The Full Training

The Full Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is an exciting and robust 4+ year training (including a Foundation Year) for individuals wishing to train as Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists and includes unique supervised placements in our Therapeutic Communities. Final Year students are referred training patients from our Psychotherapy Service and our graduates are eligible for  registration with the UKCP (CPJA section) and AAP.

Time commitment: Monday and Thursday evenings 7- 10 pm

The programme involves a range of seminars, workshops, experiential groups, clinical placements, personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy and supervised training cases. Seminar leaders are all senior psychoanalytic psychotherapists( many having trained with the Arbours) including senior clinicians from external organisations such as the Tavistock and Portman Clinics, the Institute for Group Analysis, the Women’s Therapy Centre and members of the Psychoanalytic Consortium.

Seminar programme

Our seminar programme covers Core Theories (Monday Evenings) and Theory in Practice (Thursday evenings).

 Our Core Theories series provide a comprehensive overview of psychoanalytic theory from its origins in Freud and his associates to the work of Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott and the Object Relations and Independent schools amongst others, to  the more contemporary thinking such as that of Lacan and the Relational school. Seminars also cover the influence of such thinkers as RD Laing and critique popular and historical concepts of mental health or illness.

The training also places considerable importance on understanding the influence of factors such as gender, class, race, culture and language within both the therapeutic relationship and society at large.

Our Theory in Practice seminars offer both clinical presentations and discussions by trainees and qualified members, and taught seminars on a range of clinical issues such as self-harm, trauma and abuse, suicidal ideation/acts, sexual behaviour, identity issues and eating difficulties .

To request a further information pack please click here >>

Clinical Placements

During the training students undertake 2 placements in one of our residential Therapeutic Communities.

Each placement is usually for a minimum of 1-2 days p.w for 6-12 month and includes weekly individual and group supervision and support. Placements are designed to be flexible in order to allow for domestic, cultural or employment commitments and are a unique and invaluable opportunity to work alongside experienced psychotherapists in an intensive setting.

After having satisfactorily completed the above, trainees are eligible for referral of at least 2 patients from the Psychotherapy Service, offering at least twice weekly sessions and involving both individual and group supervision.

Personal psychotherapy and Tutorials

Trainees are required to be in individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy at least three times a week, starting upon acceptance to the programme and continuing for the duration. Trainees also meet twice per term with a Personal Tutor who provides support  and discussion around any areas of concern or interest to the student during their training.

Graduation and qualification

Upon successful completion of the course the trainee, subject to the decision of the training committee, is awarded a Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and be invited to become a member of the Association of Arbours Psychotherapists (AAP) which provides regular CPD , social events and professional networking. All graduates are eligible for registration with the United Kingdom Council for psychotherapy (UKCP) CPJA section.

Please click here for how to apply and to request a Training Information Pack containing more details regarding each programme’s content, application forms and procedure, course requirements etc. or complete our enquiry form.