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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

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