Meet Midge, a student on ‘Consulting and leading in organisations: psychodynamic and systemic approaches (D10)’

“I decided to study at the Tavistock and Portman as I was keen to undertake study in organisational dynamics from an interpersonal and systemic perspective. Having attended CPD courses here, I felt that this would be a positive place to study; the course also came recommended to me.

The teachers on the course are all experienced consultants and have a lot of practice behind them; I felt that this was really important, particularly as I was keen to have practical input.  Although the course is not cheap, in comparison to similar courses, it was affordable.

I really enjoyed the experiential aspects of the Masters level course – having to think in the ‘here and now’ and really explore the feelings that were being stirred up in me vis-à-vis the dynamics of the group. The experiential part of the course was grounded in theory, both seminal and contemporaneous and this really helped me to gain a strong foundation in organisational theory from psychodynamic and systemic level.

The course has had a positive impact on my life, career and practice.   At a personal level it has caused me to pause and to consider who I really am and to access my voice as a mature, Irish woman. It has enabled me to look more deeply at discriminatory practices at all levels in organisations, including systemic racism, sexism, and ageism and have taken this into my workplace and been proactive in tackling many of these unseen practices and giving voice to vulnerable groups and supporting change in the workplace. Whilst change is not always easy or possible, the course has given me the tools to understand what might be occurring beneath the surface.

Overall, I believe that I have had a positive experience at the Tavistock and Portman. Whilst the organisation, like other institutions struggles with workplace dynamics, the important thing is that there is a desire amongst the tutors on the course to consider these dynamics with the student group and what is brought in from the outside as part of the overall student experience.       

I think that it’s important to recognise that by virtue of the kind of courses run at the Tavistock, studying here will have an emotional impact. It’s not so easy to compartmentalise the experience into just studying and getting on with your life outside of the courses. However, I think that this is one of the unique positives of studying at the Tavistock – you will never view the workplace (or yourself) in the same way again.“