psychoanalytic psychotherapy association training
Training in the PPA incorporates best clinical practice and high standards. It is accredited by the British Psychoanalytic Council. Once qualified, members are eligible for registration with the British Psychoanalytic Council which is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority. You will be equipped to work intensively and in depth with adult patients.
With this foundation, therapists are well equipped to develop a private practice or to apply the model to work in the NHS, higher education and the third sector.
course content
The practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy seeks to explore, understand and work in depth with the emotional problems of another. It necessarily requires a rigorous and thorough training which entails the therapist’s time and commitment and the capacity to explore themselves in their own personal therapy.
Our training is underpinned by a theoretical framework derived from the rich, longstanding and well-founded psychoanalytic traditions of Freud, Klein, Bion, Winnicott and the British Object Relations School. Based on Freud’s discovery and elaboration of the unconscious and its effects in everyday life, the work explores the ways that unconscious aspects and conflicts of the personality may be hindering development and informing conscious choices in an unhelpful way.
Intensive Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy involves seeing a patient three times a week, usually on the couch. This frequency, together with the psychoanalytic setting, enables a depth of contact between therapist and patient that is significant and effective. It is an internationally recognized standard of psychoanalytic work that is also practically manageable in terms of time, money and the other demands of contemporary life.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy allows for a sustained and meaningful therapeutic relationship to develop. This allows both patient and therapist to explore and understand the patient’s difficulties and conflicts in his inner world in the safe and contained setting of the consulting room. Treatment aims to reach beyond the initial symptoms which may have initiated the desire for therapy, to the underlying causes which reside in deeper layers of the personality. Working in this way can provide profound and lasting change for the patient, and a deeply rewarding and creative experience for the therapist and patient alike.
structure
Our qualifying course comprises the following strands: the trainee’s own personal psychotherapy/analysis; the completion of an infant observation (which can be undertaken prior to applying to the training); a psychiatric placement; undertaking clinical work with patients under supervision, and attendance and participation in weekly theoretical and clinical seminars.
The Theory and Clinical seminars are held on one weekday evening between 6.30 – 10.00pm. A further seminar, for Infant Observation, is attended, at a time to suit the individual during the first year (or two, if a two year observation is undertaken). Two Saturday mornings a term are also scheduled with workshops and plenaries with the Training Committee.
2022 term dates
spring term
11th January - 22nd March
Half Term: the week of 15th February
Saturday seminars:
- Platform group only: Saturday 8th January
- Rolling group only: Saturday 29th January
- All trainees: Saturday 26th February
summer term
26thApril - 5th July
Half Term: the week of 31st May
Saturday seminars:
- All trainees: Saturday 7th May
- All trainees: Saturday 25th June
autumn term
20th September - 29th November
Half Term: the week of 25th October
Saturday seminars:
- All trainees: Saturday 8th October
- All trainees Saturday 12th November
entry requirements
personal therapy
It is crucial that a psychoanalytic psychotherapist has a thorough knowledge of their own emotional conflicts and difficulties in order to be able to work in an appropriately professional way with their patients. We believe that a trainee’s personal psychotherapy is central to their development as a psychotherapist and is a core part of the training.
Therefore we require trainees to be established in a minimum of three times a week therapy before starting the training and continue in it until reaching qualification. This therapy should be undertaken with an approved PPA training therapist, which will ensure that the therapy and training are congruent with that which trainees are learning to practice.
If you are not yet in therapy we will assist you in finding a suitable training therapist.
Selection of candidates for training is made solely on the basis of qualities directly concerned with the ability to learn and to function as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and each application is carefully considered on a case-by-case basis.
Typically, successful applicants have some experience of working with adults on emotional difficulties within a one-to-one relationship, either professionally or on volunteer basis. They may have a degree, but we also accept applications from those able to demonstrate the capacity to undertake the academic components of the course.
An application is likely to be strengthened by having some familiarity with psychoanalytic ideas.
Following acceptance onto the course, those without previous psychiatric experience will need to undertake a psychiatric placement, either before or during the training. Those with little relevant clinical experience will need to undertake a clinical placement, as all trainees need to be engaged in one-to-one therapeutic work with adults during the first pre-clinical year of the training, so that they can participate fully in the clinical work seminars.
cost
Undertaking a clinical training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy represents a major personal investment in terms of time, money and individual development. We hope the following information will give you a sense of what training at the bpf might be like.
We aim to keep fees as affordable as possible, and they are currently set at £2,950 annually for the four years of the theory curriculum. After this, while clinical work is completed, there is a reduction in the annual fee.
If an Infant Observation is undertaken there is an additional fee of £500 per term.
Trainees also pay an annual bpf membership fee of £135 which provides access to the bpf library, to PEPWEB (an excellent online resource of psychoanalytic literature), and access to bpf’s wide-ranging scientific and cultural life.
The trainee’s fees for their own personal therapy is negotiated with the training therapist on an individual basis. Similarly, when beginning to see training patients the cost of supervision will be discussed with each training supervisor. Trainees will need to provide an appropriate setting to see training patients and this may involve room rental costs.
how to apply
If you are considering training with the PPA, please email Lydia Hortyn, the PPA Training Coordinator, ([email protected]), who will put you in contact with a PPA Advisor (a member of the PPA Training Committee). Before contacting the PPA Training Coordinator, please ensure you have carefully read the information on the PPA pages of the bpf website including the entry requirements.
PPA Advisors can help you prepare to apply, as well as answer questions about the structure, content and cost of the training. If your enquiry is at an early stage, the PPA Advisor can offer guidance with regard to the next steps to consider, including how to find an approved training therapist.
The application closing date for the January 2023 intake is Monday 18th July 2022. Early applications are welcome.
In the event that you may not be able to meet the deadline, please contact Lydia Hortyn.
resources
PPA Curriculum
downloadMaking sense of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis (by BPC).
A very clear and comprehensive account of what psychoanalytic psychotherapy is, including its history and how it differs from other treatments, written by psychoanalyst Jane Milton
view documentaccess information
The building is currently closed – please contact the Training Coordinator via email or telephone only.
contact us
If you would like further information about this course or you would like help in preparing to apply, including finding a training therapist, choosing an introductory course or finding a suitable honorary placement, please contact our PPA Training Coordinator, Lydia Hortyn, and you will be put in contact with an experienced PPA advisor.
Before contacting the PPA Training Coordinator, please ensure you have carefully read the information on the PPA pages of the bpf website including the entry requirements.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07835 947 414
Please note: we currently have places available on the full training for the January 2022 intake. Contact the PPA Training Coordinator by email, if you would like to be considered and we will respond to you as soon as possible. MES applications are accepted throughout the year.
The bpf is committed to diversity and inclusivity in all the work we deliver. We are fully dedicated to promoting, maintaining and supporting equality of opportunity in all aspects of our organisation and, as such, the bpf welcomes applications from all sections of society.