Course Handbook: bpf North Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Training

The bpf North offers psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy training in Newcastle upon Tyne, combining monthly Saturday study days held in person with weekly seminars delivered online. This part-time structure is designed to fit around trainees’ existing work and personal commitments, while still providing the depth of theoretical and clinical training associated with bpf’s London-based courses.

The training was formerly run by NEAPP (the North of England Association of Analytical Psychotherapy), established in 1992, which was the first training outside London to be accredited by the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC). In 2024, NEAPP joined the British Psychotherapy Foundation, forming bpf North and bringing this long-standing regional training within the bpf’s national training structure.

The training offers two pathways—psychoanalytic and psychodynamic—each a minimum of four years in duration, and prepares graduates for both independent private practice and careers within the NHS and other healthcare settings.

Progression through training is dependent on individual development in three areas: personal development, theoretical understanding, and clinical practice. The Training Committee, through the individual tutor, works collaboratively and individually with each trainee to ensure their readiness to progress, recognising that this might involve different rates of development for each trainee.

The taught component of the training is delivered through theoretical and clinical seminars, led by experienced psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in their respective fields of theoretical knowledge, clinical practice and research.

The curriculum has been devised to familiarise the trainee with a broad spectrum of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic schools of thought and their development, and to instil a solid grasp of their clinical applications. The aim is to provide the trainee with a confident understanding of the unconscious processes that lead to either healthy or pathological development, and of the psychological treatment of mental and emotional disturbance. This is done through the teaching and critical evaluation of the work of the Freudian, Kleinian and British Object Relations schools, with the emphasis on a firm grounding in clinical technique.

The training and curriculum are under regular review, with the best interests of the trainee and prospective psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapist and their patients in mind. bpf North reserves the right to make any changes considered necessary during the course of the training.

The bpf North training programme is administered by a dedicated Training and Events Coordinator, who serves as the primary point of contact for all student enquiries.

Overall responsibility for the programme rests with the Training Course Director, Martin Gill, who oversees its delivery.

Teaching Staff

Teaching within the bpf North training programme is provided by experienced psychoanalysts and psychodynamic/psychoanalytic psychotherapists, complemented by input from external clinicians and published authors. This ensures that students receive a comprehensive and diverse perspective on both theoretical and clinical practice.

Course Structure Overview

The course is a mixed in-person and online clinical training, held over a minimum of four years: a theory curriculum delivered on Tuesday evenings, and clinical seminars held in-person on Saturdays across three terms a year. Clinical seminars continue until qualification, in the post-curricular stage of the course.

Personal Therapy

Applicants must be established in personal psychotherapy, in person, with an approved training therapist who is BPC-accredited (or equivalent) and normally at least five years post-qualification, before starting the course. The required frequency depends on the pathway: once or twice weekly for the psychodynamic pathway, or three times weekly for the psychoanalytic pathway, continuing until qualification. Most applicants will already be in personal therapy prior to application; where this is not yet in place, support can be offered to help identify a suitable training therapist.

Infant Observation

All trainees are required to complete a minimum one-year psychoanalytically informed Infant Observation programme, either before enrolment (with a recognised Infant Observation course, at the bpf or externally) or concurrently with bpf North during the initial year(s) of training. Full details, including the exemption process for those who have already completed an Infant Observation elsewhere, are set out under Key Course Elements.

Placements

Applicants without substantial prior experience in the mental health field will be required to undertake a Psychiatric Placement, for a minimum of half a day per week over six months, either before or during training. Depending on the pathway and the trainee’s clinical experience on entry, training patients will be seen either in the trainee’s own practice or within a clinical placement.

Selection

Selection is determined by evaluating each applicant on the qualities crucial to becoming a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapist. Candidates who succeed in the process generally possess experience providing one-to-one support to adults with emotional difficulties, gained through professional or voluntary work. While a relevant academic qualification is common among applicants, those without formal higher education may still be considered where they can demonstrate the ability to meet the demands of postgraduate-level study.

ME: Personal Therapy

ME trainees will already have undertaken personal psychotherapy of at least three times a week with an approved training therapist (an ACP training therapist, or a BPC therapist approved by bpf North) for at least five years during their previous training. This therapy should normally not have ended more than five years before applying. It may be necessary to gain approval for previous therapeutic experience from bpf North Training before an offer of a training place is made. Occasionally, further personal therapy may emerge as necessary from the selection interviews, in which case the tutor will be alert to its being set up and must be given the name of the training therapist; this therapy would then continue for the duration of the training.

ME: Clinical & Theoretical Seminars

During the first term and until a training patient has been taken on, ME trainees may present other patients with whom they are working in clinical seminars; attendance is mandatory until qualification. ME trainees are required to attend a minimum of 30 theoretical seminars from the training curriculum over two years, which may be extended into a third, and are strongly encouraged to attend more than the minimum. ME trainees should keep a log of seminars attended, shared with their personal tutor.

ME: Infant Observation & Psychiatric Placement

These remain requirements for ME trainees who have not previously undertaken them, to be discussed during selection and followed up with the personal tutor. Unlike full training participants, ME trainees may take these modules alongside clinical work with training patients.

ME: Training Patients

ME trainees may normally begin with training patients during the second term of training, unless stated otherwise in the offer letter, once a suitable consulting room, professional indemnity insurance, and an approved supervisor are in place. A second training patient may be taken on after not less than six months’ treatment of the first and a supervisor’s report.

Applications to bpf North are accepted on a rolling basis. Prospective applicants should complete a preliminary questionnaire and return it to the bpf North Training and Events Coordinator, who will arrange a call or informal discussion with a member of the Training Committee to discuss the applicant’s circumstances in more detail. This will include discussion of the applicant’s rationale for applying and readiness for training, confirmation that relevant preparatory requirements are met or in progress, and clarification of any questions about the training structure and intended learning outcomes — including whether an appropriate personal therapy with an approved training therapist is, or will be, in place before the start of the training.

Applicants may be at different stages of preparation: some may be at an early stage of considering an application, while others may already have taken steps such as securing a clinical placement or establishing an appropriate personal therapy, or may already be practising clinicians who meet most of the entry requirements.

Applicants with prior qualifications in psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy, such as Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, may be eligible to apply via the Modified Entry (ME) route. The same enquiry process applies to these applicants.

Key dates

Because bpf North training is delivered as monthly Saturday study days with weekly online seminars, the programme is able to offer more than one intake point across the year rather than a single September start. Prospective applicants should check with the bpf North Training and Events Coordinator for the next scheduled intake, as start dates are confirmed on a rolling basis.

Application fee

Applicants will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of £170 on submission of the application form. This fee covers a minimum of two interviews; if a third interview is required, the applicant will be asked to cover any additional interview costs not covered by the application fee.

On acceptance of an offer, applicants are required to pay a non-refundable deposit of £400 to secure their training place.

If you have any queries, please contact the bpf North Training and Events Coordinator, Hazel Reynolds, at [email protected].

Course Objectives

bpf North trains trainees on two pathways within the same programme: a psychoanalytic pathway and a psychodynamic pathway. The course objectives and expected learning outcomes below are set out for each pathway.

Psychoanalytic Pathway

The course objectives and expected learning outcomes of the psychoanalytic pathway are designed to develop psychoanalytic psychotherapists with rigorous theoretical and technical grounding, practical experience in clinical work, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards. Trainees are required to adhere to the BPC code of ethics, as well as all bpf policies and statutes, ensuring that their practice aligns with professional codes and institutional expectations.

The psychoanalytic pathway is designed to provide clinicians with a solid theoretical and practical foundation. The course draws largely from the British Object Relations School, alongside other significant psychoanalytic traditions. Students will gain a clear understanding of essential concepts, such as object relations, unconscious mental processes, and the complexities of the therapeutic relationship. The programme strongly emphasises the application of theory to clinical practice, ensuring that trainees can use advanced theoretical ideas effectively and sensitively in a variety of clinical settings.

Upon completion of the programme, graduates will be able to manage complex clinical cases, using their theoretical knowledge alongside advanced psychoanalytic skills. The training encourages lifelong reflective practice and professional development, preparing students to make a meaningful contribution to the psychoanalytic community.

Psychodynamic Pathway

The psychodynamic pathway is designed to prepare trainees for effective, ethical practice with adult patients through a structured, once- or twice-weekly therapeutic approach. The programme centres on three core elements: the trainee’s personal analytic experience, comprehensive theoretical and clinical instruction, and supervised clinical engagement. Together, these form the foundation for professional competence, guiding trainees in the development of sound judgement and integrity in clinical work.

Progress throughout the course is measured by growth in personal insight, mastery of psychodynamic theory, and increasing clinical proficiency. Teaching is delivered via seminars led by experienced clinicians and psychoanalysts, offering a thorough grounding in a broad spectrum of psychodynamic schools — including Freudian, Kleinian, and British Object Relations — while emphasising their clinical application.

Learning outcomes

Psychoanalytic Pathway

Psychodynamic Pathway

Personal and Professional Qualities & Competencies

The course is structured around personal therapy, a personal tutor, theoretical seminars, clinical seminars, and infant observation.

1. Personal Therapy

The trainee’s personal psychotherapy is central to their development as a psychotherapist. It is undertaken with an approved training therapist at least once or twice weekly for the psychodynamic pathway, or three times weekly for the psychoanalytic pathway. It must be well established before starting the course and must be continued until qualification. This therapy is bound by complete confidentiality and is regarded as a ‘non-reporting’ therapy; the Training and Events Coordinator will, however, seek the trainee’s permission to contact the Training Therapist annually to confirm the required frequency is continuing.

Any unexpected interruptions or unresolved difficulties should be brought to the attention of the Personal Tutor for discussion.

2. Personal Tutor

Each trainee is assigned a personal tutor for the duration of the training. Trainees are expected to meet with their tutor once a term; meetings may take place online once an initial face-to-face contact has been made. It is the trainee’s responsibility to arrange these meetings, contacting the tutor early enough each term to agree a date and time. The personal tutor provides the Training Committee with an annual progress report on the trainee, submitted in July every year, a copy of which is given to the trainee.

The personal tutor acts as a link with the Training Committee and provides the trainee with on-going support, advice and appraisal, and is the first port of call regarding questions and issues related to training. The tutor provides copies of reports from seminar leaders and supervisors and offers the opportunity to discuss them, and will also send the trainee a copy of their own termly report to the Training Committee.

3. Theoretical Seminars

The theoretical seminars run for three years and take place on Tuesdays, 6.30pm to 8pm, and, on occasion, one Saturday per month, in-person during the academic year (10 meetings).

Infant Observation Seminars run 9.30am to 11am in person on Saturdays, and online on Tuesdays, 8.15–9.30pm.

4. Clinical Seminars

Clinical seminars take place at monthly Saturday face-to-face meetings until qualification. Clinical seminars are a whole-cohort experience which includes trainees at different stages of their training, and attendance continues throughout the duration of the qualifying course.

From the beginning of the second year, and following discussion with the tutor, the trainee may apply, via the Training Director, to the Training Committee, to take their first training patient. This is a significant stage in the training: the Committee considers all seminar leaders’ reports, the tutors’ reports (including the Annual Progress Review), and the Infant Observation Paper Report. Thought is also given to the trainee’s clinical experience to date, and to other relevant circumstances — including personal, family and work issues — to ensure the trainee is in a good position to begin intensive clinical work.

Occasionally, trainees might be asked to delay taking on training patients while other developments have time to mature. If, over a prolonged period, the Training Committee is unable to give permission for a trainee to progress to the clinical part of the training, consideration will be given to whether the trainee would benefit from taking a year out, in order to avoid an unhelpful disparity between theoretical and clinical development.

Trainees are expected to attend all the seminars and meetings that constitute the training. An attendance of 80% is required, logged by a signing-in process for each seminar. Should there be a difficulty in attending, please inform the seminar leader in advance. If a significant number of seminars are missed, the personal tutor should be told.

Holidays and Absences

Holidays should be taken outside term times. In exceptional circumstances, trainees may ask their personal tutor for permission to be absent. If too many theoretical seminars are missed, it is usually necessary to repeat the module before qualifying.

Unexplained, protracted absence will be followed up by the tutor and the Training Committee. Trainees are also required to notify the tutor if their training therapist or supervisors are away for more than two weeks outside a normal holiday period.

Personal Therapy

The trainee’s personal psychotherapy is central to their development as a psychotherapist. It is undertaken with an approved training therapist at least once or twice weekly for the psychodynamic pathway, depending on the pathway, or three times weekly for the psychoanalytic pathway. It must be well established before starting the course and must be continued until qualification.

This personal therapy is bound by the usual complete confidentiality and is regarded as a ‘non-reporting’ therapy. The Training and Events Coordinator will, however, seek the trainee’s permission to contact the Training Therapist annually to ensure that the required minimum frequency of therapy is continuing.

Infant Observation Programme

The Infant Observation (IO) training is an opportunity to observe the development of a baby from birth to at least a year old, within the context of their family. It develops several key skills for the trainee psychotherapist, including the capacity to observe without acting or interacting, recognising the relevance of non-verbal communication, and taking note of the impact of the observations on the observer’s own feelings — a crucial forerunner for developing the capacity to recognise and process countertransference reactions.

Once a suitable family is found, the trainee arranges weekly hour-long observations, usually in the family home, which are written up and discussed at weekly small group seminars, where trainees present their observations in turn. Trainees doing their IO concurrently with the bpf North training are expected to write a paper at the end of the first twelve months of observation, needed to assess readiness to start seeing patients.

All trainees undertaking a bpf Infant Observation will need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. To protect the interests of the families visited, the name, address and telephone number of the family are kept in confidence by the personal tutor and Training Manager, and destroyed after completion of the observation. Parents are given an information letter and consent form, and a copy of the signed consent form is sent to the Training and Events Coordinator to be held on file.

Clinical & Psychiatric Placements

Depending on the pathway that the trainee is taking, training patients will be seen either in the trainee’s private psychotherapy practice or within a clinical placement (e.g. an NHS Psychotherapy Service), depending on the trainee’s clinical experience on entry and which pathway they are taking.

Trainees without experience in the mental health field will be required to undertake a psychiatric placement, either before or during training, for a minimum of one half-day session a week for six months. This element has to be arranged by the trainee, with the tutor’s help if necessary; a trainee wishing to be exempt must present a written account of their experience to their tutor, for consideration by the Training Committee. As it is increasingly difficult to find a psychiatric placement, the bpf has established an in-person psychiatric placement equivalent day at bpf headquarters in Kilburn, London.

Training Patients

It is usual to begin finding training patients in the second year. The trainee will treat two training patients, one male and one female, once per week (psychodynamic pathway) or for a minimum of three times per week (psychoanalytic pathway), on an open-ended basis, although patients are asked to commit to a minimum of two years. The trainee can apply to take a second training patient after the supervisor’s first report at six months has been received. In order to qualify, one patient must be seen for at least two years, the other for at least eighteen months.

Written Clinical Material

Trainees need to keep verbatim process notes for use in supervision and for discussion in clinical seminars. These notes must preserve the anonymity of the patient by the adoption of a pseudonym and disguising identifying details. Six-monthly reports, similarly anonymised, must be password-protected before circulation by email — the password used must remain the same throughout the training. Trainees must, at all times, work within good practice under GDPR.

Six-Monthly Reports

The trainee submits a report on each patient every six months, discussed with the six-monthly report tutor. These reports should not exceed 1,500 words, with the exception of the first report, which asks for details of the referral, assessment, and preliminary meetings with the patient. Reports should provide an overview of the themes of the previous six months, illustrated with clinical vignettes, and be sent to the Training Coordinator, the personal tutor, and the other members of the six-month report seminar group.

If a training patient terminates therapy before the minimum required time, they should inform their personal tutor, the Training Course Director, and the Training and Events Coordinator. The trainee will need to write a termination report, offering the opportunity to discuss their understanding of the patient’s reasons for the premature ending, in the context of their reflections on the patient and the therapeutic relationship.

The trainee may then, with the agreement of their tutor, apply to the Training Committee for permission to take on another training patient to replace the one who has left. The standard practice is that the replacement patient will need to be seen for the same minimum treatment time as before; if, however, it is the first (notionally two-year) patient who drops out, and the trainee sees their second patient for at least two years, the replacement patient has to be seen for eighteen months, not two years.

Supervision

The work with each training patient is discussed in one-to-one weekly supervision with an approved supervisor. Personal tutors will help and advise trainees to find a suitable supervisor. The trainee normally works with both a male and female patient and supervisor. Supervision continues throughout the work with the training patient until qualification. Supervisors are asked to agree and sign off the six-monthly reports and the final clinical paper, and provide the Training Committee with a written report in December and June of each year on the trainee’s progress, commenting on readiness to write the clinical paper and, at the point of qualification, on whether the trainee can work independently.

Once work with training patients has begun, instead of the last clinical seminar of each term, the group meets with a six-month report tutor to focus on the writing of six-monthly reports. This tutor works with trainees throughout the clinical training to develop skills in psychodynamic/psychoanalytic writing and formulation, providing the basis for the final clinical paper, and will normally also be available as tutor for the writing of the paper.

There are two plenaries each year, held usually on the last in-person Saturday of the Autumn and Spring terms, for all trainees and key members of the Training Committee to meet. This is an opportunity to give feedback about the course and to discuss any proposed changes or developments. All trainees are required to attend.

Final Clinical Paper Guidelines

When trainees have fulfilled all course requirements and arrived at the last anticipated year of training — normally when the second training patient has completed a year of therapy — they can request permission from the Training Committee, via their tutor, to write the clinical paper on the work with one of their training cases. Both clinical supervisors are informed and offered the opportunity to support this progression, or to express any concerns, and an academic tutor — usually the six-month report tutor — is allocated. Trainees can arrange up to three one-to-one paper-writing tutorials.

The paper is a personal account that illustrates the individual learning and development that has prepared the trainee for becoming a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapist. The aim is to convey the process of the psychotherapeutic work with one of the two training patients, bringing to life the experience in the consulting room, and to synthesise the various elements of the training, including clinical experience, supervision, the use and understanding of theory, and reflection on the trainee’s own development as a clinician.

Structure & the Clinical Account

• The paper should include, at the start, an outline of how the patient found their way into psychotherapy, a brief summary of information from the referral and assessment process, and a description of the trainee’s first meeting with the patient. It need not give equal weight to the entire course of therapy; the trainee may choose a chronological or a more thematic structure.
• The paper should demonstrate a clear understanding of the patient’s psychic structure and functioning, and of how these develop over the course of therapy, with a focus on unconscious processes, including the unfolding transference and countertransference. It should include a balance between vignettes illustrating the fine grain of the work and a capacity to stand back and conceptualise the overall therapeutic process.
• The paper will normally include reference to the patient’s dreams, or some thinking about their absence, and should demonstrate the trainee’s capacity to conceptualise the process of therapy using relevant psychoanalytic theory to develop their own thinking, rather than merely referring to concepts.
• The paper should not be judged in terms of successful therapeutic outcome. What matters is that the trainee can reflect on difficulties, acknowledge processes that have enhanced or inhibited the therapeutic endeavour, and consider how they might have responded differently.

Confidentiality, Diversity & References

• Confidentiality: The trainee has a responsibility to preserve confidentiality. All proper names of people and places must be changed and, where necessary, biographical and professional information disguised and personal details omitted, while still preserving the paper’s themes.
• Difference, Diversity and Ethics: The trainee needs to show sensitivity to and critical reflection on issues of difference and diversity, as well as awareness of ethical and governance issues such as consent to treatment and confidentiality.
• References and Length: References should be listed in alphabetical order, following the style of the British Journal of Psychotherapy, and the supervisor should be named. The paper should be approximately 5,000 words in length, excluding references, and checked for typographic and grammatical errors.

Writing, Submission & Assessment

The six-month report tutor is normally assigned as the clinical paper writing tutor, and up to three tutorials may be arranged by mutual agreement. Once the supervisor agrees the paper is an accurate account of the clinical work, and the clinical paper tutor is satisfied it reaches the required standard, the paper is submitted to the Training Committee.

The paper is read by two readers appointed by the chair of the Training Committee, with at least one reader being from the same theoretical orientation as the author. Each reader considers the paper independently and notes points for discussion; readers then share their notes with each other and with the trainee, and meet with the trainee to discuss the paper. The readers jointly write a report about the paper and the discussion, which is shared with the trainee, Training Committee, and personal tutor, and considered as part of the overall readiness-to-qualify procedure.

Completion of this annual review is a required part of the training. It provides a structure throughout the training for reviewing the trainee’s progress and development. The reviews take place between the trainee and the tutor, who acts on behalf of the Training Committee, and aim to foster self-reflection and self-assessment, provide an opportunity for feedback, and encourage dialogue about the trainee’s experience of training.

Early in the autumn term, a date is set for the termly tutorial that will constitute the annual progress review meeting. The trainee sends their tutor a written reflective piece using indicative guidelines. Following the meeting, the tutor writes up the review form and invites the trainee to add any comments before both sign the document, which is then considered at a Training Committee meeting.

The following topics are indicative guidelines for discussion as appropriate:

• Ability to engage and participate in the opportunities for learning provided by the training
• Psychiatric Placement (if relevant)
• Trainee’s work with patients, including:
  • Ability to establish therapeutic relationships
  • Understanding of boundary issues
  • Recognition and handling of transference and countertransference (positive and negative)
  • Understanding of the therapeutic process and capacity to make appropriate interpretations
  • Awareness of any personal issues that impact on the work and relationship with colleagues
  • Capacity to integrate theory and practice
  • Experience and use of supervision
  • Development of a professional identity as an adult psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapist
  • Developing capacity to communicate about the work verbally and in writing
• Strengths, special interests and areas to be developed
• Any other comments

The training is based on the trainee’s ongoing capacity to be reflective about their personal and professional development. Tutors share and discuss all reports received from seminar leaders and supervisors during the training. The annual appraisal is an opportunity each year to consolidate and set any necessary learning goals. The Training Committee oversees this process carefully and encourages trainees to raise any difficulties at the earliest opportunity with their tutor.

Permission to Write the Clinical Paper

During the last anticipated year of training, when the second patient has completed a year in therapy, the trainee should discuss with the personal tutor their readiness to seek permission from the Training Committee to write their clinical paper. The tutor will consider this on the basis of their knowledge of the trainee and other reports. Both supervisors are asked at this stage to comment on the trainee’s readiness to qualify and practise independently. The Training Coordinator will inform the trainee when permission has been granted.

Submission and Qualification

The clinical paper should normally be submitted within 3–4 months of completing the clinical requirements; in exceptional cases, extensions may be granted in discussion with the personal tutor. The paper cannot be submitted until all theoretical and clinical requirements have been met in the treatment of both patients, and all six-monthly reports and clinical record forms are up to date. The trainee submits the paper to the Training and Events Coordinator with a front sheet signed off by the supervisor of the case, and the clinical paper-writing tutor also signs off the paper as ready to submit.

The Chair of the Training and the Training Committee take the final decision to qualify the trainee, based on the trainee having satisfactorily completed all sections of the training and the submission of the clinical paper, requesting final reports from both supervisors, the personal tutor, seminar leaders, and the readers.

Meeting with the Personal Tutor Following Qualification

An important final meeting with the personal tutor is arranged to reflect on the years of training and the trainee’s overall clinical development, review comments about the qualifying paper, and discuss the practical plans for the reading-in and the transfer of training patients into private practice. Newly qualified members of the bpf are traditionally announced and welcomed at the bpf Annual General Meeting.