Welcome Week

Watch a welcome message from our Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Professor Mark Freestone.

We are aware that Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) takes place from sundown on Monday 22 to nightfall on Wednesday 24 September 2025, during Welcome Week.

We understand some students will be observing the holiday and may not be able to attend events on those days. You are welcome to join registration and Welcome Week activities later in the week or online. Key information will also be available in recorded formats. 

Wishing all who are observing, a happy Rosh Hashanah.

Please arrive at 2pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

Please arrive at 6pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 7.30pm.

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

Please arrive at 10am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

*Mandatory clinical induction: Thursday 25 September. You must attend this event if you are seeing patients at the Trust. 

Please arrive at 3pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 6pm. You are welcome to attend the whole day from 10am if you are able.  

*Mandatory clinical induction: Thursday 25 September. You must attend this event if you are seeing patients at the Trust. 

Please arrive at 3pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm. You are welcome to attend the whole day from 10am if you are able.

Please arrive at 10am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

*Mandatory clinical induction: Thursday 25 September. You must attend this event if you are seeing patients at the Trust. 

Please arrive at 4pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 7pm. You are welcome to attend the whole day from 10am if you are able.

Please arrive at 5pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 8pm. You are welcome to attend the whole day from 10am if you are able. 

Please arrive at 10.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5.15pm. We have added value events taking place until 7pm. We hope you will be able to join us. 

Please arrive at 9am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm. We have added value events taking place until 7pm. We hope you will be able to join us.  

*Mandatory clinical induction: Thursday 25 September. You must attend this event if you are seeing patients at the Trust. 

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm. We have added value events taking place until 7pm. We hope you will be able to join us.

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm. We have added value events taking place until 7pm. We hope you will be able to join us. 

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm. 

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 5pm.

Please arrive at 4pm for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 6.30pm. You are welcome to attend the whole day from 10am if you are able. 

This induction will be from 11am and will finish by 1pm. Joining details will be provided nearer the time. The meeting will be Online, via Zoom – joining details will be shared in advance by the course administration team. 

Please arrive at 9.30am for registration. Induction sessions are due to finish by 1pm.  

Your course induction will take place during your first day of teaching on Monday 29 September 2025, and you will receive joining details from the course administration team.

You are welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week.

You will need to attend the mandatory clinical induction on Thursday 25 September.  

You are welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week. 

Your course induction will take place during your first day of teaching on Friday 3 October 2025. Further details will be shared by the course administration team.

You are welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week.

Your course induction will take place during your first day of teaching. Further details will be shared by the course administration team.  

You are also welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week. 

Your course induction will take place during your first day of teaching and will receive joining details by the course administration team.  

You are welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week.

Your course induction will take place during the introductory block of teaching on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September 2025.  

You are also required to attend mandatory administrative, enrolment and registration tasks as well as the mandatory clinical induction session. Please attend on Thursday 25 September from 10am to 5pm.  

You are welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week. 

Please contact your local centre for course induction details. 

If you require a DBS appointment, your centre will help to support this process and provide you with details of how to start your application. 

You are also welcome to attend any other events and student and trainee group drop-in sessions throughout Welcome Week. 

Monday 22 September from 4 to 5pm (BST), online 

Thursday 25 September 12 to 1pm, in-person

Facilitated by: Laverne Antrobus 

Wednesday 24 September from 1 to 2pm (BST), online 

Thursday 25 September from 5 to 6pm, in-person 

Facilitated by: Geraldine Crehan 

Tuesday 23 September from 11am to 12pm (BST), online  

Wednesday 24 September from 12.30 to 1.30pm, in-person 

Facilitated by: Jason Maldonado-Page 

Monday 22 September from 10 to 11am, in-person 

Friday 26 September from 1.30 to 2.30pm (BST), online 

Facilitated by: Adi Steiner

Tuesday 23 September from 12.30 to 2pm
Seminar Rooms 2 & 3, Ground Floor, Tavistock Centre

Attendees can expect light refreshments, gentle ice breaker activities to help students connect. Members of the Student Support and Engagement Team, as well as other colleagues will be there to welcome and answer student questions. 

Wednesday 24 September from 12.30 to 2pm
Seminar Rooms 2 & 3, Ground Floor, Tavistock Centre

This is a perfect opportunity for new students to network with peers across different courses and enjoy a fun afternoon, unwinding with lots of free drinks and nibbles.  

Facilitated by: Richa MayurbhaiParikh

What’s in store: 

• Guidance from a professional art therapist
• Complimentary drinks and nibbles
• A relaxed, creative atmosphere – perfect for making new connections
• A change to meet peers from different courses at the Tavistock

This event is free to attend and students are encouraged to register and book a place via the registration link below.

Register your attendance

Registration for the Sip and Paint event will close on Tuesday 23 September 2025 at 11am.

Wednesday 24 September from 4pm to 6.30pm
Lecture Theatre, Fifth Floor, Tavistock Centre

We will have a film screening of the movie ‘1001 Days’, a documentary observing a group of mothers in South Africa during the crucial first three years of life. This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the film makers.     

Set in Alexandra, a group of mothers are on a mission to change the fate of their neighbourhood, right from the beginning. Through a series of intimate, and at times, uncomfortable, conversations, 1001 DAYS follows the journey of health-workers Zanele, Thandiwe and Khosi. These three mothers from the heart of the community, observe and support hundreds of new mothers, during some of their happiest–and lowest–moments. Their aim: to help new mothers during the first 1001 days of their babies’ lives.  

Register your interest in the 1001 day film screening

Facilitated by: Esther Usiskin-Cohen

Mindfulness sessions will be available online and in-person. The aim of this taster is to help students begin to become more aware of how their mind works and to learn new ways of recognising and relating to moods and emotions which can be used to help them when studying with us.

Monday 22 September from 12 to 1pm, online

Wednesday 24 September from 10 to 10.45am and 12.30 to 1.15pm, in-person at Seminar Room 10, Ground Floor

Facilitator: Louise Grant

This is a taster session where students will be provided with some evidence informed ideas to support personal resilience and wellbeing as a student at the Trust. Drawing on research, students will be encouraged to think about developing a range of coping strategies to help manage the ups and downs of academic study as well as often working in emotionally demanding job roles in health, social care or social work.

Facilitator: Alex de Rementeria

This is a taster session on how to utilise tutorials to start preparing students early on. The tutorial is an opportunity for student and tutor to understand the student’s relationship to learning and what can be done to make the most of what they bring.

Facilitators: Sabeha Hoque

This session will cover the benefits, role, and responsibility of being a student rep, as well as what opportunities there are to be a representative.

Facilitators: Sarah Wynick and Mel Mahadevan
Thursday 25 September from 12.30 to 1.30pm, Seminar Room 1, Ground Floor

Group Relations Conferences offer a unique opportunity to study group and organisational dynamics in an intensive and distilled form. Entirely experiential, there are no lectures or presentations in Group Relations, only an architecture which provides a guided space for deep study and reflection. These conferences are a crucial element of many courses at the Tavistock and Portman and a unique opportunity for anyone interested in groups and their place in them. In these taster sessions, Sarah and Mel will introduce the history, theory, and practice of Group relations. This will be followed by a short participatory exercise.

Facilitator: Miloš Djordjevic

Miloš will be speaking about his work as a senior clinical social worker in a CAMHS team supporting children, young people and parents/carers where there are issues of complexity and chronicity of different mental health presentations. He is also a practice educator of social work and an organisational consultant and will be sharing knowledge about his own personal journey and career.

Facilitator: Nsimire Bisimwa

There are over 122.6 million forcibly displaced people globally, this number represents the highest level of forced displacement since World War II, driven by conflict, persecution, violence, and human rights violations.
Nsimire will share her experience of working with refugees and forcibly displaced people as an educator and a specialist clinician in a CAMHS team.
She will also speak about the different courses offered at the Tavistock centre which would equip mental health professionals with the n

Facilitator: Rukiya Jemmott

This will be a space for students to come and hear a little about Rukiya and her journey from student to staff member, and to share and think about who they are and what they will be bringing of themselves to their course and to the Tavistock.

Facilitator: Louise Grant

This taster session will be an opportunity to consider what it means to be research-minded as a student at the Tavistock. Rather than seeing research as separate from professional practice we will explore how curiosity, critical reflection, and analytical skills can be employed to better understand the world around us and to help prepare for research thinking and learning.

Facilitator: Beatriz Caballero

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly valuable tool in higher education, offering ways to make your studies more effective, engaging and manageable. This interactive session will introduce you to practical ways AI can support your learning journey, from organising and structuring your writing, brainstorming ideas, and summarising sources, to creating effective presentations. We will also discuss good academic practice, including how to use AI responsibly and ethically. Whether you are completely new to AI or already experimenting with it, this session will provide ideas and strategies to help you make the most of these emerging tools.