Intensive Family Therapy at GAFC: The TRUST System
Treatment Teams and Professionals Recommended by Understanding Specific Therapy Needs
Note: Due to the high demand of this model, combined with the level of attention required by therapists, wait lists are common. Most clients will begin services within a month of signing up.
At GAFC, we recognize that traditional one-hour-per-week therapy sessions often fall short in meeting the complex and urgent needs of families in crisis. That’s why we’ve developed Intensive Family Therapy (IFT) through our TRUST Program—a dynamic, team-based approach designed to stabilize and strengthen families through deep, coordinated, and responsive care.
Intensive Family Therapy is a high-engagement, customized treatment model led by a licensed Family Therapist who functions as the Treatment Team Leader, guiding the therapeutic process with precision and insight.
Through this process, the family therapist will begin to develop a comprehensive and deep understanding of the needs of the family, and will assign specialized clinicians matched to the family’s unique challenges as identified during the initial assessment and ongoing care.
The TRUST model addresses the reality that healing family systems often requires more than a single session per week. This program offers multiple hours of therapy weekly, which may include:
Family sessions - including extended therapy sessions - which focus on communication, conflict resolution, parenting, and systemic healing.
There is also a possibility that combinations of a family dynamic may require therapy in addition to presenting as a family unit, for example, a step-parent and a child who are in high conflict, or parents who have couples issues
Individual sessions for children, parents, or caregivers to work through personal trauma, behavioral therapy, or mental health concerns.
The Family Therapist collaborates closely with other mental health professionals within our agency to build a treatment plan rooted in the family’s goals. Team members may include:
Child or adolescent therapists
Adult or couples counselors
Addiction specialists
Behavioral specialists
Trauma-informed clinicians
Parenting coaches
Depending on identified needs, families may receive additional evidence-based interventions, such as:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to improve parent-child relationships and manage behavior
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for behavior modification and skill-building, particularly in children with significant behavioral issues
Couples Counseling to strengthen parental relationships
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to address trauma and PTSD
Professional Mediators to assist clients in negotiating compromises, break out of gridlock, and/or assist clients in developing a system of terms or rules
The IFT format allows:
Faster identification and resolution of issues
Greater continuity of care through integrated teamwork
Who Is This For?
This program is ideal for families experiencing:
Acute conflict or instability at home
Complex trauma histories
Recurrent behavioral challenges in children or teens
Co-occurring mental health conditions across family members
Disruption in family roles due to separation, reunification, or major life changes
Who is NOT a good candidate for these services?
Families that contain members who are not willing to commit to following a treatment plan
Families who have schedules and activities to the point where multiple sessions a week are not possible
