2015 Donor Newsletter V.2
The Institute for Family Enrichment, affectionately known as TIFFE (pronounced “Tiffy”), has been providing expert care for Hawai‘i’s children and teens for over thirty years. Through intensive in-home services, TIFFE reaches youth in need of emotional or therapeutic support services, helping them to heal in an environment that is comfortable for them and their families.
Typically, youth in need of therapeutic services attend counseling sessions in an office or enter a residential program that separates them from their families and communities. For many youth, these settings are not the best environment to help aid in addressing and overcoming the challenges they face. Thankfully, TIFFE’s innovative approach to therapy offers an alternate route to getting youth the support they need.
Not only does the TIFFE team help to support youth during their time of need, but often forms lasting bonds and becomes an important part of the family’s support system. For example, a TIFFE clinical professional working with a male teen, who was dealing with drug problems and was not attending school, successfully helped him complete counseling and tutoring at home. The clinical professional was later invited to the teen’s high school graduation. Another youth, whose parents nearly lost hope in her, proudly entered junior college, thanks in large part to TIFFE’s support of her entire family. These were proud moments for the youth, their families, and TIFFE!
According to Linda Fox, PhD and Clinical Director for TIFFE, the organization has been a pioneer in delivering services through home visits to the families, children, and teens who need them most.
“Connecting with families and building rapport with them, on their turf, is a critical step in the success of our programs, which are fundamentally a team effort,” Dr. Fox said. “We develop individualized treatment programs that look not only at the needs of the youth, but also for ways in which we can support the entire family and help them to develop the tools needed to create a positive environment and support systems.”
Dr. Fox said that support systems can include other family members as well as teachers, counselors, and care coordinators. “We work collaboratively with the entire care team to look at all of the issues that may affect a family and how best to bring our services as well as other community resources to the families in need.”
She added that TIFFE clinical services are evidence-based and draw on the experience of formal testing and evaluation. Additionally TIFFE therapists stay abreast of national and international best practices through ongoing staff training and development.
TIFFE is the newest member of the CFS family of programs, adding a range of services that meet the needs of all ages. In addition to therapeutic services for youth, TIFFE offers adolescent substance abuse treatment services in schools and throughout communities; the TIFFE Developmental Disabilities Program which provides vital support to families of children with developmental disabilities; and its Mobile Outreach Program which helps homeless families and includes play groups for children to promote social and developmental skills.
