About Family Ties
Counseling Center

Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist who posited that for a person to grow, they need an environment that provides genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. His notion of having unconditional positive regard for clients has influenced therapists for generations.

Virginia Satir, often coined “the mother of family therapy,” was a psychotherapist who advocated for the depathologizing of individuals by treating the whole family. She believed all people have an innate ability to grow, and that communication is paramount in families.

Murray Bowen was a psychiatrist and professor who is considered one of the pioneers of family therapy, positing that families are emotional units that function as systems.

Imago therapy is a relational therapy used with couples to help conflict become opportunities for healing and growth, while nurturing bonding and mutual understanding.

The Beach is a place where people go to relax and play. At FTCC, the Beach office is a dedicated sand tray room with hundreds of play figurines that can be used by both children and adults. 

Marie-Louise von Franz was a Swiss Jungian psychologist, scholar and author, best known for her psychological interpretations of fairy tales. 

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist, author, and Holocaust survivor, is best known for his book “Man’s Search for Meaning.” His contributions to psychology include an emphasis on finding meaning in order to relieve suffering and focusing on the positive rather than staying entrenched in symptoms.

The Cowlitz group space is named to acknowledge the ancestral land of the Cowlitz Tribe on which Family Ties Counseling Center sits. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the Siletz, Grand Ronde, Clackamas, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples who have been or have become a part of these lands in Oregon. Let this acknowledgement serve as a reminder of the genocide of Indigenous peoples and our present efforts to recognize, honor, reconcile, and partner with the people whose land and water we benefit from today.

Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist most known for her contributions to attachment theory, which guides much therapeutic work with intimate relationships and families.

Letta Stetter Hollingworth was an American psychologist, educator, and feminist, best known for her contributions to the psychology of women and to education of “gifted” (a term she coined) children. 

Mamie Phipps Clark was a social psychologist whose work with the Doll Test provided scientific evidence on racial preference and discrimination, and whose findings were used in the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case, ending racial segregation in schools.

Austrian Edith Kramer is considered “The Mother of Art Therapy,” whose humanist approach set her apart from others integrating art into therapy. While others believed that art could be a part of therapy, Kramer posited that art IS therapy, and used it to help people struggling with psychological disorders.

Dick Price was an American Gestalt therapist who is known for his development of Gestalt practice therapy, which combined Gestalt therapy, Buddhist practice, and hiking in nature. He co-founded the Esalen Institute, where his principles of personal integration and growth remain at the core of the institute.

American psychiatrist Aaron Beck is the father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), whose methods are widely used in the assessment and treatment of clinical depression and various anxiety disorders.

Jack Kornfield, an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism, focuses on combining loving kindness and self compassion with mindfulness, blending the wisdom of Eastern and Western psychology.

Hungarian-born psychiatrist Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy is considered one of the founders of the field of family therapy. He developed contextual family therapy, a holistic approach that combines individual psychology, systemic interactions, and relational ethics.