An Ethical Voice for Type
BAPT is an independent voice for psychological type. There are a lot of commercial providers of type models out there, but we are a group of people who use type for our own development and support coaches and other practitioners who use type. It matters to us how type is used. It matters to us that we operate according to our four core values.
Inclusive
BAPT aims to be a safe space for everyone to explore the ideas and application of psychological type together. No psychological model is perfect, but we think that Jung was on to something. And we want to enable the different voices to be heard. While we began life as a user-group for the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) we recognise that there are now many high quality type instruments and sites out there, and we want to include the enable the different users of all of them.
Accessible
We are a not-for-profit organisation, but we want to be accessible to all, whether you’re a professional user of type or someone who’s realised how brilliant this model is for understanding yourself an other people. So we think membership offers amazing value right now, and we are developing new models of membership to make sure everyone can access what we have to share in an appropriate way.
Sustainable
We’ve been around since 1989, thanks to the energy and commitment of a pretty small band of enthusiastic people. We want to be here long term and to use our resources wisely so we can keep serving the type community in the UK and continue to work in partnership with type associations globally. We are committed to being as collaborative as possible, so that you too, can contribute to the future of type.
Ethical
Type is a great model. But it can be badly used. Human beings like to use difference as a way of beating one another up; but we stand clearly for an ethical use of type which is founded on three principles:
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Focus on the Person - you are the expert on yourself: type is a way that can help you unlock that expertise. It’s there to serve you, not to manage you or box you in.
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Use the Language of Preference - although type uses polarity language, no one is (say) either an extravert or an introvert; no one is a ‘senser’ or an ‘intuitive’. We’re always both - but we all tend to have a preference of one over the other. This gives us a starting point for development, not a definition to trap us or categorise others.
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Put Type into Practice - as users or practitioners, we need to live by the highest standards, which means being prepared to change and develop ourselves, not just using type as another way of judging others or providing excuses for our own weaknesses.