Summer School: Foundations of Psychoanalytic & Jungian Psychotherapy
Intensive Online Programme
Course length: 3 days, 09:00 – 18:00 (UK time). Delivery: Online (Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 2027).
This 3-day intensive summer school offers a rigorous yet accessible introduction to the essential concepts and cultural significance of psychoanalytic and Jungian psychotherapy, with a particular emphasis on the emotional and developmental life cycle. Participants will explore how psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas illuminate the unfolding of human development—from infancy through childhood and adolescence, into adulthood, couple relationships, and later life.
The course is led by senior psychoanalytic and Jungian clinicians whose work spans this full developmental spectrum, including direct experience with children and adolescents, adults, couples, and parents and infants. Their breadth of practice ensures that the theories and concepts explored throughout the programme are rooted in real-world clinical understanding and the lived developmental challenges encountered across the lifespan.
Bringing together foundational theory with reflective discussion, the programme offers a rare opportunity to engage deeply with the ways inner experience evolves across time: how patterns are formed, how symbolic life shapes our development, and how unconscious processes influence the relationships we build and the difficulties we meet.
Applications for 2027 are now open.
Follow the link below to apply for this programme:
Indicative course dates: 16th, 17th & 18th of July 2027.
View Lecture Previews
- Human Development and the Lifespan – Dr Zack Eleftheriadou
- Jung’s Concept of Self as the Directing, Central Archetype of Psyche – Mark Matthew Palmer, Jungian Analyst and Psychotherapist
Watch our Open Day:
- Course Content
- Entry Requirements
- Course Structure
- Fees
- How to Apply
Course Content
The aim of the summer school is to offer a grounded and coherent introduction to psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas, presented in ways that speak directly to the developmental journey of the human psyche. Participants will gain an understanding of how unconscious processes, symbolic experience, relational dynamics, and early emotional life shape the development of the self over time. Emphasis is placed on helping participants think about how these ideas play out across the lifespan—from infancy and childhood to adulthood, couple relationships, and later life.
Throughout the programme, time is set aside for reflective discussion, including a small-group discussion each day, helping participants think through how these concepts relate to their own experiences and to broader cultural and developmental themes. For those considering further study, the course provides valuable insight into psychoanalytic training pathways at the British Psychotherapy Foundation. A certificate of completion is offered to participants who attend at least 80% of sessions.
The summer school explores a rich and structured range of material, always with reference to the unfolding of psychological life across the developmental lifespan. Participants begin by examining the origins of psychoanalysis, including Freud’s foundational ideas about the formation of the psyche, early relational experience, dream life, and the workings of repression, transference, and unconscious processes throughout life. These foundational frameworks form the basis for understanding how development is shaped from infancy onward.
Throughout the course, reflective opportunities support participants in considering their own developmental stories, patterns, and symbolic themes, encouraging both intellectual and personal engagement.
Bringing together foundational theory with reflective discussion, the programme offers a rare opportunity to engage deeply with the ways inner experience evolves across time: how patterns are formed, how symbolic life shapes our development, and how unconscious processes influence the relationships we build and the difficulties we meet.
Whether participants are new to psychotherapy, considering future training, or simply curious about how psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas explain the unfolding of human growth, the summer school provides both intellectual richness and personal relevance.
Lecture Preview
Entry Requirements
This summer school is suitable for anyone with an interest in psychoanalytic or Jungian thought, regardless of background or prior study. It is particularly valuable for people at the beginning of their exploration of psychotherapy, especially those who may be considering applying for a bpf training and want a structured way to engage with the core ideas.
The course also welcomes individuals interested in understanding their own emotional and developmental history, including how patterns form in childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and relationships. Students, professionals, or researchers in related fields—such as psychology, education, health and social care, the arts, or the humanities—may find that the developmental focus provides a useful theoretical backbone for their existing work. More broadly, the programme is well-suited to anyone drawn to the inner world, human relationships, symbolism, and the evolving nature of psychic life across time.
The course is taught online in English. Fluency in English will be required in order to join the course. This course contains no written work, and is taught at a postgraduate level.
Course Structure
The programme is delivered completely online across 3 consecutive days (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) in July 2027.
*Indicative course dates: 16th, 17th & 18th of July 2027. Please note these dates may still change.
Each day runs from 09:00 to 18:00 (UK time), with a morning break, a lunch break and afternoon breaks. Sessions combine a lecture with time for discussion and questions, and several sessions bring psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives together on the same theme. Each day also includes a small-group discussion, joined by members of the teaching faculty, giving participants time to reflect on the material together.
A reading list, introductory slides for the opening session and practical guidance for taking part are sent to participants one week before the course.
Please note that the following day plans are indicative and may still be subject to change.
Day 1 (Friday): Foundations and Early Life
Day 1 introduces the core ideas of psychoanalytic and Jungian thought, tracing their origins in early 20th-century Europe and their evolution into diverse global traditions. It then turns to the beginning of life, exploring the emotional world of infants and children and offering a first experience of infant observation.
Day 1 Plan
Indicative Timetable (may be subject to change):
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 (30 minutes) | Welcome, Orientation and Introductions |
| 09:30 – 10:30 (60 minutes) | Opening Session. From Vienna to the World: The History and Cultural Development of Psychoanalysis and Jungian Psychotherapy |
| 10:30 – 10:45 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 10:45 – 12:00 (75 minutes) | Session 1. Charting the Unconscious: Core Ideas of Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis |
| 12:00 – 13:00 (60 minutes) | LUNCH |
| 13:00 – 14:15 (75 minutes) | Session 2. The Analytic Attitude: How Therapists Listen and Find Meaning |
| 14:15 – 14:45 (30 minutes) | BREAK |
| 14:45 – 16:00 (75 minutes) | Session 3. The Emotional Life of Infants and Children |
| 16:00 – 16:30 (30 minutes) | Small-Group Discussion: Snapshots of Childhood |
| 16:30 – 16:45 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 16:45 – 18:00 (75 minutes) | Session 4. Infant Observation: Caregiver and Baby, a Window into the Start of Life (and close of the day) |
Welcome, Orientation and Introductions. This opening session welcomes participants to the summer school, introduces the bpf and the structure of the programme, and gives everyone the chance to introduce themselves. It sets a reflective, inclusive tone for the days ahead.
Opening Session. From Vienna to the World: The History and Cultural Development of Psychoanalysis and Jungian Psychotherapy. This session introduces the historical development of psychoanalysis and Jungian psychotherapy, considering how these traditions emerged, changed and spread across different contexts. Participants will explore how key ideas developed over time and how wider social, cultural and historical influences have shaped theory and practice. Introductory slides are shared before the course.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Be familiar with the origins of psychoanalysis and Jungian psychotherapy.
- Understand why Freud and Jung separated historically and intellectually.
- Recognise how different countries developed distinctive psychoanalytic cultures.
- Become aware that psychotherapy is shaped by history, politics and culture, not just theory.
Session 1. Charting the Unconscious: Core Ideas of Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis. This session introduces some of the central ideas that inform psychoanalytic and Jungian approaches to understanding the mind and emotional life. Participants will consider how these traditions think about unconscious processes, meaning and psychological development, and will begin to explore both shared themes and differences in emphasis.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand what psychoanalytic and Jungian theories assume about the human mind.
- Distinguish between psychoanalytic and Jungian ways of thinking.
- Recognise psychological distress as potentially meaningful.
- Reflect on which perspective (psychoanalytic or Jungian) resonates with their own experience.
Session 2. The Analytic Attitude: How Therapists Listen and Find Meaning. Focusing on how therapists listen and respond to clients, this session introduces the therapeutic attitude within psychoanalytic and Jungian approaches. Participants will consider how therapists work with unconscious communication, emotional meaning and symbolic material, and how different traditions shape the way clinical experience is understood.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Gain some understanding of how psychoanalytic and Jungian therapists work with the unconscious.
- Understand what it means to approach distress with curiosity rather than correction or direction.
- Experience the difference between problem-solving and meaning-seeking.
- Understand how psychoanalytic and Jungian therapists differ in emphasis when working with the unconscious.
Session 3. The Emotional Life of Infants and Children. Bringing psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives together, this session explores how early relationships shape emotional development. Participants will consider how early experience and symbolic life influence later patterns of feeling, relating and understanding oneself, while also reflecting on the importance of cultural and social context.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand why infancy and childhood are central to psychoanalytic and Jungian thinking.
- Grasp the idea that children have rich emotional and inner lives from the start.
- Consider how infants and children express meaning through play, fantasy, image and relationship.
- Recognise how early relationships shape later patterns, including in adult life.
Small-Group Discussion: Snapshots of Childhood. In small groups joined by members of the teaching faculty, participants reflect on a memory or image from childhood and on how the ideas explored during the day help them think about it. Participants are invited to share only what feels comfortable.
Session 4. Infant Observation: Caregiver and Baby, a Window into the Start of Life. In this session, participants will engage in an observational exercise featuring video of a caregiver and an infant. Following each viewing, the group will discuss the interactions and emotional exchanges observed, connecting theoretical concepts to real-world experience. The session closes the first day.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Observe and describe aspects of the interaction between a caregiver and an infant.
- Reflect on their own responses to observing early relationships.
- Recognise how early interactions can contribute to emotional and relational development.
- Begin to connect early relational experience with broader understandings of development.
Day 2 (Saturday): Relationships Across the Lifespan
Day 2 follows the arc of a life from adolescence to later life. It explores becoming an adult, couple relationships, the complexities of parenting, the transitions of midlife, and the challenges and insights of ageing and the confrontation with mortality, all approached through psychoanalytic and Jungian thought.
Day 2 Plan
Indicative Timetable (may be subject to change):
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:15 (15 minutes) | Check-in |
| 09:15 – 10:15 (60 minutes) | Session 1. Adolescence and Becoming an Adult: Growing, Separating, Becoming |
| 10:15 – 10:30 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 10:30 – 11:30 (60 minutes) | Session 2. Perspectives on Love: Being a Couple |
| 11:30 – 12:30 (60 minutes) | Session 3. Perspectives on Being a Parent: A Deeper Look |
| 12:30 – 13:30 (60 minutes) | LUNCH |
| 13:30 – 14:45 (75 minutes) | Session 4. Midlife Matters: Transitions, Turning Points and Crises |
| 14:45 – 15:15 (30 minutes) | BREAK |
| 15:15 – 16:30 (75 minutes) | Session 5. Ageing: Legacy, Loss and Living Authentically |
| 16:30 – 16:45 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 16:45 – 17:30 (45 minutes) | Small-Group Discussion: The Arc of a Life |
| 17:30 – 18:00 (30 minutes) | Check-out: reflections on the day |
Session 1. Adolescence and Becoming an Adult: Growing, Separating, Becoming. This session explores adolescence and early adulthood as important periods of emotional, relational and psychological development. Drawing on psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives, participants will consider how young people negotiate change, identity, relationships and the movement towards adulthood, and how this stage of life is changing today.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand adolescence and early adulthood as important stages of emotional, relational and psychological development.
- Recognise how psychoanalytic perspectives can help make sense of adolescent change and experience.
- Consider how Jungian perspectives can illuminate questions of growth, identity and meaning.
- Reflect on how young people move towards greater independence, autonomy and connection with others.
Session 2. Perspectives on Love: Being a Couple. This session explores couple relationships from a psychoanalytic perspective, considering how emotional and unconscious processes can shape intimacy, conflict, dependency and growth. Participants will reflect on the diversity of relationships and on how personal experience, culture and social context influence the ways people form and sustain partnerships.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand how psychoanalytic thinking can help make sense of couple relationships.
- Recognise how personal history and unconscious processes can shape relationship patterns.
- Appreciate the diversity of couple relationships and the different forms they may take.
- Reflect on how relationships can support personal growth, connection and self-understanding.
Session 3. Perspectives on Being a Parent: A Deeper Look. This session explores parenting as a deeply emotional and reflective experience. Participants will consider how personal history, relationships and wider cultural contexts can shape the experience of being a parent, and will reflect on the meanings, challenges and possibilities of parenting across different families and life circumstances.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand how psychoanalytic theories explain the psychological and emotional processes involved in becoming a parent.
- Recognise the impact of a parent’s own early experiences, internal world and cultural background on their relationship with their child.
- Identify key psychoanalytic concepts such as projection, identification and emotional containment.
- Explore developmental aspects of parenthood across diverse families.
Session 4. Midlife Matters: Transitions, Turning Points and Crises. This session explores midlife as an important period of transition, reflection and change. Drawing on psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives, participants will consider how midlife can bring questions about identity, relationships, purpose and meaning.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand midlife as an important period of emotional, relational and psychological change.
- Recognise how questions of identity, relationships, purpose and meaning can become more prominent during midlife.
- Consider how psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives can help make sense of midlife transitions.
- Reflect on how midlife challenges may also create opportunities for growth and self-understanding.
Session 5. Ageing: Legacy, Loss and Living Authentically. This session explores ageing as an important stage of emotional, relational and psychological development. Drawing on psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives, participants will consider how later life can bring questions about identity, change, relationships, meaning and mortality.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Understand ageing as an important stage of emotional, relational and psychological development.
- Recognise how later life can bring experiences of change, adjustment and reflection.
- Consider how people make sense of their life experiences in later life.
- Reflect on how later life may involve questions of meaning, identity, relationships and mortality.
Small-Group Discussion: The Arc of a Life. In small groups joined by members of the teaching faculty, participants reflect on a stage of life they have lived through or witnessed closely, and on how the day’s ideas help them understand it differently.
Check-out. A short closing check-out gives participants space to reflect on the day before Sunday’s sessions.
Day 3 (Sunday): Pathways to Practice
Day 3 focuses on professional training and practice. Qualified therapists share their personal and professional journeys in psychoanalytic and Jungian work with adults, children and adolescents, parents and infants, and couples, exploring the motivations and challenges of training, the emotional demands of clinical work and possible career pathways. The day also introduces training routes at the bpf and closes with a shared reflection on next steps.
Day 3 Plan
Indicative Timetable (may be subject to change):
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:15 (15 minutes) | Check-in |
| 09:15 – 10:15 (60 minutes) | Session 1. Training Journey: Adult Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychotherapy |
| 10:15 – 11:15 (60 minutes) | Session 2. Training Journey: Adult Jungian Psychotherapy |
| 11:15 – 11:30 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 11:30 – 12:45 (75 minutes) | Session 3. Training Journeys: Child and Adolescent, and Parent-Infant Psychotherapy |
| 12:45 – 13:45 (60 minutes) | LUNCH |
| 13:45 – 14:45 (60 minutes) | Session 4. Training Journey: Couples Psychodynamic Psychotherapy |
| 14:45 – 15:30 (45 minutes) | Session 5. Training Routes at the bpf |
| 15:30 – 16:15 (45 minutes) | Small-Group Discussion: Where Is This Taking Me? |
| 16:15 – 16:30 (15 minutes) | BREAK |
| 16:30 – 17:30 (60 minutes) | Session 6. Bringing It Together: Closing Reflection and Next Steps |
| 17:30 – 18:00 (30 minutes) | Course feedback and close |
Sessions 1 to 4. Training Journeys. Across four sessions, qualified therapists share their personal and professional journeys in adult psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy, adult Jungian psychotherapy, child and adolescent psychotherapy, parent-infant psychotherapy and couples psychotherapy. Each session includes time for questions.
Learning objectives
By the end of Sessions 1 to 4, participants will:
- Understand the diverse professional journeys and training pathways of psychotherapists across different client groups, including infants, children, adolescents, adults, parents and couples.
- Become familiar with the motivations, challenges and rewards experienced by psychotherapists during their training and professional development.
- Consider how therapists maintain self-care, resilience and ongoing professional growth throughout a clinical career.
- Gain insight into common clinical dilemmas and emotional demands faced by psychotherapists working with different client groups.
Session 5. Training Routes at the bpf. This session introduces the routes into further study and training at the British Psychotherapy Foundation, including foundation courses, postgraduate study and qualifying trainings, with time for questions.
Small-Group Discussion: Where Is This Taking Me? In small groups joined by members of the teaching faculty, participants reflect on what has resonated most over the three days and on the next steps they are considering.
Session 6. Bringing It Together: Closing Reflection and Next Steps. The concluding session brings together key themes from across the summer school. Participants will reflect on the most important takeaways, consider future learning opportunities and resources, and share in a group reflection that brings the programme to a close. The day ends with a short introduction to the course feedback form, which participants can complete afterwards.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants will:
- Identify key insights from the summer school and reflect on how these have shaped their understanding of psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas.
- Connect learning from the programme to their own personal, professional or academic interests.
- Consider possible next steps for further learning, reflection or engagement with psychotherapy training.
- Contribute to a shared sense of ending by reflecting on the experience of learning within the group.
Fees
| Summer School | 3 Days | 950 |
*Indicative course dates: 16th, 17th & 18th of July 2027 (Friday, Saturday & Sunday).
*Please note these dates may still change.
Places are limited to support depth of engagement.
How to Apply
Application fee: £25. Your application cannot be reviewed until the non-refundable application fee is covered.
Successful applicants will be required to secure their place by paying a non-refundable £400 deposit fee.
Applications to join the Summer School in July 2027 are now open. Please follow the link below to submit your application:
Please note that the dates and content for this programme may still change. For any questions, please contact: [email protected].
The standard of teaching was exceptional, and the course structure fostered an environment conducive to our growth and development as clinicians. Regular weekly supervision sessions allowed us to strengthen our peer relationships while deepening our learning.
bpf Student
Simply, it exceeded all my expectations, and sufficiently impressed and enthused me to consider a future career in psychotherapy. On a personal level it has changed me; something that has been accelerated by beginning my own personal analysis. I find myself thinking about non-verbal communications much more as a consequence of having attended the course.”
bpf Student
The course has allowed me to dip my toe into the analytic world and provided a broad overview of the analytic landscape. It has enhanced my understanding of psychoanalytic ideas and I’ve particularly benefited from speaking to experienced clinicians. The discussion groups in particular have been useful to clarify my own ideas and get a different perspective from others. Overall, it has helped me to determine if I would like to pursue work in this field.”
bpf Student
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Upcoming Events
When Societies Lose Their Minds – Date: 14/10/2026 Time: 19:00 – 21:00 GMT, Online via Zoom. Lord John Alderdice, Dr Gwen Adshead and Professor Josh Cohen explore violence at both an individual and societal level. Click here to register.
Hierarchies and Fragmentations in Psychoanalysis: In-person Conference – 21 November 2026 | 10.00am – 5.00pm. Location: London (LIFT Islington). A conference exploring how psychoanalysis and Jungian analysis can evolve, adapt and thrive in the 21st century. Click here to register.
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