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Family and Couples Treatment Services Program (FACTS)

Our training mission in the Family and Couples Treatment Services Program (FACTS) is to provide mental health professionals with opportunities to expand their skills in the treatment of families and couples. We welcome applications from clinicians who work in private practice, agencies, hospitals and free-standing mental health clinics. We have a diverse curriculum that includes a wide variety of the most current and effective practices in the field. We are committed to racial, ethnic, age and gender, and sexual identity diversity in our trainee cohorts.

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FACTS Training Program

In 1982, ICP was the first NYC psychoanalytic institute to open its doors to family and couples therapy training. Back then this was an extremely radical idea forged out of ICP’s mission to address peoples’ real problems in living. From these roots FACTS – the Family and Couples Treatment and Training Service – emphasized the importance of working with clients through an empathic-relational perspective.

As the family and couples field progresses, FACTS builds on its interpersonal foundation, featuring a strength-based, solution-focused perspective. The FACTS program reflects the optimism and resilience that has characterized ICP’s history as an institution.

Our two-year program integrates clinical theory and technique used in approaches such as EFT, IFS, Gottman, narrative, trauma-informed treatment, harm-reduction and motivational interviewing and much more.

FACTS training runs for 32 weeks each year from mid-September through mid-June. Clinical supervision is provided through the entire year.

We utilize lectures, readings, videos, role playing and explorations of the trainee’s own family of origin. Trainees engage in supervised clinical work with couples and/or families.

Group supervision and discussion integrate theory and practice. Our training provides opportunities to work in specialized areas of family and couple therapy.

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Academic Calendar

Classes meet on Thursdays from 9:00 am—12:45 PM. 1 hour and 45 minutes is spent in group supervision and the other hour and 45 minutes is spent with academic presentations. Classes run for 32 weeks from mid-September through mid-June and supervision typically runs throughout the whole year. Class size is limited to 12 trainees.

We require you to make yourself available to carry two clinical cases. Clinical treatment can be done in-person or remotely.

Eligibility/Program Requirements

A graduate degree in a mental health or related discipline is required.

Tuition and Expenses/Fees

Check back for 2024/25 Tuition and Fees
Tuition is subject to change annually.
The tuition covers course work and group supervision. Candidates are responsible for their own personal therapy and individual supervision fees.
Please note that expenses for training directly related to one’s profession may be considered a tax-deductible expense.

Graduation Requirements

A certificate in Family and Couples Treatment is awarded upon completion of the program.

Attendance:
FACTS training consists of a two-year course of study for 32 weeks each year from mid-September through mid-June. For didactic courses and supervision, the attendance policy will be stated in the syllabus. 
Case Requirements:
We require you to make yourself available to carry a minimum of 2 clinical cases

Scholarships and Financial Aid

FACTS offers a yearly E. Kitch Childs Scholarship for a person of color who aspires to be a FACTS trainee, but who otherwise would not be able to attend due to financial constraints. It provides full tuition coverage for two years to complete the certificate program.

In the interest of encouraging the most diverse and inclusive trainee cohort, we welcome all who need financial assistance to apply for tuition reduction.

For more information, please contact our Program Manager at facts@icpnyc.org.

For more information about scholarships and tuition assistance, please click here.

Curriculum

The first and second year of the training program is taught by various instructors who specialize in the topic they are teaching. Below is a selection of modules taught in both years of the 2-Year Training Program.
*These modules are subject to change on a yearly basis*

First Year

Second Year

Topics and Instructors

WEEKS 1, 2:
Attachment: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 3-4:
Genograms/Family Life Cycle: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEK 5:
Systems Theory: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 6, 7:
Levels of Intervention/Assigning Tasks: Roberta Estar, PHD

WEEK 8:
Bowenian Theory: Individuation and Triangles: Alison Kalfus, LCSW

WEEK 9:
Generational Transmission: Alison Kalfus, LCSW

WEEK 10:
A Systemic Look at Substance Misuse: Alison Kalfus, LCSW

WEEKS 11-12:
Communication: Building Emotional Safety: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEK 13:
Communication: Emotional Nutrition: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 14-16:
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT): Linda Bradley, LCSW

WEEKS 17-18:
Neuroscience for Clinicians: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEK 19:
Trauma and Empathic Listening: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 20-21: Gender: TBD

WEEKS 22-23:
Intro to Working with Transgender Clients: Carl Williamson, LMHC

WEEK 24:
The Intersection of Personal/Social Location and Identity: Rosa Bramble, LCSW

WEEK 25:
Cultural Humility: Rosa Bramble, LCSW

WEEK 26:
Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Couples: Anna Kramarsky, PHD

WEEK 27-28:
Psychopharmacology for Therapists (w/ 2nd Year): Lisa Wang, MD

WEEK 29:
Psychedelic Therapy with Couples: Eva Dillon, LCSW, CST

WEEK 30:
Object Relations: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEK 31:
Internal Family Systems- Part: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 32-33:
Countertransference: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 34-35:
Sexual Issues: Juliana Neiman, MA, LMFT, LMHC

Topics and Instructors

WEEKS 1-2:
Motivational Interviewing and Harm Reduction Techniques in Substance Abuse Tx: Alison Kalfus, LCSW

WEEK 3:
Self Psychology: Michael Nott, LCSW

WEEKS 4-5:
The Frame: Michael Nott, LCSW

WEEKS 6-7:
Somatic Approaches to Self-Regulation: Judi Price, LCSW

WEEKS 8-9:
Narrative Therapy: Judith Friedman, Ed.D and Erika Steuerman, LCSW

WEEKS 10-11:
Infidelity: Linda Bradley, LCSW

WEEKS 12-13:
Sexual Issues Part 2: Juliana Neiman, LMFT

WEEKS 14-16:
Emotional Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) Part 2: Linda Bradley, LCSW

WEEKS 17-18:
Divorce, Loss, and Trauma: LouAnn Smith, LCSW and Abby Strauss, LMSW

WEEK 19:
Non-Monogamy: Kristin Keefe, LCSW

WEEKS 20-21:
Parenting Issues: Linda Bradley, LCSW and Alison Kalfus, LCSW

WEEKS 22-23:
An Integrative Approach to Eating Disorders: Jake Pine, LCSW

WEEK 24:
Working with Chronic Illness: Eva Kant, LCSW

WEEKS 25-26:
Mindfulness in Family and Couples Work: Alison Pepper, LCSW

WEEKS 27-28:
Psychopharmacology for Therapists (w/ 1st Year): Lisa Wang, MD

WEEKS 29-30:
Working with Sexual Trauma: Rachel Youree, LCSW

WEEK 31-32:
Three Dimensional Communication: Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD

WEEKS 33-34:
Internal Family Systems: Liz Phillips, RP

Application Process

To apply to the FACTS Two-Year Program, we require the following:

Current Resume
Three letters of recommendation
Copy of Graduate Diploma
License or Limited Permit
Application fee of $75

Download an Application

Pay Application Fee

Application Deadline: Rolling, with new applications accepted for the 2024-2025 academic year from April 2024 onward.

2024-2025 Information Sessions
Details will be announced in early 2024.

Ready to apply?
Access the application and pay the application fee using the buttons above.

For more information about our program, the application process, or scholarships/financial aid: Contact our Program Manager at facts@icpnyc.org

Executive Committee, Faculty and Supervisors

Executive Committee

Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD, Co-Director

Marty Babits has published two books on couple work, numerous academic articles and contributed over 70 pieces to the Psychology Today Website. He has taught in graduate programs at Columbia University, Hunter College and Long Island University. He is a graduate of the FACTS program and has been affiliated with ICP since 1995.

Alison Kalfus, LCSW, Co-Director

Alison Kalfus, LCSW, is a FACTS supervisor, instructor, and senior staff member at ICP, in addition to being the co-director of the FACTS division. She is also a former Faculty Advisor at the Fordham School of Social Services, and is in private practice where she sees couples, families, and individuals. Areas of specialization include couples work, pre-marital counseling, parenting, working with addictive tendencies, postpartum depression/anxiety, and women's mental health throughout the lifecycle.

Ella Lasky, Ph.D.

Ella Lasky, PhD trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy at NYU’s PostDoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and she studied couples therapy at the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy. She has been a member of the FACTS program since 1984 and over the years she has served as a teacher, supervisor and Co-Director of the program. In addition, Dr. Lasky served as a supervisor in the Four Year Psychoanalytic program and the Two Year Psychodynamic program at ICP. Dr. Lasky has been listed in Who’s Who of American Women, has authored 13 articles on various clinical issues and edited a book on gender. She has a special interest in helping couples understand their own and one another’s financial values, attitudes and behavior. Ella has a private practice on the Upper West Side.

Judith Friedman, Ed.D.

Dr. Judith Friedman is the Founding Director of the Training Program of the Family and Couples Division (FACTS) of ICP. She continued to serve as Director for over twenty-five years, training hundreds of psychotherapists during this time. In addition, she formerly became a specialist in the treatment of trauma, supervising and teaching in the ICP Trauma Treatment Program in which she also served as Clinical Coordinator. Judith has an active private practice specializing in family/couples therapy and the treatment of trauma.

LouAnn Smith, LCSW

LouAnn Smith, LCSW has a psychotherapy and divorce/family mediation practice in Union Square, NYC. Her practice includes working with individuals, couples, and families as well as supervision to therapists. LouAnn is on the Executive Committee at FACTS (ICP) where she supervises as well as teaches about Divorce and Trauma. Additionally, she teaches and provides supervision in the Couple Therapy program at the Training Institute for Mental Health Practitioners - teaching “Delving into Sexuality with Couples. LouAnn is a founding member of the Daughter/Mother Clinical Research Team. She has developed curriculum and facilitates workshops for newly married couples in her online Early Marriage Workshops. LouAnn is a graduate of N.Y.U School of Social Work ’80. She has certifications in Clinical Supervision, Group Therapy, Couple and Family Therapy (ICP), EMDR, and Divorce Mediation. She is working toward certification in Sex Therapy.

Judi Price, LCSW

Judi Price was trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy at the Metropolitan Institute for Training in Mental Health and in Family & Couples Therapy at ICP where she has been affiliated since 1986. In the FACTS program she has been a staff therapist, Intake therapist, Supervisor, Teacher, member of the Executive Committee and founding member of the Daughter-Mother Project. She is also an integrative trauma therapist and has been trained in mindfulness, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, AEDP, IFS and parts work.

Fran Hamburg, MS, MSW, LCSW

Fran Hamburg M.S., MSW, LCSW Hunter College, M.S., Dance Movement Therapy Hunter College, Master of Social Work ICP- CSAB and FACTS training programs Certified EMDR Training: Emotionally Focused Therapy Fran has been in private practice working with families, couples and individuals for over thirty five years. A senior supervisor in the FACTS division, she has also been a clinical supervisor at Yeshiva university, Hunter College; instructor at NYU, Hunter College; and former eating disorder specialist at Columbia University. In addition, Fran’s extensive training in nonverbal therapies and experience as professional dancer with Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Companies and a Black Belt in Aikido, informs her clinical practice.

Roberta Estar, Ph.D.

Roberta Estar, PhD, is a FACTS faculty member and a member of the Board of Directors of ICP. She heads up the Daughter-Mother Project at FACTS which specializes in strengthening and healing the daughter-mother relationship through workshops and individual treatment. She is in private practice in Manhattan and Old Bridge, NJ and works with couples, families and individuals. Her specialty is transitions of all kinds with a focus on the quality of relationships: with one’s self, between partners or spouses, friends or work mates, and among family members. She champions women’s development throughout the life cycle, and helps others to bring their purpose to light. Her approach is interactive, creative, and supportively challenging.

Linda Bradley, LCSW

Linda Bradley, LCSW is a psychoanalyst. She is also a graduate of the family and couples treatment services two-year training program at ICP, where she is an instructor and a supervisor. She teaches infidelity and parenting to trainees.

Michael Nott, LCSW

Michael Nott, LCSW, is a FACTS graduate and currently serves FACTS as a staff member, a supervisor, and as coordinator of the intake team. He has been trained in a number of treatment modalities, including Internal Family Systems and Emotionally Focused Therapy. He has a private practice in which he treats couples, families and individuals, and has also taught courses in couples therapy and trauma on the Master’s Degree level.

Faculty and Supervisors

Alison Kalfus, LCSW, Co-Director
Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD, Co-Director
Abby Strauss, LMSW
Alison Pepper
Anna Kramarksy, Ph.D.
Eva Dillon, LCSW, CST
Eva Kant, LCSW-R
Jake Pine, LCSW
Judi Price, LCSW
Judith Friedman, Ed.D.
Juliana Neiman, MA, LMFT, LMHC
Kristin Keefe, MA, LMHC
Linda Bradley, LCSW
Lisa Wang, MD
LouAnn Smith, LCSW
Michael Nott, LCSW
Rachel Youree, LCSW
Roberta Estar, Ph.D

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