Relational Foundations Institute

Amy Van Daele is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and co-founder of Family Foundations Institute, where she is dedicated to helping couples and families build stronger, healthier relationships. She is also the Clinical Director at Oak Forest Recovery, a mental health and substance use treatment center in California, where she oversees a team of clinicians and guides systemic family work within treatment.

 

Amy received her Master of Science in Counseling with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University, Northridge. She began her clinical career working primarily with couples and families in community counseling and private practice settings, including the Caldwell Family Institute. In 2023, she joined Oak Forest Recovery as a Family Specialist and was promoted to Clinical Director in 2025.

 

Trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 2), Amy integrates attachment-based and systemic approaches in her work. She is also an approved clinical supervisor in New York State.

 

Across her career, Amy has specialized in guiding couples and families through conflict, communication challenges, and relational repair. Her work is grounded in the belief that healing happens through connection, and she has dedicated her life to helping people grow both in and through their most important relationships.