About DFI

Get to Know Denver Family Institute

Denver Family Institute (DFI) provides low-fee, strength-based counseling services to individuals, couples and families from all walks of life. 

DFI also provides an intensive Marriage and Family Therapy Training and Supervision Program which mentors the next generation of relational, strength-based therapists by providing quality services in their low-fee clinics. 

At Denver Family Institute, we recognize the central importance of relationships in the well being of individuals, couples, families, and communities. Additionally, we honor the diversity in relationships and of individuals in our world. We welcome students, faculty and clients from different cultures, lifestyles and backgrounds. We have a clear non-discrimination policy in our program. We integrate cultural competence and respect for diversity in all our courses and supervision. 

Denver Family Institute was established in 1982 and is a COAMFTE accredited program. Our coursework is noted for the amount of direct applicability to clinical work.

Mission Statement

Denver Family Institute (DFI) is a private, nonprofit organization that exists to strengthen relationships in our community through quality marriage and family therapy (MFT) training and services. The provision and continuous improvement of these services is the core mission of DFI.

To achieve this mission, we provide marriage and family therapy training, consultation to community agencies, and relational therapy to families, couples, and individuals regardless of income. Our focus is on strength-based, systemic therapy, rooted in multicultural, social justice, and ethical principles and practices congruent with the values of our accrediting body and the Mission of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Counseling Info

MFT Program Info

Support DFI

Denver Family Institute (DFI) seeks to integrate social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness into every aspect of our work and program. We know that our clients will come to us with a wide range of experiences, belief systems, identities, and ways of viewing the world. The ability to value, honor and work with differences is a core value and skill for marriage and family therapists. As therapists, teachers, and supervisors, we acknowledge that we inherently occupy positions of power – whether in the therapy room or the classroom. At DFI, we believe that anti-racism and the work of dismantling systems of oppression is a daily practice. We approach this task with openness and humility, knowing that this journey is a life-long process of learning, and no one ever “finishes” this work. For those of us who hold areas of power and privilege based on identity, a large component of that work is choosing to not opt out of seeing and acknowledging that systems of oppression, power and privilege are real, and hold all of us back from realizing our full humanity. 

We hold our students, faculty and staff to the professional standard of first, do no harm. An essential aspect of doing no harm is continually building an awareness of our biases, as well as the competence needed to separate personal values that should never supersede the values and lived experiences of the client. 

The following assumptions, taken from Dismantling Racism, guide our work as an organization committed to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness:

  1. We live in a toxic culture that affects us all. One dynamic of the culture is that we are discouraged from seeing it. One of our tasks is to learn to see our culture and how it teaches us to make normal that which is not and should never be normal.
  2. Intention is not the same as impact. We can have good intentions and still have a hurtful or damaging impact.
  3. We need to be critical and compassionate.
  4. Racial and social justice benefits everyone.
  5. We must walk our talk and learn from our mistakes.
  6. None of this is easy and we do it anyway.

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LGBTQIA+ Affirming Statement

Denver Family Institute affirms all identities in the LGBTQIA+ community and engages in practices to ensure our entire community (faculty, students, staff, clients, and interns) experiences DFI as LGBTQIA-informed.

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