Family Systems Therapy, offered at the Family Recovery Institute as part of its Family Therapy programming, is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that views individuals within the context of their immediate family relationships. Developed by noted psychiatrist Murray Bowen (1913-1990), this modality is rooted in the belief that family members are interconnected, and each person's behavior affects, and is affected by, the other’s.

As parents of troubled teens or stuck young adults we often struggle with the competing efforts of protecting our kids from risk or danger and empowering them to face life, its challenges, and sometimes its consequences (from which we hope they’ll learn). This is a tricky balance, especially when our problematic offspring either demonstrate recklessness, e.g., putting themselves in harm’s way, or, challenge us as being too controlling and depriving them of age-appropriate activities. How does one find the balance?

Addictions, compulsions, and mental illness generally show up in families wounded by legacies of loss and illness frequently going back several generations. A family system with addiction in its DNA manifests a cluster of environmental characteristics which can be thought of as expressions of the system’s distress.