
DIPLOMA IN COMMUNITY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Phenomenology is a discipline which brings into view the phenomena of the world rather than explaining things by some particular schema. Social phenomenology addresses itself to the basic phenomena of ordinary living. The phenomena of ordinary living and community situations has been an enquiry of the PA since its early days. After the Kingsley Hall experiment the PA has fostered some 19 therapeutic community households which have offered refuge and asylum to those who sought it, exploring communal solutions to personal crises to work through situations together in a collective manner.
But it isn’t as easy as saying that community is good and marginalisation is bad. It is possible to feel at home in prison and in prison at home. Thinking about community must also involve thinking about how one group impacts, threatens, ignores, deprives another. Community presupposes conflict.
In the current economic and political climate of austerity which is ushering in the model of computerised quick-fix therapy, community solutions have all but disappeared. Day centres, youth clubs, libraries and other shared spaces have closed down. What is left is a fragmented and afflicted society in what can feel like a hostile environment. Community as a therapeutic ideal remains as elusive as ever yet the need for it is more and more urgent.
Held at the PA premises in Hampstead, north London, the course takes place over six weekends spread out over the academic year. You will encounter various group experiences and seminars discussing Towards a phenomenology of Community, Madness in the Family, Politics and Community, Psychiatry and Institutions, personal journeys.
This course serves as both a stand alone course and an introduction to the PA (including the PA communities) Students may apply to the Psychotherapy training after completing this course.
REQUIREMENTS
Students are encouraged to bring their own experience of group or community work to reflective practice i.e. a facilitated group which invites exploration about crucial issues necessary to understand the nature of organisations, groups and communities.
Outside of the course weekends students will be offered one tutorial per term and invited to a reading group.
Students can also use the course to devise and set up a community group, take advantage of placement opportunities and make use of the community room at Marty’s Yard. A range of advice provided by experienced community practitioners as part of the course.
(b) Completion of a satisfactory 4000-word essay reflecting an experience of community work will lead to a Diploma certificate but students can also attend the course without fulfilling this requirement.
APPLICATION AND FEES
Application is by interview, there is a £50 interview fee.
The course costs £840
A limited number of bursaries are available for students surviving on low income.
Interviews begin in late April 2023 to apply Click here or contact the course coordinators for further information
courses@philadelphia-association.org.uk
2022/23 COURSE PROGRAMME
COURSE PROGRAMME
Course Coordinators:
Andrea Heath & Lucy King
Reflective Practice Facilitator:
Nicola Saunders
Consciousness-raising Group Facilitator:
Paul Atkinson
Administration:
Sophia Raja
WEEKEND 1
Saturday 15 October 2022
10—10.30 Arrivals
10.30—11 Introduction to the Course
Andrea Heath & Lucy King
11—12.30 Seminar
The Organisation as a Source of Individual Purpose
Dan Sofer
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 The Philadelphia Association (PA)
Philosophy, Community, Psychotherapy
Past & Present
Lucy King & Ian McMillan
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 16 October
10.30 -11 Arrivals
11—12.30 Seminar
On Community
Jake Osborne
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
WEEKEND 2
Saturday 26 November
10—11.00 Arrivals & Large Group
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
11 —12.30 Seminar
Working Relationally
Andy Metcalf
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3
Avoiding Intimacy
Nick Duffell
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 27 November
10.30 - 11 Arrivals
11—12.30 Seminar
Structures for Voluntary and Community Organisations
Antony Bewick-Smith
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
WEEKEND 3
Saturday 14 January 2023
10-11 Arrivals & Large Group
Lucy King, Andrea Heath
11.- 12.30 Seminar:
Seminar: Homelessness and Psychosis
Andreas Constandinos
12.45 — 1.30 Lunch
1.30 — 3.00
The Psyche as an Energetic Field
Nick Duffell
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 15 January 2023
11—12.30 Seminar
Womens Narratives
Christina Moutsou
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King Andrea Heath
WEEKEND 4
Saturday 11 March 2023
10—11 Arrivals & Large Group
Andrea Heath & Lucy King
11 —12.30 Seminar:
The Scapegoat
Del Loewenthal
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3
Antipsychiatry Discussion Group 1: Family Madhouses
Rob White
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 12 March
10.30 - 11 Arrivals
11—12.30 Seminar
The Power of Relations
Alia Butt
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
WEEKEND 5
Saturday 22 April
10—11 Arrivals & Large Group
Andrea Heath & Lucy King
11 —12.30 Seminar
The World Comes First: Philosophy and the Social
Paul Gurney
12.30—1.30 Lunch
!.30-3.00
Antipsychiatry Discussion Group 2
Vincenzo Passante
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 23 April
11—12.30 Seminar
What Happens In the Room
James Mann
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
WEEKEND 6
Saturday 10 June
10—11 Arrivals and Large Group
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
11.00—12.30 Seminar:
Friendship, Beauty and Justice: On Being Fair
Robbie Lockwood
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3
Antipsychiatry Discussion Group
Vincenzo Passante
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Reflective Practice
Nicola Saunders
Sunday 11 June
10.30 - 11 Arrivals
11—12.30
Endings and Course Reflection
Andrea Heath & Lucy King
12.30—1.30 Lunch
1.30—3 Consciousness-raising Group
Paul Atkinson
3—3.30 Break
3.30—5 Clinical Discussions
Lucy King & Andrea Heath
