central Association for Counselor Education

The American Psychological Association (APA) presents a number of awards each year in recognition of excellence in research, scholarship and service to the field. Three psychologists at The Family Institute received awards this year.

Anthony Chambers, Ph.D., ABPP, Chief Academic Officer, and Danielle Black, Ph.D., LCP, Director of Postdoctoral Fellowships, co-authored an article in the

The field of behavioral health is, in many ways, playing catch up to the rest of healthcare when it comes to tracking and reporting outcome measures. The Family Institute continues to take a leadership role in the movement toward evidence-based care and through the strength of our scientist-practitioner model.

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.

In advance of Mother's Day, Nneka McGuire asked Amy Wagner, Ph.D., LMFT, ABPP about being a stepmom on the holiday.

Executive summary

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.