MRI's newest center, PACTS - Parent, Adolescent, and Child Therapeutic Solutions, opened in March 2005, with a timely and much needed focus on the family.

It was originally under the direction of Stephanie Rudolph, MFT offering mental health counseling to at-risk youth and their families in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. The goals of the program are to help families learn new skills to cope with the ongoing risk factors in their communities, including gang affiliation, crime and substance abuse, in a way that solidifies family structure and heals problematic family interactions.

Since it's inception this program has had a close relationship with the Ravenswood City School District and, in the last couple of years the program has developed a relationship with 'Family Connections' a bilingual program serving families with young children in East Palo Alto. Using the brief therapy model for focused interventions mostly with the parents of the children, the family receives tools to rebuild strained or damaged relationship with the children, between the parents or whomever is presenting the original difficulty. The PACTS staff is also available for some community education and training of staff members in the schools.

(650) 321-3325 or email kschlanger@igc.org