
The members of the Philadelphia Association were thanked for their hospitality and openness and congratulated on continuing to provide a stimulating training of a very high standard that continued to attract committed trainees of a very high calibre attracted to the psychoanalytic project of the Association. The Association continues to be a valued Organisational Member of the CPJA [Council for Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis], distinctive in their approach and thinking, and important in their critique of dominant therapeutic cultures.
U.K. COUNCIL FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY (UKCP)
PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY
The Philadelphia Association was founded in 1965 by R. D. Laing and others, and one of its charitable aims since the beginning has been the training of psychotherapists. Its core charitable aim is the alleviation of ‘mental distress’ and, after some debate as to the nature and purpose of such a programme, a psychotherapy training programme was developed initially under the guidance of John Heaton.
The training was and is aimed both at training therapists and challenging the concepts of mental illness, their perception in psychiatry and the wider world, and how such distress should be aided. The Training encourages a critical inquiry into what psychotherapy is, rather than being an initiation into particular theories and methods.
The Psychotherapy training is a minimum of four years, thought of as analogous to an apprenticeship, the length being open until the trainee feels ready to practice independently. It is accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) - Council for Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis. Students who successfully complete the Training are eligible both to become members of the Philadelphia Association and to register with the UKCP. The Training falls within the psychoanalytic psychotherapy grouping of the UKCP while retaining a critical and sceptical stance toward theory.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Study Programme courses students can begin the process of applying to train during the second term of the course. (Each student is assigned a tutor who is available to answer questions about applying.) Applicants are expected to submit a personal statement and a book review in preparation for a panel interview. They must also demonstrate some experience of helping people in distress, either professionally or as a volunteer, and have been, for a year before commencement of the Training, in twice-a-week therapy with a UKCP-registered therapist who has at least five years’ post-qualification experience.
This personal therapy continues throughout the Training, and trainees are also responsible for organizing their own supervision as soon as they start seeing clients, which may be quite soon after starting the programme.
Graduates of the Introductory Course in Philosophy and Psychotherapy, the online course:in Introduction to Community, Philosophy and Psychotherapy (Theory & Practice) and the Experiential Courses in Community and Psychotherapy can apply at any later date, since successful applicants are able to join the training at any time of the year.
COSTS
Application fee £150
Termly fee £450 (plus the cost of personal therapy and supervision)
The training group benefits from students from diverse backgrounds and we are committed to providing inclusive services. The Philadelphia Association is committed to keeping its fees as low as possible and can assist trainees to find affordable therapy and supervision.
COURSE PROGRAMME
Term 1
12, 19, 26 October
The Assumptions of Psychoanalysis
Lucy King
2, 9, 16 November
Ethics, ontology, capitalism and psychotherapy: Explorations, through case examples and with the help of Levinas and Marx, of issues arising when we consider as therapists our responsibility for our clients’/ patients‘ responsibilities
Del Loewenthal
23, 30, 7 December
Sexual Abuse of Children
Lakis Georghiou
14 December
The Monster Within and the Monster Without: Driving Psychoanalysis to the Future
Patricia Gherovici
Weekend 20/21 November 2021
Boundaries
Alison Davies
Term 2
25 January, 1, 8 February 2022
Doing anthropology in the consulting room: co-constructing narratives of cultural complexity
Christina Moutsou
15, 22 February, 1 March
Wittgenstein and Psychotherapy
Paul Gurney
8 March
Suicide
Miles Clapham
15, 22, 29 March
In The Teeth of Technicity: Heidegger, Individual Minds, Socio-political Context and Technological Thinking in Psychotherapy
Onel Brooks
Weekend 27/28 February
Giving an Account of Oneself
James Mann
Term 3
3, 10 May
The PA Houses
Jake Osborne & Andrea Heath
17, 24 May
In Praise of Difficulty
Barbara Latham
31 May, 7, 14 June
Hatred and Aggression in Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice
Elie Jesner
21, 28 June, 5 July
The Psychosis Project
Weekend 25/26 June
Family Constellations
Paul and Carol Zeal