Northwestern University Mental Health Programs | Online

 Learn More About The Family Institute and Northwestern

The Family Institute is an intellectual hub for creating and translating scientific, systemically informed knowledge about individuals, couples and families into the best teaching and clinical practice available.

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GMAT/GRE not required.

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Four Start Dates

January, April, June, September

Top 10

Best national university

CACREP-Accredited

Master of Arts in Counseling

COAMFTE-Accredited

Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy

The Family Institute at Work

We bring together the right partners to support children, adults, couples and families across the lifespan.

What Sets the Family Institute Apart?

Researchers

Research is at the core of our mission

Educators

Preparing the next generation of licensed mental health professionals

Therapists

Grounded in evidence-based practices and measurement-informed therapy

Free Mental Health Services for Individuals and Families

Our licensed therapists and graduate-level therapists in training provide compassionate, evidence-based care to ensure that cost is never a barrier to mental wellness.

1965

The Family Institute's Foundation

Up to US$1.7 Million

Institute Scholarships

1,000+

Graduate Students as of 2023

The Family Institute's Focus on Research

Research is an integral part of The Family Institute's mission; researchers and scholars work together collaboratively and as a team with clinicians and students to improve behavioral health outcomes.

56 journal articles/book chapters last year

11 approved research projects

18 leadership positions in national organizations

42 presentations at conferences last year

Research Labs

The Family Institute at Northwestern University and the Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies at Northwestern University house a variety of research labs as well as encourage academic inquiry and publication.

This project is a national, empirically supported effort to significantly and dramatically reduce intimate partner violence and sexual misconduct. We are disseminating and evaluating an effective intervention for reducing domestic violence for men court-mandated to treatment.

The lab’s research focuses on studying how couples help each other cope with stress and change, including life transitions, and how couples manage or recover from mental and physical health problems. The lab focuses on applied research that identifies practical ways couples help each other navigate life’s challenges.

The Emotional Availability and Responsiveness (EAR) Lab aims to understand the emotional experiences and processes of couples, families and family therapists with the goal of increasing emotional availability and responsiveness. 



The Epstein Center for Psychotherapy Change is an international leader in feedback research and empirically-informed psychotherapy. Our measurement systems set a worldwide benchmark for assessing individuals, couples and families, for tracking change over the course of therapy, and for studying therapists' behavior.

Our research investigates behavioral and interpersonal models of stress and depression among individuals of underrepresented and/or marginalized groups. The goal of this research is to identify the social and psychological mechanisms by which cultural change and adaptation occur and their relationship to mental health.

Get Admission and Tuition Information

Answer a few quick questions to get more information about the online mental health master’s program.

GMAT/GRE not required.

Get Admission and Tuition Information

Answer a few quick questions to get more information about the online mental health master’s program.

GMAT/GRE not required.