Experiential Weekend: Deepening Analytic Practice

Course Aims

The weekend aims to deepen clinicians’ felt understanding of core analytic concepts by experiencing them directly, in a group, rather than only thinking about them. Transference, countertransference, projection, containment and the unconscious are explored as they arise in the here and now.

A central aim is to strengthen the clinician’s capacity for self-reflection: noticing one’s own emotional responses, blind spots and ‘shadow’, and considering how these may shape the work with patients and clients.

The weekend also brings psychoanalytic and Jungian perspectives into conversation, inviting participants to compare how each tradition understands dreams, symbols and the therapeutic relationship, and what each might add to their existing way of working.

Finally, the weekend offers a space for reflection and professional connection: time away from the demands of practice to reflect alongside colleagues from different modalities and settings.

Who Is This For?

This weekend is for qualified, practising psychotherapists and counsellors who would like to deepen their engagement with psychoanalytic and Jungian ideas through experiential learning.

It is particularly suited to clinicians who have encountered analytic theory in their training and wish to explore it more experientially, those from other modalities who work with or are curious about unconscious processes, and analytically trained clinicians looking for a space to reflect on their practice and reconnect with the foundations of their work.

It may also be of interest to clinicians considering further analytic training with the bpf, who would like to experience the reflective, process-oriented style of our trainings first.

Facilitation and Ethos

The weekend is led by Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists and/or Jungian Analysts, who bring extensive clinical experience, group work skills and a deep familiarity with both traditions.

Facilitators hold the group in an analytic spirit: attending to what emerges in the here and now, and offering reflection and inquiry rather than instruction. Participants are invited to engage as themselves, not only in their professional role.

Theory and experience are held together throughout. Short inputs introduce key ideas, which are then explored through group process, dreamwork, and creative and reflective exercises, and brought back to clinical practice in discussion.

Confidentiality and psychological safety are treated as essential. Clear boundaries and group agreements are established at the start. Where participants refer to clinical work, all material must be fully anonymised, and the focus remains on the clinician’s own experience rather than on case supervision.

Course Structure

This intensive weekend moves between short theoretical inputs, experiential group work and reflection on clinical practice. Each session builds on the last, so that ideas are first encountered, then experienced, then brought back into the consulting room.

Saturday Morning: The Analytic Attitude Revisited

• Arrival and Opening Circle. Welcome, introductions, group agreements, and a first reflection on what each participant brings to the weekend from their practice.
• Two Traditions in Conversation. An interactive input comparing psychoanalytic and Jungian understandings of the unconscious, the therapeutic relationship and the aims of analytic work.
• Countertransference in the Room. An experiential exercise exploring how we are affected by others, followed by reflection on how these responses can be used as clinical information.

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Saturday Afternoon: Dreams, Symbol and the Unconscious

• Social Dreaming or Dream Group. Participants share and associate to their own dreams in a facilitated group, experiencing how dream material opens onto personal and shared themes.
• The Clinician’s Unconscious. A reflective and creative exercise, using writing or image-making, exploring aspects of ourselves that may be disowned or projected, and how these can shape our work with patients and clients.

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Saturday Evening: Myth, Story and the Clinical Narrative

• Myth and Metaphor. A storytelling session drawing on myth and fairy tale, exploring the patterns that can appear in patients’ stories and in our own.
• Open Reflection. Group space for thoughts, feelings and questions arising from the day.

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Sunday Morning: The Group as a Mirror of the Consulting Room

• Analytic Group Process. An extended group session facilitated in an analytic style, attending to here-and-now feelings, projection and group dynamics.
• Debrief: From Group to Practice. Reflection on what the group experience shows about containment, projection and the therapeutic frame, and how this relates to individual clinical work.

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Sunday Afternoon: Integration and Next Steps

• Integration Exercise. Each participant reflects on what they will take back into their practice, including questions they want to keep exploring.
• Further Training and CPD. A short talk and Q&A on further analytic training and CPD opportunities at the bpf.
• Closing Circle. Reflections, feedback and an ending to the weekend together.

Entry Requirements

To attend this weekend, you will need to be:

• A qualified psychotherapist or counsellor, and
• Currently practising clinically.

As the weekend is led by Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists and/or Jungian Analysts, some familiarity with psychoanalytic and/or Jungian theory is assumed. You do not need to have trained analytically, but you should be comfortable with core concepts such as the unconscious, transference and countertransference.

Fees

Weekend Programme: *£560

_{*Prices are indicative and will be confirmed closer to launch.}

How to Apply

Please register your interest using the button below and you will be sent an application form when applications open.

Provisional Dates: Weekend, 16th/17th of October 2027.

If you have any questions about the course, please contact: [email protected]

Please email [email protected] to discuss any access needs.