The Psychodynamic Couple and Individual Counselling and Psychotherapy course is a unique three-year clinical psychotherapy training that qualifies practitioners to work with both couples and individuals. The clinical accreditation is provided by the BAPC, with trainees who complete the course able to apply for full registration with this professional body.
It is offered as a PGDip or MA in Psychodynamic Couple and Individual Counselling and Psychotherapy, by Birkbeck College, University of London with teaching, clinical experience and supervision by Tavistock Relationships.
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Starting: October 2024
Venue: Blended learning experience. In-person teaching at TR's central london centre (EC2M) with some online tutorials and supervision.
Fees for academic year 24-25:
Home students: £8,130 per year
International students: £12,000 per year
Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the Birkbeck's College Fees Policy.
Additional Fees
Trainees will also be required to pay for the cost of personal therapy and DBS checks where this is part of the course requirements.
Course length:
PGDip: Part-Time 3 Years
MA: Part-Time 4 Years
Qualification: Professional qualification and clinical training BACP accredited.
Qualification after successful completion of the course
How to apply: Apply for this course via Birkbeck
For more information, please contact
Or you can sign up for one of our Open Events and Taster Days.
Tavistock Relationships specialises in couple relationships and is the leading couple therapy centre in London but many individuals also choose to come to Tavistock Relationships for therapy because at the core of many of the issues or dilemmas seen in the consulting room is often a relationship difficulty of some sort.
Another unique feature of TR’s psychodynamic psychotherapy training is that clinicians receive specific psychosexual training which enables them to work sensitively, knowledgeably and skillfully with this area of the couple’s intimate relationship. Individuals encountering psychosexual and intimacy difficulties may be seen in TR’s clinical service and clinicians are trained in how to help those who may not yet have been able to have a sexual relationship or who have developed particular difficulties in sustaining one.
Four core academic modules in skills, psychoanalytic thought, couple theory 1 & 2
A requirement of the course is that all students have personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy of at least once a week for the duration of the course.
To offer a pluralistic, rich and wide-ranging programme of study in the therapeutic approach to people in couple relationships.
To encourage a study of unconscious processes.
To understand and analyse the process of the therapeutic relationship and the purpose and practice of intervention.
To encourage students to reflect at all times on their own life experiences and to use this creatively in understanding the work.
To encourage a thoughtful and critical approach to the programme.
To encourage practice-based research.
For direct entry into our clinical qualification training, you will need to meet all of the following criteria:
Please note: it is a requirement of our clinical trainings that you are in personal therapy with a BPC registered psychoanalyst or psychoanalytic psychotherapist (NOT a psychodynamic psychotherapist) within 2 months of starting the course. This is in addition to the required minimum 12 months of psychotherapy cited above. Students’ training therapists need to be approved by us, so you are advised to check first before entering into a new therapy at the same time as applying for a place on the training. For those established in current, ongoing therapy, we will discuss this with you at interview should you be shortlisted.
In terms of personal qualities, we are looking for applicants with the following:
We are mindful of the emotional demands involved in training to become a therapist and always seek to provide a supportive learning environment. It is also important that applicants are sufficiently emotionally and mentally robust to undertake our trainings. Personal readiness is a significant requirement that will be explored as part of the application assessment process.
Exemptions may apply for APEL’d components.
If you are an experienced individual psychotherapist or a couple therapist, you may be eligible for entry with advanced standing. This could enable you to complete the taught part of the programme in a minimum of two years (PGDip).
Assessment includes:
Note: Please make sure to select the correct course from the 'Range of Courses' dropdown menu in the form below.
Elle Sidel is a couple psychoanalytic psychotherapist, couple and individual psychodynamic therapist and faculty staff member at Tavistock Relationships. She is Programme Lead for the Couple and Individual Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy training (PG Dip/MA) and Head of Alumni/ Tavistock Relationships Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (TRAPC).
10 New Street, London, UK, EC2M 4TP - Tel: 020 7380 1975
Registered Charity Number: 211058. Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology.
Company number: 241618.
10 New Street, London EC2M 4TP
Tel: 020 7380 1975
Registered Charity Number: 211058. Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology. Company number: 241618.