Psychotherapy training course

The Philadelphia Association’s training course in psychoanalytic psychotherapy offers trainees a context for critical thinking and questioning.

The Philadelphia Association is unusual in that it operates a ‘slow open training group'. This means that new trainees join the existing student group, which will include trainees who have been on the course for a number of years.

In addition to studying some of the principal thinkers in the psychoanalytic tradition, including Freud, Ferenczi, Klein, Winnicott, Bion and Lacan, the training also engages with the work of philosophers such as Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, Blanchot, Foucault, Derrida and Wittgenstein. Attention is also paid to feminist and post-feminist thinkers including Jessica Benjamin, Julia Kristeva and Luce Irigaray. See this year's course programme.

Successful completion of the training entitles the graduate to become a member of the Philadelphia Association and to be included on its register of therapists and on the register of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

Seminars - time and venue

The training programme is held on one evening each week during term (Tuesdays at 7pm), at the centre in Hampstead. There is at least one study weekend each year.

Course duration

Trainees are required to attend the training for a minimum of three years (not including the introductory course year). The majority of trainees graduate after four or more years. The first year is a probationary one.

Personal psychotherapy

Applicants for training are required to have been in personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy twice weekly, for at least one year before they apply, and must continue throughout the training.

Tutorials

Each trainee is allocated a tutor for the duration of their training, and will meet with their tutor at least once a term to discuss progress.

Clinical work

Trainees are required to begin twice-weekly therapeutic clinical work by the beginning of their second term. Clinical work will be supervised weekly by an approved supervisor (a psychoanalytic psychotherapist of several years’ post-qualification experience). Trainees are also expected to have a six month period of involvement with one of the Association’s therapeutic community households.

Qualifications

There are no formal academic criteria for admission to the training. However, applicants must have attended the Philadelphia Association's one-year Introductory course. Applicants should submit an application form outlining their reasons for wishing to train as psychotherapists and to train with the Association. Candidates are expected to demonstrate sensitivity, maturity, flexibility and a capacity for critical thought.

How to apply

Candidates should apply direct to the Philadelphia Association office. The closing date for main interviews is late April, although applications may be made at other times.

Fees

Application/interview fee: £150 (non-returnable)
Course fee: £1,200 per year (£400 payable termly)

Contact the Philadelphia Association office for further details.