Newswise — EVANSTON, IL (March 1, 2016) – The Family Institute at Northwestern University (TFI) and its Board of Directors today announced the transition of its Chief Executive Officer role from William M. Pinsof, PhD, to Jana L. Jones, currently President of TFI. Dr. Pinsof will continue as Chief Clinical Scientist, President of the Epstein Center for Psychotherapy Change and Staff Therapist. The transition is effective as of March 1, 2016.
“I am proud of everything that we have accomplished during the past 40 years and am proud to have held the leadership role for the past 30 years,” said Dr. Pinsof. “I love the Institute and its mission and I look forward to continuing my work and furthering the mission.”
Dr. Pinsof served as President since 1986, and as CEO since 2014. He joined TFI in 1975 as a clinical supervisor, teacher and therapist. During his tenure, Dr. Pinsof helped the Institute achieve a number of milestones, including developing our affiliation with Northwestern University; creating our Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies at Northwestern University, the home for our two Master’s Programs; building our headquarters on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston; expanding TFI to four locations; increasing our staff from 20 part-time employees to more than 100 full-time employees; increasing our budget from $500,000 to $15 million; and building our clinical practice to over 85,000 sessions per year.
“Working closely with Bill as past Board Chair, I was always inspired by his visionary and dynamic leadership,” said James H. Feldman, TFI Board member. “His dedication to and passion for family therapy and research has laid the groundwork for The Family Institute to continue its mission for years to come.”
A scientist-practitioner, Dr. Pinsof believes in translating scientific-informed knowledge about individuals, couples and families into the best teaching and clinical methods, something he has carried into the clinical approaches used at the Institute. He co-developed our Integrative Problem-Centered Metaframeworks (IPCM) with Douglas Breunlin and other colleagues at TFI. His own research studies how people change over the course of therapy. As such, he developed the STIC® (Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change), which monitors change in clients’ personal and relationship functioning, allowing therapists to monitor progress and make research-based treatment choices.
Dr. Pinsof has been a member of the editorial boards of the most prestigious journals in the field: Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Family Process and Journal of Family Psychology. He has published numerous scientific articles and chapters in key books and has published three leading texts in family therapy and family psychology.
“Like anyone else who has had the good fortune to work with Bill, I have greatly benefited from his wisdom, thought-provoking vision and mentorship,” said Adam Hecktman, TFI Board Chair. “As a long-time, well-respected leader in the fields of family therapy and family psychology, he grew The Family Institute into the world-class institute for clinical service, education and research that it is today.”
Upon Dr. Pinsof’s recommendation, TFI’s Board of Directors unanimously approved Ms. Jones as Chief Executive, effective March 1, 2016. Ms. Jones has served as President since 2014.
“I am confident Jana is the right person to lead the Institute into its next phase as a world class mental health care system,” said Dr. Pinsof. “Her passion for our mission and her vision, coupled with her expertise in and knowledge of health care and technology, make her the ideal person to succeed me as CEO.”
Ms. Jones joined The Family Institute in 2014. She has over 25 years of entrepreneurial healthcare leadership. She received her undergraduate degree from Penn State and a Master’s degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University in Chicago. From Rush she went to Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield in Rochester, New York, where, over the course of 14 years, she became a senior executive responsible for both growing the business and improving the health of the members they served. She also created and was CEO of two health care technology companies dedicated to using information technology to improve health outcomes and to increase patients’ engagement in their own health care.
“Working to improve the health of others has always been my passion,” said Ms. Jones. “I am enthusiastic to now focus my talent and energy on strengthening and building a mission-driven organization like The Family Institute.”
The Institute’s Board of Directors strongly believe in the success of the leadership transition. “Jana has the exact right background to take the helm of The Family Institute,” said Mr. Hecktman. “She is a thoughtful, proven and strategic leader who knows what is required to take the Institute to the next level.”
“Jana offers the right balance of continuity and new directions as the Institute moves forward,” added Mr. Feldman. “Her strategic thinking, healthcare expertise and unflagging commitment make her an excellent choice as Chief Executive to advance the mission of The Family Institute.”
With her background in healthcare and knowledge of running an organization, Ms. Jones will help TFI strive to be an even stronger mental health system dedicated to clinical and organizational excellence as well as thought leadership and scientific innovation.
Renowned for both its practice and its thinking, The Family Institute is built upon the model of integrated family-based therapy. The Institute is dedicated to strengthening and healing families and individuals from all walks of life through exceptional service, in-depth training of mental health professionals and cutting-edge research.
To contact Dr. Pinsof or Ms. Jones for an interview, please contact Cyndi Schu, Director of Public Relations at The Family Institute, at [email protected] or 312-609-5300 ext. 483.
ABOUT THE FAMILY INSTITUTE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY –The Family Institute at Northwestern University (www.family-institute.org) is committed to strengthening and healing families and individuals from all walks of life through clinical service, education and research. An affiliate of Northwestern University, The Family Institute is a unique, innovative not-for-profit organization, governed by its own independent Board of Directors and responsible for its own funding. The Institute offers a wide range of high quality mental health counseling through our staff practice and our sliding-fee scale Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic, where we are committed to serving at-risk, under-resourced communities. The Family Institute also operates two nationally-renowned graduate programs in marriage and family therapy and counseling psychology in affiliation with Northwestern University, and conducts cutting-edge research projects that lead to a better understanding and treatment of mental health issues.
RSS