I completed a MA degree at Alliant International University in San Diego, and then a Ph.D. at Syracuse University, in upstate New York. I selected Syracuse University for its unparalleled training in issues pertaining to culture, power, and diversity with special attention to supporting personal growth in their students. My work at Syracuse changed my life as I began to examine the role of culture and power in my own life, as well as in my work.

As a therapist, I provided home-based family therapy in severely economically disadvantaged communities for 12 years through several community mental health agencies including Home Start in San Diego, The Violence Intervention and Prevention Program in Syracuse, and The Family Institute of Pinole in Pinole CA. In 2012 I started my own practice in San Mateo.

I have been a full-time faculty member in programs that train Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Clinical Counselors for 15 years. I was an adjunct faculty at Cal State East Bay, core faculty at John F. Kennedy University, and a founding faculty member at Palo Alto University’s Counseling Program where I also served as the Director of Clinical Training. I specialized in teaching Family Therapy, Couple Therapy, Lifespan Development, Multicultural Therapy, Child and Adolescent Therapy, Therapeutic Theories, and Practicum Supervision. Now that I am in practice full time, I continue to teach as an adjunct and provide trainings locally and nationally.

I am an integrative Family Systems therapist who draws upon a variety of psychotherapy models to guide my work. These theories include Attachment, Humanistic, Feminist/Multicultural, Intergenerational, and Cognitive Behavioral theories. My work is influenced by common models of therapy such as Emotionally Focused Therapy, Attachment Based Family Therapy, Gottman Therapy, Structural Therapy, Experiential Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Family Play Therapy.

I am a clinical Member of The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, The California Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, and The Association of Family Therapists of Northern California. I am a member and former Board member of The American Family Therapy Academy, and sit on the Board for Bay Area Community Counseling.

I have published on topics including; training Marriage and Family Therapists, Family Play Therapy theory and techniques, and understanding what it means to be white and working through internalized racial superiority. I often present on these topics as well. Below are a list of key publications and professional presentations.

Family Play Therapy: Engaging Families in Novel Ways, by Eliana Gil and Tim Baima. Book chapter in Play Therapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice Second Edition by David Crenshaw, Ann L. Stewart, and Dee Ray.

Using a Family Systems Approach to Assessment and Treatment, by Eliana Gil and Tim Baima. Book Chapter in Play Therapy Treatment Planning with Children and Families: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals, by Lynn Louise Wonders and Mary L. Affee.

Transformative Love: An Antidote to White Domination Disorder, by Tim Baima. Book chapter in The Enduring, Invisible, and Ubiquitous Centrality of Whiteness, by Kenneth V. Hardy.

What White Mental Health Professionals Need to Understand About Whiteness, by Tim Baima and Michael Sude. Research Journal Article in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

The Whole Name Exercise: A Self of the Therapist Activity to Support Culturally Attuned and Inclusive Communities in MFT Training, by Tim Baima and Michael Sude. Journal Article in the International Journal of Systemic Therapy.

Men and the Life Cycle, by Matthew Mock and Tim Baima. Book Chapter in The Expanding Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives 5th Edition, by Monica McGoldrick, Nydia Garcia Preto, and Betty Carter.

Friendship Across the Life Cycle, by Kiran Arora and Tim Baima. Book Chapter in The Expanding Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives 5th Edition, by Monica McGoldrick, Nydia Garcia Preto, and Betty Carter.

My conference presentations and trainings tend to focus on three themes: dynamics of power and oppression in relationships (with an emphasis on race and gender); integrating play and expressive techniques in couple and family therapy; and the personal growth and development of therapists.

I have presented at the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, The American Family Therapy Academy, The California Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, The Asian Academy of Family Therapy, The Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration, The Eikenberg Institute, and The American Counseling Association.

I have had the privilege of-presenting with many esteemed therapists such as Kenneth V. Hardy, Peter Fraenkel, Arthur Nielson, Matthew Mock, Takeshi Tamura, Monica McGoldrick, and Ken Dolan DelVecchio.

327 N. San Mateo Drive, San Mateo, 94401 and online

Sliding scale available from $85 to $300 per session

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