Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Training

Our Foundation Course is now the first year of this 4-year bpf psychodynamic psychotherapy training. After completing the Foundation Course you can apply to join year 2 of the bpf psychodynamic psychotherapy training, which takes a further 3 years to complete and leads to qualification as a psychodynamic psychotherapist.

If you have completed a similar foundation course elsewhere you can still be considered for entry to year 2 of the programme, however the external training will need to cover the same core components of our Foundation Course.

Foundation Course: Trainees will attend theory study days on a Saturday once a month and fortnightly clinical seminars. This can either be in-person or online.  The clinical seminars are taught and are skills-based.  Trainees will be in a voluntary placement or equivalent (see entry criteria) and/or have relevant professional experience (e.g. nursing, social work, teaching). Trainees do not need to be in supervision groups during the foundation year as they will not be seeing patients. Trainee clinical presentations for the clinical seminars evolve over time and are in essence work discussion groups.

Year 2: Trainees will be in a psychotherapy placement (NHS, or other organisational setting).  Clinical work with patients in placements must be face to face but can be done locally to you. Trainees will attend theory seminars, clinical seminars and experiential groups in person at The BPF once a week during term time on a Monday afternoon. Trainees will also attend supervision groups outside the teaching days, either in person or online. Supervision group are no more than three trainees. Clinical supervision is included in the BPF annual fee (details of annual fees are provided on application).

Year 3: Trainees will need to have a psychiatric placement or take part in a two day psychiatric simulation programme as this is a BPC requirement for the title of psychodynamic psychotherapist rather than counsellor.  Trainees can apply to take on their training patients (from The Low Fee Therapy Scheme Manager and Clinical Services). Trainees need to see two once-weekly patients for at least a year. This is the BPC minimum requirement. The bpfwill offer them up to four training patients though.  This is to give trainees more experience and also act as a buffer if any training patients drop out. Trainees will take these patients into private practice but can also see their training patients in a placement if they prefer. In short, trainees can do a mixture of private practice and placement work if they so choose.  If they need to take on a second supervisor for individual supervision, we will ask them to do that.

Trainees will have theory lectures and clinical seminars in person at The BPF on Friday mornings and also attend supervision groups outside the teaching days, either in person or online. Supervision group are no more than three trainees

Year 4: Same as year 3, except that teaching seminars take place in person at The BPF on a Friday afternoon.

Experiential groups: Only The Foundation Course students will have an experiential group. This will occur after the teaching seminars have finished. 

Trainees are expected to be in personal therapy for the entirety of their training, ideally at least six months before they enrol.  Training therapists should be psychanalytic psychotherapists or Jungian analysts, 5 years post qualified, BPC registrants.  Therapy must be face to face and, moreover, finding a local therapist may be more difficult in rural settings.  Patient work and placements must be face to face but can be done locally to you.

This training takes 4 years to complete, and the course fees for 2024/25 are as follows: 

Foundation Course (Year 1) – £5150

Clinical Training (Years 2-4) – £6850 per year (including supervision)

To work with clients, all trainees must hold a bpf trainee membership. 

Trainee membership costs:

£101.65 p/a during Foundation Course .

£144.45 p/a during years 2, 3 & 4 until qualification.

The Clinical Qualification in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is a professional qualification that leads to qualification as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. This course is not an academic qualification.

Students pay for this training with self-funding, a private student loan, or employer sponsorship.

Please see our Financial Guidance page for more information.

Entry Requirements for Year 1/Foundation Year

• Relevant professional or voluntary experience (e.g. nursing, social work, teaching, befriending, crisis-line work)
• Undergraduate degree or other evidence of academic ability
• Counselling or counselling-related experience in professional or voluntary capacity
• Emotional resilience and capacity for self-reflection

Direct Entry into Year 2

The lead-in to Year 2 of the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training is from The bpf Foundation Course (also known as Year 1). Those who have completed our MSc Psychodynamics of Human Development can also apply to join Year 2 of this training.

We are able to consider applications from those who have studied a Diploma, Certificate or Foundation Course at a different psychodynamic or psychoanalytic training institution. We recommend you contact us, before applying, to discuss your experience at: [email protected]

What we need to know are the answers to the following questions:

• Was the training psychodynamic/psychanalytic/Jungian analytic in nature?
• Was there a taught component for clinical seminars?
• Was there an observational component and/or work discussion group seminars?
• Did you attend a placement and/or see patients under supervision?
• Was this a psychotherapy placement (NHS, or other organisational setting)?
• Did you accrue clinical hours?
• Do you have clinical supervisors’ reports?

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

What’s it like to be a psychotherapist? Psychoanalytic psychotherapist (youtube.com)

What’s it like to be a psychotherapist? Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist (youtube.com)

What’s it like to be a psychotherapist? Jungian Analyst (youtube.com)

Why become a psychotherapist? (part I)

Why become a psychotherapist? (part II)

See our Psychotherapy Training Pathways diagram to view the potential pathways to qualification as a psychotherapist or analyst.

To apply to Year 1 of this training, visit our Foundation Course page.

To apply for the clinical component of this training (Years 2-4), please download and complete an application form by clicking the button below. After completing Years 2-4 of this course, students will qualify as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist and be able to register as a member of the the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and the British Psychotherapy Foundation (bpf). BPC accreditation of this course is due to take place in Summer 2024.

On rare occasions, students that have not completed the necessary amount of clinical work during the course will be need to continue accruing clinical experience after the course has finished in order to qualify.

Please submit your completed application form (as a Word doc) via email to the PD Training Coordinator at: [email protected] and complete the online payment of the application fee (£170) by clicking the button below.

The application fee is to cover the cost of two interviews. If no interviews are offered, your application fee will be returned. Your application cannot be processed until you pay the application fee.

If you have completed a Foundation Course at another organisation, you may be considered for entry into Year 2 of the course. Please email: [email protected] to discuss your eligibility.