Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training (PPA)

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.

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

11^th January – 22^nd March
Half Term: the week of 15^th February

Saturday seminars:

• Platform group only: Saturday 8^th January
• Rolling group only: Saturday 29^th January
• All trainees:  Saturday 26^th February

Summer term

26^thApril – 5^th July
Half Term: the week of 31^st May

Saturday seminars:

• All trainees: Saturday 7^th May
• All trainees: Saturday 25^th June

Autumn term

20^th September – 29^th November
Half Term: the week of 25^th October

Saturday seminars:

• All trainees: Saturday 8^th October
• All trainees Saturday 12^th November

Personal therapy
 

It is crucial that psychoanalytic psychotherapists have 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.

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.

2025/2026 Course Fees:

The annual fee for the four years of the theory curriculum is £4,244.

Yr 1	Yr 2	Yr 3	Yr 4
£4,244	£3,966	£3,966	£3,966

If clinical work needs to continue beyond the four years, there is a reduction in the annual fee to £1,994.

If an Infant Observation is undertaken during the course, there is an additional fee of £1,653.

Trainees also pay an annual bpf membership fee of £144.45 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. 

PPA Curriculum

Attend our Virtual Open Day to watch a presentation about this course.

Contact us at [email protected] to discuss any access requirements.

If you are considering training with the PPA, please email 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 2025 intake is July 1st 2024.

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.