Institute Overview

The Family Therapy Institute of Santa Barbara (FTI), a public non-profit corporation was founded in 1980. For the past 42+ years, FTI has provided affordable counseling on a sliding scale fee basis for individual, couples, families, and children in Santa Barbara County. Our mission is to make families of all incomes, ethnic backgrounds, and sizes, safe, healthy and loving environments for children, and to teach adults skills of communication and conflict resolution to make their relationships more productive and satisfying.

To accomplish these goals, FTI has a multi-disciplinary staff of psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, a consulting psychiatrist, as well as registered interns. New staff members begin as interns, within one to two years of becoming licensed. These interns work for the first year or two as unpaid volunteer counselors; the Directors supervise them closely during this time, to ensure their success.

Our therapists work in close conjunction with schools, public and private social service agencies, the courts, other mental health professionals, and the medical community. Family therapy often resolves problems a family is facing with remarkable speed, making our treatment modality a particularly valuable resource during times of economic scarcity. We have built a solid reputation for the quality of our services.

FTI operates primarily with fees generated through therapy services provided by our staff and conferences and training workshops which we offer to counseling professionals. In addition, FTI has enjoyed the generous backing of other individuals, organizations and foundations in our community wishing to support our efforts in a special way.

A large amount of our fundraising efforts are geared towards charitable giving in the form of services to low-income residents of Santa Barbara County.

For more information of an administrative nature, call Nancy Villalobos at: 882-2400 x 111

A large amount of our fundraising efforts are geared towards
charitable giving in the form of services to low-income residents of Santa Barbara County.

Our board of directors includes:

Michael Gray, President

John Lengsfelder, Vice-president- treasurer

John Fink, Secretary

Fran Lotery

Ruth Ackerman

Debra Manchester

Don MacMannis