Rainbow Families

Rainbow Families is a program of The Family Institute at Northwestern University, a premier center devoted to family and couples therapy, community outreach, research and the education of family therapists. Our mission is to strengthen and heal families from all walks of life.

If you're a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parent, you know that the child-rearing journey offers unique challenges. The Rainbow Families program aims to help you understand and effectively respond to these challenges in ways that promote your family's well-being. Our Kaleidoscope blog and our team of experienced professionals are here to support you around issues like:

• How (and when) to come out to your children
• Preparing your kids for their friends' inevitable questions
• Helping your sons and daughters understand their origins
• How your sexual orientation/gender identity impacts their own
• Coping with the heterosexism of schools, camps, and community organizations
• Should same-sex households provide opposite-sex influences?
• Challenges in everyday child management and child rearing

At The Family Institute, we've been supporting LGBT people and their families for decades. We take seriously our stated core value that "family takes many forms, and is not limited by the boundaries of biology and marriage." Our official policy of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity is what we practice at all our Chicagoland locations: Evanston, downtown Chicago, Northbrook and  LaGrange Park

Rainbow Families are changing the world, shaping a culture that defines and values families based solely on the love and commitment parents bring to their kids. By being part of our Rainbow Families email list (sign up at right), you'll receive each new Kaleidoscope post plus notices of events of interest offered here at The Family Institute and at other venues throughout Chicagoland. Help us expand our outreach by telling your friends about this site.

Program Therapists

• Aaron Cooper, PhD, LCP
• Shayna Goldstein, LMFT
• Karen Krefman, LMFT
• Cheryl Rampage, PhD, LCP

For more information, contact Dr. Aaron Cooper, Program Director, at 847-733-4300, ext. 1118 or email acooper@family-institute.org.