Becoming a Registered Attachment-based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (RAPP)

Criteria for Registration

In order to register as a registered member and be a registered member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, The Bowlby Centre has to be satisfied that a person is safe to practise as an Attachment-based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (RAPP) taking responsibility for their own professional management and continuing professional development.

The Criteria set out for progression to Psychotherapist-in-Training (PiT) continue to apply and must have been upheld during the training period. These are:

Acceptance and understanding in practice of The Bowlby Centre values of attachment and inclusion and the Code of Ethics and Practice
A developing understanding of the principles of Attachment-based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and their application in practice
A capacity for self-reflection and for emotional honesty
A well developed emotional awareness of your response to others and impact on others, together with a capacity to bear conflict including evidence from your reflections on your experience in the training year
A capacity to be in touch with your own and others’ emotional life and a capacity to verbalise that insight including evidence from recent work with people in emotional distress
An awareness of the effects of your own and others prejudice in relation to, for example, disability, gender, sexuality and sexual orientation, class, and race and its implication for clinical work and relationships with colleagues
An understanding of psychoanalytic thought on the nature of unconscious process
An ability to relate previous experience or reading about therapeutic approaches to attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy
A sense of the place that will be found in your life for working clinically as a Psychotherapist-in-Training
The student must have fully paid up any money owing to The Bowlby Centre when applying for registration. NB the Course Tutor must have, at the relevant CTC, written confirmation of the student not owing money

Once you have completed the taught course and your clinical work with your training client and others you may apply to register as a member of The Bowlby Centre and the UKCP. You must have fully paid up any money owing to The Bowlby Centre when applying for registration. NB the Course Tutor must have, at the relevant CTC, written confirmation of the student not owing money.

The Registration Portfolio will include:

An in depth, written account of the process of working with one client for two years at least twice a week relating this to a theoretical framework. The clinical paper will be approximately 8,000-12,000 words
Evidence of your work with other clients to demonstrate the breadth of your work. Students are normally required to work with 6 other clients for a minimum of 6 mths each, one of whom should be of 18 mths duration at least once a week
An Infant Observation paper describing the observation of an infant from very early life to 18 months. This paper will be approximately 8,000-12,000 words
Papers based on presentations given or discussions lead in Course Seminars
Written final reports from two Training Supervisors
The reflections paper from the APT Folder with additional updated material to bring the reflection up to date
A written reflection on developments in the student’s clinical practice while being a Psychotherapist in Training
An account of what the person have gained from supervision and the arrangements made for continuing supervision once Registered
A personal account of how your life has developed as a result of therapy and being a Psychotherapist-in-Training
Discussion of your future plans for continuing professional development

Other elements which may be included (in consultation with your Tutor):

a paper written on an area of research which interests you
reviews of books you have read
an account of the application of attachment-based psychoanalytic principles to your non-clinical work – for example as a teacher
reflections on study days, lectures, seminars, and workshops you have attended

For the registration portfolio you are encouraged to use your creativity to develop, explore or research other topics relevant to the practice of attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapy. You may include in your final portfolio, alongside the written work set out above, other writings (e.g. diaries, professional articles etc.), photographs, video, paintings, or drawings.

Written work for your registration portfolio needs to be typed. Any references quoted should use the standard referencing system used by the Attachment Journal e.g. Bowlby, J. (1988) A Secure Base; Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory (pp.33-35) London: Tavistock/Routledge

Procedure For Applying To Become A Registered Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (RAPP)

All RAPP assessments need to be seen by the external assessor in addition to the two internal assessors.

Pre-interview Procedure

With their course tutor each student should discuss their supervisors’ final reports, their clinical paper, and the rest of their Portfolio. The course tutor must agree that you are ready to proceed to registration interviews. The response to the criteria for becoming a Registered Attachment-based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist should be contained in the Portfolio. The discussion at the interviews will be based on the content of your Portfolio, both your written account of clinical work and the other material included in the Portfolio.

Your course tutor will check with the treasurer that you have no outstanding debts to The Bowlby Centre. You may not proceed to registration until all debts to The Bowlby Centre are paid. You must also have sent a copy of your current certificate of Professional Liability Insurance with TBC office. Your course tutor will check that this is in order.

In consultation with your course tutor you agree two assessors for your RAPP Portfolio. These are chosen from the Interviewer list, one from Group A, (the CTC of The Bowlby Centre) and one from Group B, (senior, experienced Bowlby Centre Members.) The assessors cannot include your past or present training therapist, course tutor, or training supervisor/s.

Arranging the Interviews

In consultation with your course tutor you agree two interviewers. With the agreement of the course tutor the student will arrange a date, time and place to meet with each interviewer and will undertake to send the portfolio to them two weeks prior to the interviews. There is a fee of £210 payable by the student for the registration (RAPP) interviews. There is a fee of £210 payable by the student for the registration (RAPP) interviews.

Post-interview Procedure

Following the two interviews, (normally each of one hour) the two interviewers and the course tutor evaluate the application for registration and make a recommendation to the Clinical Training Committee (CTC). The CTC arranges for the portfolio to be assessed by the external assessor who will also make a recommendation to the CTC. The CTC makes the ratification decision and informs the student in writing.

The authority to ratify the application rests with the CTC. The interviewers do not normally discuss their recommendations with you after the interview, but evaluate the entire application with the course tutor.

If the decision is to recommend registration:

The Chair of the CTC writes confirming their decision and a copy of the letter is sent to TBC Administrator
The Bowlby Centre Administrator will invoice you for the Interview Fee and notify the UKCP of your registration

If the decision is not to recommend registration:

The Chair of the CTC writes to you setting out the decision of the CTC, including reasons and proposals
The Bowlby Centre Administrator will invoice you for the Interview Fee