Based on the idea that mental illness is to some extent the result of repressed negative experience, psychodynamic counselling aims to expose the contents of a client's unconscious to make him or her aware of any underlying psychological conflicts.
It prioritises the therapeutic relationship and draws from the work of psychoanalysts such as Freud, Klein, Winnicott and Bion, as well as more contemporary thinkers such as Lacan, Bowlby, Kohut, Mitchell and Benjamin.
The postgraduate diploma teaches models of both long-and short-term counselling, the second of which is particularly relevant to NHS work and employee counselling schemes. It stresses the importance of developing counselling awareness through practice in workshops and provides a sound theoretical foundation to the psychodynamic approach.
The course is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and therefore recognised as preparing students for work as a professional counsellor. The university itself is an organisational member of the BACP as well as the Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UCPA).
The courses are taught on a semester system with two semesters each year. The provisional dates for the 2017-2018 academic year are as follows:
In addition to academic study, you will need to complete 100 hours of supervised counselling practice in an approved clinical practice agency, for example at the Rock Clinic or Sussex University counselling service.
You also need to undertake a course of personal therapy that lasts for the duration of the course, from October of year 1 to June of year 2, and we recommend that you factor in the cost of this therapy before your application.
Assessment consists of four essays and three case studies. You will also keep a professional log of your clinical work and maintain a personal journal.
The course contains four major elements: academic and professional studies, practical training, training supervision, and personal growth and development. A strong theoretical knowledge is of great importance and considerable weight is given to canonical writers. The seminars provide a broad overview of the reading material and invite you to reflect further on it.
Psychodynamic counsellors rely on their own feelings to help make sense of the moment-by-moment changes in client sessions. This process underlies the need for a certain level of self-awareness and maturity, hence why personal growth and development is the fourth key strand on the course. This is partly met through personal development groups and partly through your own counselling or therapy.
Year 1 modules
Year 2 modules
Completion of the Postgraduate Diploma allows continuation (after successful application) on to our Psychotherapy MSc
The postgraduate diploma has an excellent reputation in the locality and our students have gone on to hold counselling posts across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Others have progressed to further training or used their counselling skills in their existing professions.
If you enjoy the course and are interested in further study, you may want to consider our Psychotherapy MSc, to which all successful graduates of the PGDip are eligible to apply.
An intensive foundation in counselling for those who meet elements of counselling in their day-to-day work and who wish to enter this field professionally.
This programme is designed to provide an intensive foundation in counselling for those who meet elements of counselling in their day-to-day work and who wish to enter this field professionally, but lack sufficient experience and qualification to study at postgraduate diploma level.
It is particularly suitable for those anticipating an application to our MA in Counselling.
The programme is taught by means of theoretical lectures, seminars, experiential workshops and group tutorials. You’ll study key theoretical concepts that inform the practice of humanistic and psychodynamic counselling and will identify the specific responsibilities and processes of the counselling alliance.
Please note: the programme is at post-experience rather than postgraduate level.
This course takes place over 26 weeks. In 2017-18, teaching will take place on Wednesdays, 6-9pm.
Autumn term
Spring term
Summer term
Assessment is continual and is carried out by means of 2 essays of 2,500 words; a reflective journal and a practical skills assessment. Students must pass all four essays pieces of work to be awarded the Certificate. 40% constitutes the pass mark.
Download the programme specification, relating to the 2017-18 intake. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Skills
You'll develop critical, communication and interpersonal skills, and listening skills.
Careers
Suitable careers for graduates of this programme include:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
This programme is ideal if you wish to qualify and pursue a career as a professional counsellor. It's designed to enable you to develop as a reflective counselling practitioner.
This is a psychodynamic course, aimed to give students solid theoretical foundations as well as basic counselling skills in psychodynamic counselling and psychotherapy. It combines classical with contemporary psychodynamic theory and has a strong emphasis on issues relating to diversity and multiculturalism in theory and practice.
The programme offers a full-time mode of study extending over a minimum of two years and a part-time mode of study extending over a minimum of three years.
The curriculum focuses on psychodynamic, psychoanalytic and relational psychoanalytic perspectives.
Through engagement in a range of learning contexts, including lectures, group seminars, therapeutic skills practice workshops, creative workshops, experiential group work, counselling placements, personal therapy, tutorials, independent study and dissertation supervision, students are supported in developing links between personal, clinical and theoretical knowledge.
Although the training is not an ‘accredited’ course of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), many students on the programme have chosen to complete the requirements stipulated by the BACP to become individually accredited clinical practitioners.
Modules
Assessment
Assessment for this course will be conducted through essays, practicum and viva, presentation, dissertation, portfolio, report(s) and log of hours.
You’ll benefit from the wealth of experience of our staff and their commitment to ensuring that you’ll leave us as a reflective, research-minded professional.
We offer programmes in Community Studies, Social Work, and Therapeutic Studies.
Our degrees are informed by our commitment to social justice and applied practices – whether you want to:
You’ll benefit from the wealth of experience of our staff and their commitment to ensuring that you’ll leave us as a reflective, research-minded professional.
Find out more about the Department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies.
The programme will enable you to develop:
Suitable careers for graduates of this programme include:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
This programme provides you with a broad understanding of the theories and practices of dance movement therapy necessary for safe and effective clinical work, and enables you to practise as a dance movement therapist.
This programme is accredited by the Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy.
Your learning will be underpinned by the principles and practices of psychodynamic psychotherapy within the social, political and multicultural context of mental health care and educational settings. Study is informed by contemporary dance practice, Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and somatic bodywork.
Through theoretical studies, movement observation studies, dance practice workshops, clinical work and experiential learning, you integrate cognitive understanding and practical experience with a developing awareness of self and other.
The nature of the therapeutic relationship is explored in depth through movement and dance and you have the opportunity to put your learning into practice through at least 90 days of supervised placements. This gives you the opportunity to relate your practical experience to your theoretical studies.
You'll be encouraged to develop your own dance/movement practice and to situate your work in relation to your development as a therapist, to contemporary dance and movement practice. You're required to be in personal therapy throughout the programme.
On graduation you are eligible to become a registered professional member of the Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy (ADMP UK).
The MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy programme is made up of 240 credits and provides you with a broad understanding of the theories and practices of Dance Movement Psychotherapy necessary for safe and effective clinical work as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist.
It aims to enhance your self-knowledge and interpersonal relationships and to promote your psychodynamic understanding of individuals, groups and society; working with questions of difference, equality and diversity.
Your learning is underpinned by the principles and practices of psychodynamic psychotherapy within the social, political and multicultural context of mental health care and educational settings, and informed by contemporary dance practice and Laban Movement Analysis (LMA). On successful completion of the MA you will be able to apply to the Association of Dance Movement Psychotherapists UK for registration.
Modules
Assessment
Assessed by coursework, film, portfolio, case study, dissertation, log and reports
During their training students will gain clinical experience in both child and adult placement settings. Please visit the website for more information.
Key employability skills developed on the course include:
Examples of places that DMP MA graduates are currently working:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
A collaboration between West London Mental Health NHS Trust and Buckinghamshire New University, the course provides the conceptual tools, their application to clinical work, a specialised group experience and a research dissertation to equip participants to orient themselves to the complex reality of their roles in mental health organizations.
By focusing on individual, group and institutional dynamics, this training is specifically designed to explore the preconditions for maintaining boundaries, ensuring relational security and delivering coherent, effective treatment interventions.
MSc graduates are eligible to apply for British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) registration as Psychodynamic Practitioners in Mental Health (General or Forensic). Successful graduates can apply to the Forensic Psychotherapy Society for a further clinical training of two years leading to a BPC qualification as Forensic Psychodynamic and Complex Needs therapist, with full membership of the Forensic Psychotherapy Society which is a new member institution of the BPC.
What will this course cover?
There are five distinct elements to this master's degree:
an understanding of the basic theoretical framework of psychodynamic theory and practice
an applied element to enable the student to reflect upon the emotional impact of being with the patient
an understanding of group and organizational dynamics and how these shape all other relationships
teaches a structured model of inter personal dynamic consultation for multi disciplinary teams
support for undertaking a dissertation which includes a taught element of research methods.
Careers
This course will help you to deepen, enhance and extend your knowledge, skills and experience of psychotherapeutic approaches to mental health practice in your clinical setting, both independently and through consultation with other health care professionals, using evidence-based practice to support decisions.
You will be able to critically analyse issues relating to individual, interpersonal and group working, and accountability in order to develop the understanding required to perform the role of a mental health practitioner utilising a psychotherapeutic approach to mental health care.
In addition, you will develop the knowledge and skills required in the augmentation of your clinical work and the delivery of effective psychotherapeutic approaches to practice.
How to apply
Apply here: http://bucks.ac.uk/applynow/
This programme provides training in counselling and psychotherapy to become eligible for the BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) individual practitioner accreditation. This three year part-time postgraduate degree is especially designed to provide you with the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary to work in primary and secondary schools making a positive impact in children and young people’s mental health.
This course helps you to become a practitioner who is able to work with child and adolescent clients one-to-one, who present with diverse psychological issues in a variety of settings including both mainstream and special education, children’s hospitals and children’s and adolescent’s mental health (CAMHS). You will become critically reflective and develop an enquiring attitude to theory, research and practice in complex areas of counselling and psychotherapy especially in respect to working with children and adolescents.
Based on the approach for the Integrative and Counselling Psychotherapy course, our integrative approach, is at the forefront of counselling and psychotherapy theory, practice and research. It incorporates aspects from three main therapeutic traditions; person-centred, attachment-based and psychodynamic. You will be encouraged to explore psychological processes and experiences from these different perspectives, and recognise the theoretical, personal and cultural assumptions which influence your work.
This programme includes a focus on both child centred (based on Carl Roger’s person centred approach) and psychodynamic perspectives and integrates these within a framework for understanding psychological and mental growth. Throughout the programme, you will develop a high level of awareness of self and the demands of the therapeutic process. This will be achieved through your own personal therapy and via small group clinical supervision that runs parallel to the practice placements.
You will be taught by leading experts in the field who lead on cutting-edge research projects and who have excellent links to school based counselling and child and adolescent psychopathology underpinned by our research centres CREST – Centre for Research in Social & Psychological Transformations CARICAW- Centre for Applied Research & assessment in Child and Adolescent Wellbeing.
As well as cognitive and reflective skills, you will also learn practical ways of working with your clients in a therapeutic relationship to address conscious and unconscious needs and produce a change in emotional and cognitive processes and behaviour. This involves integrating complex and advanced skills, and responding creatively to complex, novel and unpredictable situations.
This programme will provide you with a broad understanding of the theories and practices of art psychotherapy necessary for safe and effective clinical work.
The Masters enables you to practice as an art therapist in the NHS, Social Services, and educational establishments, and to become a practitioner registered with the British Association of Art Therapists.
Your learning is underpinned by the principles and practices of psychodynamic psychotherapy practised within the context of mental health care, and informed by contemporary art practice.
Via theoretical studies, clinical work and experiential learning you will integrate cognitive understanding and practical experience with a developing awareness of self and other. The nature of the therapeutic relationship between client, their art work, and the art therapist is explored, and you have the opportunity to put your learning into practice through two 60-day placements which are supervised and supported in-depth.
You are encouraged to develop your own art practice and to situate your work in relationship to your development as a therapist, to contemporary art practice and to psychoanalytic theories. You must be in personal therapy throughout the programme.
Modes of study
The MA in Art Psychotherapy is a course that leads to successful applicants becoming eligible to apply for registration as an Arts Therapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the body which regulates and monitors standards of practice in the public sector. The programme can be studied in two modes - full-time for 2 years or part-time for 3 years. A clear indication of the mode chosen should be stated on application forms.
Personal therapy
It's a mandatory aspect of the course that all students must be in personal therapy for the duration of their training. It is usual for therapists to expect attendance throughout the calendar year except for usual holiday breaks; this may entail attendance outside term time.
Therapy may be on a group or individual basis and can be art therapy or verbal psychotherapy. Attendance must be at least once weekly. It must be stressed that it is not acceptable for a student to be in therapy with a trainee; all personal therapists should be qualified and registered with a relevant professional organisation. Students’ therapists will also be expected to register their professional details with the college. Contact is made with students' therapists at various points in the training to ensure that consistent attendance is being maintained.
Modules
Assessed by assignment, portfolio, case study, presentation, dissertation, reports and logs.
Download the programme specification. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Skills
The MA will develop skills including:
Careers
Completion of the programme provides eligibility for the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration as an art psychotherapist.
Our graduates are invariably seen as offering a valuable and unique service to their clients and to the multidisciplinary teams in which they work – graduates have gone on to practice as art psychotherapists in the NHS, social services and in the education sector.
We regularly receive positive feedback from organisations that employ art therapists and/or accept trainees on placement.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
This programme provides professional training that leads to eligibility for registration as a counselling psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and chartered status with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
This programme has recently been updated and re-validated to incorporate new BPS standards. It is at the leading edge of international developments in counselling psychology practice, research and theory; and brings together contemporary understandings from person-centred psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural models of therapy. There is a strong emphasis on your identity and employability as a practitioner psychologist, including skills in assessment and formulation, leadership, service evaluation, psychological testing, qualitative and quantitative research methods.
The course is based on a pluralistic relational philosophy that values diversity, and promotes individual empowerment and social change. This means that we respect and value a wide range of approaches to psychological intervention and research, view relationships as central to wellbeing, and seek to enable trainees to make a positive difference both at an individual and social level through their clinical and research work.
See a short video about counselling psychology featuring the University of Roehampton's Professor Mick Cooper.
You will join a vibrant community of practitioners and researchers, who will help you achieve your goals, and enable you to make a valuable contribution to the field of counselling psychology.
In years one and two as a trainee, you will focus on gaining clinical experience working in person-centred and psychodynamic models of therapy respectively. In year three, you will have the option of gaining experience working in a cognitive-behavioural, integrative or pluralistic model. By the end of the programme, you will have completed a minimum requirement of 450 supervised client hours in a range of placement settings.
Starting in your second year, you will work towards the production of a doctoral portfolio to showcase and integrate your learning as a counselling psychologist, across both professional practice and research domains. The portfolio contains elements, such as research papers, that you will be encouraged to submit for publication, thus further enhancing your professional contribution and employability.
During your training, you will develop key transferable skills as a practitioner psychologist, in research, psychological testing, service evaluation, team working and leadership. Your development will be closely supported and monitored throughout the programme, using formative and summative assessment, involving clinical tutors and research supervisors.
The programme is affiliated to the Centre for Research in Social and Psychological Transformation (CREST). CREST carries out world-leading research into psychological therapies. You have the option of choosing an area of doctoral inquiry that is aligned with CREST research activities. CREST also has a dedicated therapy and research clinic located at the university. This provides unique opportunities for you to engage in cutting-edge research. You can also undertake practice placements within the clinic.
Here are examples of some the modules we currently offer:
Compulsory and Required modules
Compulsory and/or required modules may change when we review and update programmes. Above is a list of modules offered this academic year.
Optional modules
Optional modules, when offered as part of a programme, may vary from year to year and are subject to viability.
As an HCPC registered Counselling Psychologist you will be qualified to work in a range of settings, including the NHS, the voluntary sector and private practice. As well as providing psychotherapeutic interventions, your work may include providing clinical supervision, service management, teaching, research and consultancy. Click here to find out more about the scope of counselling psychology and about careers on the BPS website.
This programme provides the training in counselling and psychotherapy necessary to become eligible for BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) individual practitioner accreditation.
The course, accredited by the BACP, is based on an integrative relational approach to counselling and psychotherapy, which has been developed over many years by our cutting-edge teaching team. Our integrative approach, at the forefront of counselling and psychotherapy theory, practice and research, incorporates aspects from three main therapeutic traditions; person-centred, cognitive and psychodynamic. You will be encouraged to explore psychological processes and experiences from these different perspectives, and recognise the theoretical, personal and cultural assumptions which influence your work.
As well as cognitive and reflective skills, you will also learn practical ways of working with your clients in a therapeutic relationship to address conscious and unconscious needs and produce a change in emotional and cognitive processes and behaviour. This involves integrating complex and advanced skills, and responding creatively to complex, novel and unpredictable situations.
Our teaching includes life-span developmental theories, therapeutic skills practice in small groups, supervision of client work in small groups, critical analysis of approaches and research into counselling and psychotherapy. You will develop a critical understanding of the role of research in the development of the counselling and psychotherapeutic disciplines, and be able to incorporate research knowledge into clinical practice. You are required to be in personal therapy throughout the course, which will help you to develop a high level of awareness of self and the therapeutic process, to be able to use this constructively in therapeutic encounters. You will be equipped with the necessary skills to work with a wide range of people with a range of psychological issues in a variety of settings.
The Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy programme is taught by means of interactive lectures and seminars, experiential skills workshops, small clinical supervision groups, and personal development work. Much of your learning will be by a process of reflection on the experience of skills practiced and the use of demonstration, observation, self, peer and tutor feedback as well as a more traditional academic study.
The course emphasises the central importance of the therapeutic relationship, and builds your understanding of a variety of theories and practices, to make informed choices about therapeutic interventions suitable for the problems which clients present. Central to developing your therapeutic skills is a sustained effort of attunement to the client as well as openness to and awareness of their and your internal processes. As well as having a theoretical understanding of these processes, from the first year you will have modules allowing you the opportunity to practice your counselling skills.
Later modules in the course will familiarise you with a variety of forms of psychological assessment, so that you are able to critically evaluate the appropriateness and limitations of the procedures and underlying concepts. As many students will go on to work in a multidisciplinary team, in particular within the NHS, they need to have an understanding and working knowledge of psychiatric diagnoses and classification systems, while being aware of their acknowledge limits and critiques.
You will have the opportunity to work with a placements co-ordinator to find a suitable counselling/psychotherapy placement in which to gain the depth and range of experience necessary to become a competent practitioner. Information on over 500 different counselling placements is available.
Here are examples of the modules:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Compulsory and Required modules
Compulsory and/or required modules may change when we review and update programmes. Above is a list of modules offered this academic year.
Optional modules
Optional modules, when offered as part of a programme, may vary from year to year and are subject to viability.
Graduates can work in health and social services, voluntary organisations and the education in counselling field.
Create your own story at the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Creative Arts!
