Individual Therapy

Dr. Perlmutter and the team at the Family Recovery Institute are specialists in individual treatment and psychotherapy.

We create a unique treatment plan based on your, the client’s, goals. Everyone seems to say that, but what makes our team different?

Collaboration

Team members have access to each other in weekly staff sessions. We make use of our shared experience to support each other’s work, thereby drawing on each other’s knowledge, therapeutic wisdom and sensibilities. Confidentiality is always maintained. In addition, Dr. Perlmutter is a seasoned case conferences leader for professionals working across disciplines: psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis, case management, social work, occupational therapy, art therapy, movement therapy, play therapy, and psychodrama. His work and perspective is informed by nearly 30 years of operating in these various clinical spheres.

Experience

As the staff bios reveal, our cross-cultural, eclectic mix of younger and older staff with a wide variety of practice settings – clinics, residential treatment, prison and other locked facilities, community mental health, hospital, treatment centers, extended care programs, sober living environments, assisted independent living communities, and private practice – gives us the hands-on experience to consider you and your needs from a directly obtained understanding of the variety experienced in the human condition.

Integrity

FRI staffers operate at the highest levels of personal and professional integrity. We value your trust in us and demonstrate that through our commitment to professionalism, honesty, and open communication. Our policies and procedures will be explained in written and verbal detail. Our standards will not be compromised.

Innovation

FRI staff works hard to stay informed, always be learning, and finding ways to incorporate useful and practice-enhancing technology. In July 2017, we implemented a highly secured electronic health record system to ensure that protected health information remains secure and protected. In addition, Dr. Perlmutter spent 27 hours of classroom study in 2017 at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, participating in an 18-session seminar entitled “Seasoned Clinicians.” Senior members of the Center’s staff led the seminars in four-week sessions. This served as a high-level case conference. Lastly, the Institute plans to offer a weekly case conference to family-oriented practitioners beginning in the Fall of 2018. Clinicians around the country will be able to attend using video conferencing.

Our individual treatment services are customized to meet your needs. One way to put your goals into words is to ask yourself some of the following questions:

  • What am I struggling with? What keeps me up at night?

  • Is someone telling me to change; and if so, change what? Do I agree that would be a good idea to do something about?

  • Is there a specific behavior, relationship, or situation I know I must change?

  • What have I tried so far to change things?

  • If I’ve had therapy in the past, what might I want to be different about it this time?

  • What makes me think therapy would be helpful?

  • What are some of my fears or worries about entering therapy?

When you’ve made a start on a few of your answers, schedule an initial assessment and planning session with one of us and we’ll talk this over in person. In this way we have the best chance of getting off to a good start with a shared sense of purpose or direction. Sometimes, though, things can feel much more vague and all you know is that things aren’t okay and your intuition says find someone to talk to. Please know our combination of training and skills means it’s very likely we can help you approach these questions rather quickly, if we can form a good working alliance.

Common situations people bring to us for individual therapy:

  • Substance abuse and addiction, including relapse after long-term sobriety

  • Relationship conflicts, especially in intimate partnerships and the family

  • Workplace challenges, particularly around leadership, authority, and performance

  • Behavioral problems including impaired coping, self-harm, self-defeating patterns, insatiability, hostility and compassion fatigue

  • Longstanding patterns of loss including unresolved grief or childhood interruptions of the sense of safety (trauma)

  • Mood difficulties including anxiety and/or depression

  • Child-rearing difficulties including young adult failure to launch

  • Trauma-related problems including PTSD, dissociation, sleep disturbance

  • Severe recent losses or a pattern of recurring losses or setbacks

  • Family or personal transitions: Children moving out or returning, job change, remarriage or creating a blended family, aging parents

  • Trauma or major loss in a family including suicide, illness (including mental illness), divorce or marital conflict, estrangements, inter-generational disputes or family business battles

With nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Perlmutter leads the FRI team. Our specialties combine psychodynamic, family systems, cognitive-behavioral, peer support and spiritual methods to help our clients achieve their goals. This is often long-term challenging work. We pride ourselves on our ability to help people with complex conditions and circumstances. Please call 415-322-0939 for a phone consultation, or email us, or schedule an initial session on our client portal at www.FamilyRecoveryInstitute.com.