Course Structure and Experience

Clinical Training Programme:

  • Four years of full-time study.

  • Comprehensive curriculum including clinical supervision and personal analysis (4 times weekly).

  • Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy is one of the core professions within the NHS, as approved by the Department of Health, working as part of the multidisciplinary teams that deliver high quality mental health services to infants, children and young people and their families and professional networks.

  • Candidates who are interested in applying for this training need to have an interest in the psychoanalytic way of thinking, have a curious mind, be able to read between the lines and be able to tolerate, understand and take in the difficult emotional states encountered in a psychoanalytic way of working.

Clinical Experience:

  • Trainees have hands-on experience in multiple disciplinary teams and gain a wide range of clinical experience, including Opportunities to work in diverse clinical settings across the 0 to 25 years age range.

  • The clinical training is a four-year, full-time programme, providing a rigorous training which includes clinical, psychoanalytic theory, assessment, parent work, race and diversity and professional issues seminars, clinical supervision and personal analysis (4 times weekly).

  • It is delivered via a salaried, full-time training post within Child and Adolescent Services, at a Band 6 NHS pay scale *.  Being embedded in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health setting, it enables trainees to access direct experience in working in multiple disciplinary teams, while learning and developing the unique psychoanalytic psychotherapy skills and techniques required in working with infants, children, young people and their families, across the 0 to 25 years age range.

  • The clinical training provides good opportunities for applying the psychoanalytical skills learned through the seminars at  BTPP to the clinical settings in which the trainees work. Trainees are required to complete three intensive cases across the ages (3 x weekly), as well as applying their skills in providing less intensive work, short term work, assessments and professional consultations.

    Eligibility and Application Process

  • All candidates who wish to apply for the Clinical Doctorate in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy need to have completed an MA/PG Dip in Psychoanalytical Observational Studies with any of the accredited training schools. This course will have included two years of infant observation and young child observation which lay the foundation for further developing skills in clinical work with infants, children, young people, and their families.

  • Alternative paths for those without an undergraduate degree: the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy training is a graduate entry profession, however people who do not have an undergraduate degree but are interested in following this path, can do so by completing the Masters level of the Psychoanalytical Observational Studies course.

  • Application guidelines and deadlines.

Professional Development and Registration

  • The standards of training and practice of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists (CAPTs) are regulated by the ACP. Trainees must become a Trainee Member of the ACP.

For more details on the training programme, application process, or any other queries, please contact us at info@btpp.co.uk and we will be happy to discuss further