Two Year Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

This course is for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists to become a United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) registered attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist.

This is an engaging and robust clinical training course, which takes place at the weekends during term times providing an opportunity to deepen your thinking in the field of psychotherapy. It will provide you with the knowledge to develop your current practice and to register with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as an Attachment-based Psychoanalytic psychotherapist.

During the taught part of the course, you will engage with a wide range of important theoretical material, undertake an 18 month Infant Observation and be involved in experiential group work.

By the end of the course you will have developed a solid understanding of how Attachment Theory contributes to clinical work and how helpful it is for treating trauma.

Application Deadline: 30th June 2024 – Apply Here

Understanding psychotherapy within the context of attachment relationships means that we see it as a co-operative venture between therapist and client. The aim is to develop a secure base from which to explore the unconscious and experiences of loss and trauma. We see attachment relationships between individuals as being shaped by groups and society as a whole, over the life cycle.

We believe that discriminating structures in society have an impact on the individual and these need to be thought about and explored in the therapeutic space.

We recognise the importance of mourning, which we see as vital when working through issues of abandonment, emotional neglect, trauma and abuse, whether sexual or physical. We foster and encourage the development of the true self within an authentic therapeutic relationship.

John Bowlby’s original development of attachment theory was promoted primarily by his concern to ensure social recognition for the central importance of attachment and the impact of loss and abandonment on early development. He was also concerned to strengthen the scientific foundations of psychoanalysis, emphasising the importance of basing our theories on research findings as well as clinical evidence. He recognised the need for practising a psychotherapy which can be demonstrated to be an effective contribution to mental health care. Since his original work, attachment theory has come to occupy a key position in this fast-developing scientific field, providing a link between psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, neurobiology, and the behavioural sciences.

Our therapists come from diverse backgrounds and we look to all sections of the community in welcoming course attendees, students and clients. We operate an equal opportunities policy in our work and in our ways of relating to each other.  We are committed to respecting and valuing difference and the training aims to consider the impact of age, class, culture, disability, neurodiversity, gender, race and sexuality on both students and clients.

Duration: 

Two Academic Years

Start Date:

September 2024

Delivered:

Mixed Online / In-Person

Course Fee: 

£5750

Who is the course aimed at?

All applicants must:

  • Have undertaken and completed a relevant previous training.
  • Be qualified (but not necessarily registered) to work clinically as a counsellor or psychotherapist and be currently working with a minimum of two clients.
  • Have undertaken a minimum of 3 years weekly personal psychotherapy in any modality.
  • Be in weekly or twice weekly therapy with an attachment based psychoanalytic psychotherapist or a therapist registered with the British psychanalytical council (BPC).
  • Be in weekly supervision with an attachment-based psychoanalytic training supervisor.
  • Have had a minimum of two years working clinically with appropriate supervision.

What are the dates of the course? 2024-2025

2024 Autumn Term 1

  • • September 20th and 21st
    • October 4th and 5th
    • *October 19th and 20th
    • November 8th and 9th
    • November 22nd and 23rd
    • December 6th and 7th

2025 Spring Term 2 

  • • January 17th and 18th
    • January 31st and February 1st
    • *February 15th and 16th
    • February 28th and March 1st
    • March 14th and 15th
    • March 28th and 29th

2025 Summer Term 3 

  • • May 9th and 10th
    • May 23rd and 24th
    • June 6th and 7th
    • *June 21st and 22nd
    • July 4th and 5th
    • July 18th and 19th

*Three weekends will be experiential group: October 19th and 20th, February 15th and 16th, June 21st and 22nd. These are held on Saturdays and Sundays. There will be no Friday teaching on these weekends.  

Friday: 2pm – 5.15pm – Online

Saturdays 10am – 5.15pm – In – Person

Experiential Weekends: Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm

Applicants will usually have two interviews and sometimes three. The interviews will be with a senior member of the Bowlby Centre usually from the Clinical Training Committee (CTC). The interviewer will explore each candidate’s readiness to train with The Bowlby Centre.

The interview fee is £100.

All applicants must:

  • Have undertaken and completed a relevant previous training.
  • Be qualified (but not necessarily registered) to work clinically as a counsellor or psychotherapist and be currently working with a minimum of two clients.
  • Have undertaken a minimum of 3 years weekly personal psychotherapy in any modality.
  • Be in weekly or twice weekly therapy with an attachment based psychoanalytic psychotherapist or a therapist registered with the British psychanalytical council (BPC).
  • Be in weekly supervision with an attachment-based psychoanalytic training supervisor.
  • Have had a minimum of two years working clinically with appropriate supervision.

• Each teacher will give you written feedback at the end of every term.
• You will have one to one termly tutorial with your course tutor.
• Your supervisor will write an annual report.
• You are required to write an Infant Observation paper.
• You are required to write a mental health familiarisation paper.
• You are required to produce a portfolio for registration.
• You may be asked to present in seminars.

We don’t have formal exams. Students prepare presentations for seminar and complete written work.

  • To attend consistently and on time.
  • To maintain respect for and confidentiality of other participants contributions.
  • To operate within the values and policies and procedures of The Bowlby Centre.
  • To complete any pre-course reading or other preparation such as watching a webinar or listening to a podcast.
  •  To achieve 80% attendance in each seminar to complete the course.

There is a requirement to be in personal therapy once a week up until registration.

For a period of 3-6 months there is a requirement to be therapy twice weekly prior to registration if this has not been experienced before.

You may be able to keep your current therapist if they are trained psychoanalytically but you will need to change if they are not registered as a psychoanalyst with 5 years post registered experience

  • The successful completion of the taught part of the course
  • Meeting requirements for client work
  • Completing a registration portfolio

You are required to work with;

    • One client for 18 months twice a week
    • One client for 18 months once a week
    • Five clients for a minimum of six months once a weekend

The formal training and teaching lasts for two years and is part-time. These are the main strands:

1. Theoretical Seminars
2. Attachment Seminars
3. Infant Observation
4. Clinical Seminars
5. Personal and Professional development
6. Group work

The aim of these seminars is to help students gain a stronger theoretical understanding from an historical perspective as well as current theory and practice. The seminars cover psychoanalytic theory from Freud onwards and all the latest developments of trauma theory including neuroscience.

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The aim of these seminars is to ground the training in attachment theory to enable students to gain a clear understanding of the attachment-based approach to clinical work. These seminars will aim to embed the approach both implicitly and explicitly.

These seminars follow the development of attachment in the first 18 months of life. The aim of the Infant Observation seminars is to gain an understanding of infant development with particular emphasis on the centrality of attachment to the development of a healthy sense of self. The observation itself continues for the first 18 months of the infant’s life.

These are a place for exploring the clinical application of attachment theory with experienced clinicians.

The purpose of the Personal and Professional Development Seminars is to give students the opportunity to explore and integrate the values of The Centre and to prepare for work as an Attachment–based Psychotherapist. It is an opportunity to get to know each other better and to develop your understanding of intersectionality, power, privilege, difference and diversity.

The aim of the experiential groups is to deepen your understanding of your own attachment patterns in terms of how you give and receive care, how you share interests with your peers, and the impact of your internal and external environments on your attachment patterns.

Attachment relationships affect all aspects of people’s internal and external lives. From the very beginning our earliest childhood experiences shape us emotionally and physically, forming our identity, levels of security, our resilience, our ability to be playful or creative, our relationships and mental health. All people can benefit from learning about attachment theory and our belief is that attachment theory based psychanalytic psychotherapy is a positive and valuable contribution to the world.

Our approach to mental health is therefore based on our curiosity to understand the specific ways which make a particular person vulnerable, hurt or struggle to cope and how an individual relates to their emotional and physical pain, whether this is with attention, engagement, attunement, which implies a secure base or with amplifying, catastrophising or dismissiveness which implies anxiety and attachment trauma.

We inherently welcome, value and celebrate diversity. We seek to understand the reality of people from different ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities, faiths, abilities and disabilities, neurominorities and socio-economic backgrounds. We recognise we have an ethical responsibility to do the work to ensure a safe, inclusive home for our psychotherapy community, trainees and the people they work with. Our teaching, training and information is high-quality, offered in small groups for strong relational practice.

Attachment relationships are formed and shaped in the real world, not only in our minds. We therefore believe that all real-life impacts must be part of the therapy and treated with respect, welcome, warmth, openness, and always with a readiness to interact and relate. In particular, we believe that it is vital that people who have undergone extreme traumatic experiences must have their reality validated and their ways to survive deeply respected, whether that be through addictions, compulsions or other ways of coping or self-protection. Above all, we believe that recognising our shared humanity is our shared secure base.

Our work is lived by and measured against our values. Our values are:

  • Compassionate
  • Attuning
  • Inclusive
  • Curious
  • Courageous
  • Transparent

In view of the important role that personal therapy plays in your development and training as a psychotherapist, we would usually expect you to have been in personal therapy for a minimum of one year with an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist or a psychotherapist who works from a psychodynamic perspective prior to starting the course. Therapy is once (required) or twice (optional) weekly until registration. Students must undertake a period of twice weekly therapy for 3-6 months if they have not had twice weekly at any point prior to starting the course.

Supervision with an attachment-based training supervisor needs to be in place once weekly from the start of the course until registration. There is a requirement for one supervisory hour per six client hours of work if you are not already registered with another governing body from a prior training.  You may continue to see previous/current supervisors alongside your new attachment-based supervisor.

Our approach to learning is based on insights from developments in adult education as well as attachment theory and psychoanalysis. We believe that adults learn best in a context in which they can be creative. Students need a secure base from which to explore and take risks. The organisation aims to provide an enabling and supportive environment, in which students can feel free to develop their own style of learning and presenting work – an environment which is both supportive and challenging.

Trainees usually take a further 6-12 months to complete their portfolio for registration. The fee for the post-taught, year is substantially lower than that for the taught part of the training and your course tutor will continue to support you during the post-taught part of your progress towards registration.

There is currently a requirement from the CPJA that all trainees undertake a part-time placement which enables them to gain experience of the field of mental health. If you have had previous or current experience in the field of mental health, for example you are working in a mental health setting you can apply for an exemption. The placement is expected to be part-time no less than 6 months at half a day a week.

Throughout the course and up until registration you can write your mental health familiarisation paper which covers certain criteria. Alongside the personal research and experience of a placement and clinical work we will aim to provide additional seminars/workshops covering some of the topics required for mental health familiarisation.

Throughout the course you will be exposed to papers which cite research findings. To ensure that you are able to critically evaluate the value of the research we will provide an additional workshop in research methodology.