The Institute for Individual and Family Counseling (IIFC) has been an important and valued part of the University of Miami’s community outreach commitment. At this time, a decision has been made to suspend IIFC’s services for one year, starting July 30, 2022. For almost half a century, the IIFC, which is housed in the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies within the School of Education and Human Development, has provided low-cost counseling services to the local community while providing a model-training environment for graduate students in Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Counseling Psychology. The School of Education and Human Development is committed to resume IIFC’s outreach and training services after a one-year hiatus. All records continue to remain available by contacting the UM IIFC at 305-284-6949 and/or iifc_general@miami.edu.
Welcome to the IIFC!
Our clinic is available to individuals, couples, and families throughout the Miami community. If you are a University of Miami student, please refer to the Counseling Center. If you are a University of Miami employee, please first contact the UM Employee Assistance Program at 305-284-6604. Clients can refer themselves for services, and we gladly accept referrals from other health professionals. All clients undergo a phone screening to determine appropriateness for our clinic and for the best possible care.
Interested in Services?
Please use this form to contact us if you are a potential client or would like to make a referral. Following completion of this form and once we have an opening for service, you will be contacted by a staff member for a phone screening to ensure our services are a good fit for you.
Because the IIFC is a training center, utmost care is taken to ensure we can provide appropriate services. Clients who are actively suicidal, homicidal, or experiencing severe mental illness will be referred to a more suitable clinic.
All of our therapists are supervised by licensed psychologists. To facilitate supervision, all sessions must be video recorded. The information discussed in supervision will not be shared with anyone else outside of supervision.
If you have questions about our services, please call (305) 284-6949.
One of our IIFC staff will return your call as soon as possible. We do not have a full-time staffed telephone number nor 24/7 emergency coverage.
Before Your First Session
Initial Paperwork: Prior to your first session, clinic staff will ask you to complete some paperwork to better understand you. You will be sent an email with the link to these forms to be completed.
Payment: Prior to your first session, the staff therapist will ask you to pay the initial intake fee. All payments are needed prior to services being rendered.
The Intake Session
Unless otherwise specified, everything that you share with your therapist is confidential, meaning that your therapist will not share that information with anyone else without your permission. There are a few limits to confidentiality that your therapist will discuss with you in the first session. These include if you disclose abuse to the elderly or children, if you disclose plans to hurt yourself or others, and if the records are subpoenaed by the court.
After discussing the more structural aspects of therapy, your therapist will likely spend the remainder of the session seeking to understand you and why you are coming to therapy now. Your therapist will ask you many questions and seek to answer any questions you have about therapy. At the conclusion of your first session, you and your therapist may discuss days or times that work well for future appointments. Following this meeting, your therapist will have a consultation with his/her supervisor to review your needs. There are times that a supervisor decides that someone is better treated at another agency or by another provider, depending on the needs of the client and the resources available at the IIFC. Our therapists are graduate students in training and may not have the level of proficiency needed to treat some individuals.
Request an Appointment
To request services, please complete the form below. This form should be completed by the potential client, or if the client is a minor, with the help of the minor’s parent or legal guardian. Incomplete forms will not be processed.
If you have any questions about the form, you can leave us a voicemail at (305) 284-6949. Completed forms are regularly review by clinic staff. As soon as there is an opening for service, the potential client will be contacted to complete a telephone screening.
Request an appointment here.