Meet the FRI Clinical Team

Kenneth Perlmutter, Ph.D., President and Founder

Kenneth Perlmutter, PhD, Founder of the Family Recovery Institute and a licensed clinical psychologist (PSY25112), brings 30 years of experience working with individuals and families with complex psychological and behavioral health disorders. In 2008 he founded The Family Recovery Institute which provides multi-disciplinary treatment for individuals and families including dynamic therapy, family systems work, group therapies, healing workshops and clinician training. He has pioneered and validated a theory of family system woundedness with a corresponding recovery model he calls Stress-Induced Impaired Coping.

Freedom from Family Dysfunction: A Guide for Families Battling Addiction or Mental Illness was published in 2019 by Rowman & Littlefield, reprinted in paperback in 2022 and published in Estonian in 2023. He wrote the book specifically for family members who love someone battling addiction or mental illness but “want to break the cycles of codependency and relapse plaguing their dysfunctional systems.” Claudia Black, noted author and family systems thought leader declared: “Kenneth is changing the way we think about and approach families. His is a voice we all can and need to hear.”

He has overseen the design and installation of the family treatment program for Bayside Marin, Morningside Recovery, Safe Harbor Treatment Center for Women, Casa Capri/Windward Way and other national-level programs. In addition, he conducts a twice-monthly therapy group for parents of troubled teens and stuck young adults and has historically conducted an annual healing workshop for families of the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Whiteriver, AZ.

As a professional educator he has served on the graduate faculty for San Francisco State University’s Counseling Department and as Associate Professor of Chemical Dependency Studies at Cal State East Bay.

He has held executive clinical positions including founding Family Program and Clinical Director for Alta Mira Recovery Programs in Sausalito, CA, 10 years in a clinical/management role at the Mind Therapy Clinic in Corte Madera, CA, a 14-year tenure for the Boyer House Foundation including Clinical Milieu and Admissions Director, and received an in-depth look at the American treatment industry while serving on the Sierra Tucson Clinical Outreach Team, 2005-2007.

Email Dr. Perlmutter: FamRecovery@gmail.com or call 415-322-0939

Jesse Rentz, PsyD. Staff Psychologist

Dr. Jesse Rentz is a licensed Psychologist in California and Tennessee.  He received his doctoral degree and training in Psychodynamic Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). In addition, he has a Masters in Family Therapy (MFT) from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.  Following completion of his doctorate, he worked at the Mind Therapy Clinic (MTC) in Marin where he provided individual, couple and family therapy in both their Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and individual outpatient service. While at MTC, led a men’s process group and a co-ed process group called Authentic Relating he for multiple years.

Dr. Rentz integrates his knowledge of relational psychodynamic therapy, existential therapy, family systems and addiction to provide a holistic approach to individual and group psychotherapy. He has extensive experience providing individual therapy to adults and teenagers suffering from anxiety, depression and addiction, personality disorders, as well as helping members of wounded families reconnect.

Dr. Rentz leads the Family Recovery Institute’s men’s group open to men or individuals identifying as male 18 years of age and older. The group is conducted remotely (secure video) and can be attended by men in either Tennessee or California. Common issues participants bring include marriage and partnership concerns, business and professional challenges, substance use/addiction, depression, anxiety, and the wounds of childhood.

To learn more about Dr. Rentz and the group please call (415) 555-1212 or email jrentzmen@gmail.com.

Jacqueline Perlmutter, RAS, DASD, Addiction Specialist, Spiritual Director

Jacqueline Perlmutter serves as the Institute’s addiction specialist and spiritual director. She specializes in holistic, integrated care, incorporating evidence-based approaches including Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Radical Self-Acceptance, Motivational Interviewing, family systems, and ecopsychology, to guide her clients toward greater health and sustainable recovery. She is also a certified ecotherapist.

Jacqueline is a trained group facilitator for Seeking Safety™ trauma recovery groups, SMART Recovery™ and Centering Meditation™. She has served on many non-profit boards and advocacy coalitions including the Marin Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) Coalition, the Sonoma County Advisory Board on Alcohol & Other Drug Problems, WAAT (Women’s Association for Addiction Treatment) and Ohlhoff House Treatment Programs in San Francisco.

Jacqueline draws upon her three decades of long-term recovery to inform her model and method for the spiritual journey of addiction recovery and/or her clients’ search for meaning and reconnection with their authentic, sacred self.

Our Founder, Dr Kenneth Perlmutter, describes being blessed to be married to her for the past 38 years.

Susan Carroll, MA, Doctoral Candidate, Psychological Associate

Susan worked as an elementary school educator before returning to graduate school to study psychology in pursuit of her doctorate in clinical psychology at California School of Professional Psychology. Since 2014 Susan has worked with family violence, in high acuity adolescent residential treatment, with interpersonal trauma, and high conflict families in family court. Susan’s academic research investigates trauma-informed and resilience building child custody.

Originally from Huntington Beach and a 5th generation Californian, Susan moved to San Francisco to study rhetoric at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) Susan raised three children in the Bay Area, all of whom are thriving, happily-married adults.

Susan grounds herself in the outdoors, being on the water, and hiking to hidden spots with her black lab Aengus Grá. She also enjoys cooking and listening to music,.

Susan is a registered Psychological Associate (PSB94027894) working under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Perlmutter (PSY25112). Phone her at 415.578.5783 or Carroll.Susan.P@outlook.com

Kevin Lecy, Psy.D., Staff Psychologist

A licensed clinical psychologist (PSY31987) Dr. Lecy earned his doctorate in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) in San Francisco. He is originally from “outdoorsy” Colorado, now in the Bay Area for more than 10 years. He has enjoyed a diverse set of clinical experiences in the mental health field.

He completed a pre-doctoral internship at San Quentin State Prison, providing individual and group psychotherapy for male inmates. Common psychological issues faced with these clients included PTSD and Complex PTSD, Substance Abuse, Depression, Anxiety, and Existential struggles. It was here that he learned the power of compassionate healing.

Prior to San Quentin he received intensive training at St. Helena Hospital Center for Behavioral Health (CBH), an acute, short-term inpatient behavioral health hospital. His patients included people of all ages, children to seniors, challenged by severe mental illness. Here he learned “to foster strength and safety in the face of sheer terror and pain.”

Prior to that he logged many years of clinical experience in East Bay school districts working with children and teenagers expressing emotional disturbance, along with their families. This included providing individual and family therapy, psychodiagnostic testing, group therapy, consultation and various multidisciplinary treatment team meetings including IEPs. It was here he says he “learned the strength of community.”

Lastly, he has worked with and researched the intersection of chronic physical illness/disability and mental health. His particular focus involves stress and pain management in autoimmune disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis.

Email Dr. Lecy at drlecy@outlook.com or his direct voice mail 415-413-7072