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Institute for Healthy Families Receives Generous $5,000 Matching Grant!
Please join us to help meet our $10,000 goal by December 31 with a tax-deductible donation
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| Every year, the Institute for Healthy Families hosts several healing retreats to help our clients, and their families, Restore Hope in the Hurting Home. This year, one of our generous donors has pledged a $5,000 Matching Grant! That means, for every dollar we raise, our donor will match it dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000!
You might ask, where is my money going?
Our largest expenses each year are our annual Break-Free Your Inner Child healing retreat for men and our Key to Your Child's Heart healing retreat for parents. Both of these retreats incur large expenses to host, which we pass onto our clients in the form of registration fees. However, not all of our clients can afford the cost to attend the retreat.
Even though we keep our costs very low (significantly lower than what is considered industry-standard for similar therapeutic retreats), many of our clients still struggle to afford the cost to attend. Some of our clients also live outside of the United States and incur travel and lodging expenses, so providing them a scholarship greatly reduces their expense so they may attend.
Why is Institute for Healthy Families Unique?
Institute for Healthy Families is one of the only therapeutic organizations that employs a comprehensive and wholistic family approach to healing for men and women that struggle with sexual and/or gender identity conflicts. IHF believes that in order to Restore Hope in the Hurting Home, fathers, mothers, and siblings all need to experience healing.
But don't take our word for it! Here is what one father had to say about our parents retreat:
I didn't realize how much of my identity, beliefs, values, and behaviors as an adult were tied to my childhood experience. Having been able to understand the background of my childhood can be reviewed and reprocessed really helped me to break free of some bad habits, bad beliefs, and grow as a person. I also became aware of family patterns that were unhealthy and now I have broken those patterns and will not pass them onto my children.
Here is what one mother had to say about her experience at IHF's parent retreat:
The (retreat) was an awesome experience. We are all struggling... In the shared struggle, my burden is lighter... I am breathing easier. This journey is bearable. I am moving forward with love and confidence. I no longer feel the panic. It is gone. The "I-need-this-to-be-over-now" feeling is gone. I am peaceful, restful, stilled. I am filled.
But we can only do this with your generous support!
Yes! You can count on me to donate a full scholarship to a man in financial-need to attend IHF's Break-Free Your Inner Child healing retreat in 2026. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation of $799.00. Click here to donate a partial scholarship of $399!
Yes! You can count on me to donate a full scholarship to a mom or dad in financial-need to attend IHF's Key to Your Child's Heart healing retreat for parents. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation of $549.00. Click here to donate a partial scholarship of $275! |
| | | The work of IHF can only expand with your partnership! We want to continue offering scholarships for families in financial-need, as many of our clients cannot afford the full registration fee to attend our retreats. Please help us Restore Hope in the Hurting Home by giving a generous, tax-deductible donation by visiting our website and giving a secure gift at: www.InstituteforHealthyFamilies.org.
Thank you for your generous partnership in our work to heal and restore families!
Sincerely, |
| | Christopher Doyle, LPC, CCTP
Executive DirectorLicensed Professional Counselor Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Institute for Healthy Families
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| | SAVE THE DATE
Break-Free Your Inner Child Healing Retreat for Men
Lake Anna, Virginia May 27 - May 31, 2026
Our annual inner child healing retreat is a place where you can connect with other men and work toward discovering and healing childhood wounds. Working with other men, you have a chance to discover your true self and overcome those things that hold you back from really flourishing.
The group will work through:
- Discovering and healing childhood wounds
- Learning how your inner child adapted from his true self
- Learning how to get authentic needs met
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| | Want to learn more about inner child healing?
In her book Recovery of Your Inner Child, Lucia Capacchione, PH.D writes:
The absence of the Child Within leaves a painful feeling of emptiness . . . what caused it was the Child within us went into hiding. As a result, we lost our True Selves and thereby our ability to connect with others and with God in a meaningful way. The only way to fill our emptiness is to realize the True Self within us and experientially connect it to God. When we do that and complete our unfinished business, we are healed. We are then free to co-create a successful and enjoyable life for ourselves. Click here to read more on our blog. |
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Supreme Court Hears Landmark "Conversion Therapy" Case Christopher Doyle interviewed by Epoch Times
The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider on Oct. 7 a free speech case involving a Colorado law that bans therapists from providing so-called conversion therapy to minors experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria.
A therapist challenging the law argues that it violates her First Amendment rights. On the other side of the debate, Colorado contends that it has the right to regulate mental health treatments for minors that it deems harmful and ineffective. It is among more than 20 states with such bans.
A practitioner of such therapy told The Epoch Times that the therapist’s work focuses on mending psychological wounds and is not coercive or harmful. Opponents of conversion therapy, including the American Medical Association, point to practices such as electric shock and negative feedback methods such as smelling salts or chemically induced nausea to create a psychological aversion to the unwanted behaviors or attractions.
However, according to licensed counselor Christopher Doyle of the Institute for Healthy Families, modern therapists avoid these methods and instead favor exploring clients’ attitudes on sexuality, trauma, self-perception, and relationships. Doyle, who has been working with clients for 15 years, said he isn’t trying to “convert” anyone; he objects to the term “conversion therapy” altogether. |
| The author of The War on Psychotherapy: Politics, Gender Identity and Mental Health, Doyle said he practices “sexual and gender identity affirming therapy.”
“I accept where a client is and how they identify themselves, and I work with their goals,“ he told The Epoch Times. ”I never let a parent set a goal. And if a client identifies as gay, lesbian, trans, or whatever, I say, ‘OK, I respect that.’”
Doyle said that when he is able to get at the heart of “underlying issues or traumas,” his patients sometimes experience a lessening of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria. He encourages parents to love their children unconditionally, no matter their eventual sexual identity or gender expression.
Still, he said, the government should not prevent young people from seeking therapy to address these issues if they choose. “What’s tragic is that political activists are trying to limit the choices of people who are having conflicts with their sexuality and gender identity, instead of allowing them to seek help with qualified practitioners who could really help them work through these issues,” he said.
Click here to read the article on The Epoch Times. The article may also be accessed by clicking here. |
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Institute for Healthy Families (IHF) specializes in counseling solutions for individuals, couples, families, therapists, and ministry leaders. IHF is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit therapeutic organization located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. As a Judeo-Christian organization, IHF believes that the family is the foundation for healthy individuals, relationships, communities, and places of worship. While IHF is non-sectarian, we believe that God reveals His truth in both the Bible and Creation and that we can use this wisdom to help facilitate healing. IHF believes that through this synthesis of science and faith, we can help our clients form and maintain healthy families that will be able to help their children become the best versions of themselves and fulfill God’s will for their lives. For more information, visit our website at: www.InstituteforHealthyFamilies.org. |
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