Psychodynamic Reflective Practice in Mental Health (D65)

Develop understanding and experience in the field of mental health from a psychodynamic perspective – drawing on work in a range of professional and voluntary settings.

Psychodynamic reflective practice in mental health

Duration: 1 year

Delivery: In-person

Qualification: Professional certificate

Location: London

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This programme will be of value to anyone interested in developing both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field of mental health.

You will be supported in applying key psychoanalytic concepts to your practice – whether in mental health care settings or a range of other professional and voluntary contexts. Through a stimulating mix of tutorials, seminars and work discussion, the course will enhance your current professional role and relationships, prepare you emotionally and academically for further clinical training or offer a new understanding of existing mental health work.

Please note: you may see the D65 course also referred to as PATCTP006 in communications from our application system.

Applications for this course are now closed for September 2025 entry. Please register your interest to be notified when applications open for 2026 entry.

About this course

This course offers a foundation in developing a clinical understanding of direct experience with service users, and application of psychodynamic theory to work within mental health care. You may be working with those who are suffering from mental illness or who are vulnerable to emotional distress. This could be in mental health care settings or in a range of other professional or voluntary contexts, including befriending services, housing support, youth offending, social work, bereavement counselling and NHS services.

Through a combination of applied theory seminars and work discussion groups, you will develop an understanding of the underlying dynamics present in the complexities of the healthcare environment. This course will improve your understanding of clinical and institutional dynamics, including complicated dynamics around experiences of sameness and difference which are at play within these processes.

Module 1: Applied Psychodynamic Theory

Year one
Core module
Module lead: Thomas Booker

Module aims
The aims of the module are to:

provide those working or volunteering in mental health with the opportunity to develop a new theoretical framework to think about your work and the way you engage with it
critically explore psychoanalytic concepts which support work in mental health
build an in-depth understanding of human development, the impact of developmental and emotional difficulties in the context of social, economic and cultural circumstances, and the relevance of this to mental health work
understand the role of culture, difference and diversity in psychotherapy and how this relates to our practice and our application of psychodynamic theory
gain understanding of basic psychoanalytic techniques in a live working group
facilitate critical reading of key psychoanalytic texts
consider the theoretical material presented in the light of differing cultural perspectives
facilitate curiosity, self-reflection, and self-directed learning about reactions to the material presented
provide basic psychodynamic concepts with which to understand live placement work
enable you to reflect on how theory can allow for a deeper understanding of their work within mental health services.

Module assessment
This module is not formally assessed.

Module 2: Work Discussion

Year one
Core module
Module lead: Francesca Benjamin

Module aims
The aims of the module are to:

engage in reflective small group discussions about current mental health work, with a focus on developing self-reflective capacities and a deeper understanding of oneself
support those interested in undertaking further psychotherapy training with the time and space to prepare emotionally and academically
provide a valuable development opportunity for those with little clinical experience and offer a refreshing and stimulating approach for experienced mental health workers
deepen understanding of how psychoanalytic concepts might look and feel when encountered in one-to-one work with clients and patients
enable you to gain an understanding of the emotional challenges inherent in mental health work
deepen understanding so you can better maintain professional roles and relationships and understand our clients’ experience as well as our own
explore the impact of equality, diversity and inclusion issues on us as individuals and on organisations, as well as how this relates to our practice
develop the capacity for more meaningful, accurate risk assessment
develop an appreciation of the therapeutic use of self in clinical practice
reflect on the importance of conscious and unconscious communications in the workplace
develop awareness of professional roles, relationships and clinical dilemmas and how to observe and understand them in practice

Module assessment
The module is not formally assessed. However, you will have the opportunity to write a 3,000 word essay at the end of the course to consolidate your learning – feedback is offered upon completion

Tutorials are offered throughout the course, enabling you to consider your work in depth and to discuss your professional development, and plans for further training, where appropriate.

Who is this course for?

There are two groups of people who would benefit from this programme:

people who are keen to undertake psychotherapy training in the future, who may have completed an initial course and want to extend their experience of direct work with people in a mental health setting
mental health professionals who are keen to explore psychodynamic perspectives, to develop their knowledge and enhance their understanding of interactions at work with mental health service users, colleagues and institutions.

Course details

In order to undertake this course, we ask that you demonstrate an interest in understanding a psychodynamic approach to the provision of mental health care and a willingness to organise and undertake a volunteer role in a mental health setting, if you are not already engaged in working within a mental health service. This should ideally be established by October when the course commences and can be discussed at interview.

We value the diversity of individual experience, and welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Application guidance:

When completing the application form, you will be asked to write a personal statement of up to 8,000 characters. The personal statement is a very important part of the application process, which gives us a sense of who each applicant is as a person. For this reason, the style of writing can include personal experiences and reflections, where relevant.

In your personal statement, we would hope to get a sense of the following areas:

your reasons for applying
a general idea of what your understanding of psychotherapy is, and what this course entails
your personal background, and how this relates to your interest in this course
any past experiences of therapy and their impact on you, or demonstration of an interest in engaging in psychotherapy in the future
reflection on the idea of taking up a placement, and some personal thinking or exploration around what this might be like on an emotional level.

Tuition fees

Home

£4,150 (2025/26)

International

£8,300 (2025/26)

For more information on tuition fees, including paying for tuition fees, please refer to our tuition fee guidance.

Funding

Bursaries

We’re committed to becoming an inclusive education provider. We offer several bursaries for new students from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic / Global Majority backgrounds, funded by The Tavistock and Portman Charity.

Funding for current students

We offer several funding options to support current students who need financial assistance during their studies. Please refer to our financial support guidance for more information.

Assessment

The course does not include a requirement for formal assessment. In the final term, you will have the option to submit a written piece of work relating to the application of theory to your placement experience. This is an opportunity to consolidate what has been learnt, and to receive informal feedback from your tutor on the strengths and areas for development of your essay, which can help prepare you for future academic courses.

Whether or not you chose to complete the optional written assignments will not affect your entitlement to the Professional Certificate at the end of the course.

Attendance

All teaching is delivered in-person and takes place at the Tavistock Clinic in London on Tuesday afternoons from 3 to 5.30pm during term time.

Some reading and preparation will be required between sessions and there will be 24 sessions over the academic year.

To receive the Professional Certificate, you must attend a minimum of 75% of seminars and engage in placement work experience alongside the course.

Many graduates of this course go on to study further training in adult psychotherapy, such as our consolidated Master’s degree and clinical training in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.

They often go on to secure paid or voluntary placements in mental health settings such as befriending services, psychiatric units or wards and counselling services. Others have gone into working in schools as part of mental health teams.

Sometimes, students engage in the course as a way of deepening their skills and understanding, which they then can apply to existing work roles and settings.

Why study with us?

You will be taught by experienced, practising clinicians within the applied theory seminars, and supported in exploring your experiences and observations in a work discussion group, facilitated by the tutor.

The course provides a solid foundation in developing skills and experience in working with mental health service users within both voluntary and statutory services.

The course provides an opportunity to develop observational skills, both of one’s self in practice and also of the ‘other’, be it client, team or organisation.

With an emphasis on applied psychoanalytic concepts, seminars will focus on applied therapeutic theory and the development of professional roles and relationships in mental health care; the foundations of psychotherapeutic work.

Testimonials

“Studying on this course has impacted my life, career, practice and myself. The theoretical concepts, combined with the depth of practice experience from my placement, has helped me prepare for the next steps in the journey. The diverse group sharing has created a deeper understanding and preparedness for future work. The courses I studied also impacted my own dynamic understanding of direct work with patients in a mental health setting and of the underlying dynamics present in the healthcare environment.”

Shanah

Student

“Following the Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy (D12), [this course] allowed essential time and space for consolidating the knowledge base acquired in the foundation. I would highly recommend this course to those without clinical experience. It is an invaluable year with experienced teachers which offers a smaller setting and the time to dig deeper into the concepts. ”

Robyn