''I wouldn't have grown one bit if I didn't learn to forgive'' Marie Balter

Marie Balter’s life story is one of hope and inspiration to those suffering from severe emotional pain and trauma. 

Marie, neglected as a child, was given up for adoption during the Great Depression by an alcoholic mother who was unable to care for her. 

Unfortunately, her adoptive parents were physical and emotionally abusive toward her. She developed severe anxiety (Panic Disorder) and psychotic depression (Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent, Severe With Psychotic Features) early in her life,

and eventually found herself admitted to Danvers State Hospital Insane Asylum.  

Misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia, she was placed on near lethal doses of an experimental antipsychotic drug, which only served to exacerbate her mental and emotional condition.

Eventually, Marie was placed on the correct medication which allowed her to continue to work toward wellness. 

She relied on her deep faith in God and the positive relationships that she had made with some of the staff members and patients at the state hospital where she resided for 20 years. 

In 1966, Marie was discharged from Danvers State.  She married a man whom she described as the “love of her life.” 

Making good on a promise that she made to God that she would dedicate her life to working with the mentally ill, Marie returned to school and earned a master’s degree from Harvard University. 

She later founded the Balter Institute where she hoped that her patient-led idea of mental healthcare would continue