OUR HISTORY
Bay Area Psychotherapy Institute (BAPTI) was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation in 1993 by Robert Marino, Ph.D. — a clinical psychologist with a vision for creating a space where new therapists could receive high-quality clinical training while providing affordable therapy to the local community.
Over our 30+ year history, BAPTI has grown into something remarkable. We now serve nearly 300 clients per year, deliver approximately 4,000 psychotherapy sessions annually, and have trained over 160 therapists in the practice of psychotherapy.
What started as one person's vision has become a cornerstone of mental health care in the Bay Area — and we are just getting started.
Rooted in community. Built to last.
"Affordable mental health care and excellent clinical training — these goals are not in conflict. They make each other stronger."
— Robert Marino, PH.D. Clinical Psychologist | Founder Bay Area Psychotherapy Institute | EST 1993
Dr. Marino had a vision for creating a space where new therapists could obtain clinical training in a private practice model — while providing affordable therapy for the local community. That vision became BAPTI.
OUR MISSION
Who We Are
We believe these two goals are inseparable — when therapists are well-trained, supported, and supervised, clients receive better care. And when care is affordable and accessible, more people get the help they deserve.
We are dedicated to offering the State of California accessible and affordable telehealth services that incorporate a wide variety of psychotherapeutic approaches — meeting clients wherever they are, in every sense of the word.
Our mission is to provide high-quality clinical training to pre-licensed psychotherapists while delivering affordable, responsive mental health services to clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California via telehealth.
Solidarity Statement
Our mission of providing affordable and responsive mental health services to the community can only be effectively accomplished with an ongoing firm commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our services to clients and in the functioning of our organization, BAPTI.
We welcome clients of all races, ethnicities, body sizes, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations and abilities.
We approach our work with diverse clients who may be marginalized in our society with cultural humility. We recognize the difficulty of many underserved groups to obtain responsive mental health care, and the fact that many in these communities do not feel safe physically and emotionally. We honor their lived experience.
In our training program, we prioritize learning that enables our therapists to effectively support diverse populations from a place of awareness and humility. Our training emphasizes the importance of the willingness to enter into our client’s world and honor their identities and experiences.
We offer sliding scale fees, and our Mental Health Equity Fund helps to support very low fee psychotherapy for low-income clients so that we can support clients from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
We recognize that in the past we have not done nearly enough as an organization to address issues relating to race, ethnicity and other dimensions of diversity. We are committed to doing better going forward. BAPTI is now dedicated to doing the personal and organizational work required to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in our employment and our mental health services.