Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy

Overview


Our 9-month in-person Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy provides an experiential introduction to the theory, skills and practice of integrative psychotherapy, in a supportive and inclusive relational learning environment. You will be introduced to the origins of psychotherapy, its core concepts, and values.

We will draw on a broad range of theory and research but primarily focus on relational psychoanalysis, humanistic and cognitive approaches. The course will also include skills observation and skills practice, as well as opportunities for in-depth relational exploration.

Who is this course for?

This is an open-access course for anyone interested in an experiential exploration of the theory and practice of psychotherapy, including:

  • People who are curious about training as a counsellor or psychotherapist, or in related professions, seeking foundational knowledge and skills.
  • People who are simply interested in using therapeutic knowledge for self-exploration and contemplation.
  • People with a humanistic sensibility, who enjoy poetry, literature, art and music as forms of self-expression.
  • People seeking diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational opportunities.
  • People who have busy schedules and are looking for a part-time, flexible learning experience.

Because it’s an introductory course, no prior experience of practicing counselling or psychotherapy is required. However, we suggest students have completed an ‘Introduction to Counselling Skills Course’ (like our Certificate in Relational Counselling Skills, running for 10 weeks on a Saturday) before joining this one.

This course, or an equivalent, is a requirement before starting professional training to become a psychotherapist or counsellor at Inner Citadel and many other training organisations.

 

Key Info

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Timing

Weekly
Wed 19.00 – 21.30
Thurs 19.00 – 21.30

Residential
Fri 19.00 – 21.00
Sat 9.00 – 18.00
Sun 9.00 – 17.00
(once a month)

Dates

Oct 2024 – Jun 2025

Location

Weekly
Inner Citadel

Residential
Venue in Oxfordshire

Contacts

study@icinstitute.co.uk

Award

Certificate

Fee

Weekly
£3,500 – EB £3,250

Residential
£5,850 – EB £5,600

Personal Psychotherapy

The Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy requires deep personal work, which can be both challenging and rewarding, so a personal readiness, including psychological robustness and a capacity for self-reflection is important.

All students are asked to be in weekly personal psychotherapy throughout the course (for a minimum of 40 sessions). Your psychotherapy should be with a qualified and experienced UKCP Registered or BACP Accredited practitioner, or equivalent. Personal psychotherapy costs are covered by students.

Key Info

}

Timing

Weekly
Wed 19.00 – 21.30
Thurs 19.00 – 21.30

Residential
Fri 19.00 – 21.00
Sat 9.00 – 18.00
Sun 9.00 – 17.00
(once a month)

Dates

Oct 2024 – Jun 2025

Location

Weekly
Inner Citadel

Residential
Venue in Oxfordshire

Contacts

study@icinstitute.co.uk

Award

Certificate

Fee

Weekly
£3,500 – EB £3,250

Residential
£5,850 – EB £5,600

Overview


Our 9-month in-person Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy provides an experiential introduction to the theory, skills and practice of integrative psychotherapy, in a supportive and inclusive relational learning environment. You will be introduced to the origins of psychotherapy, its core concepts, and values.

We will draw on a broad range of theory and research but primarily focus on relational psychoanalysis, humanistic and cognitive approaches. The course will also include skills observation and skills practice, as well as opportunities for in-depth relational exploration.

Who is this course for?

This is an open-access course for anyone interested in an experiential exploration of the theory and practice of psychotherapy, including:

  • People who are curious about training as a counsellor or psychotherapist, or in related professions, seeking foundational knowledge and skills.
  • People who are simply interested in using therapeutic knowledge for self-exploration and contemplation.
  • People with a humanistic sensibility, who enjoy poetry, literature, art and music as forms of self-expression.
  • People seeking diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational opportunities.
  • People who have busy schedules and are looking for a part-time, flexible learning experience.

As an introductory course, no prior experience of practicing counselling or psychotherapy is required. However, we suggest students have completed an ‘Introduction to Counselling Skills Course’ (like our Certificate in Relational Counselling Skills, running for 10 weeks on a Saturday) before joining this one.

This course, or an equivalent, is a requirement before starting professional training to become a psychotherapist or counsellor at Inner Citadel and many other training organisations.

 

Personal Psychotherapy

The Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy requires deep personal work, which can be both challenging and rewarding, so a personal readiness, including psychological robustness and a capacity for self-reflection is important.

All students are asked to be in weekly personal psychotherapy throughout the course (for a minimum of 40 sessions). Your psychotherapy should be with a qualified and experienced UKCP Registered or BACP Accredited practitioner, or equivalent. Personal psychotherapy costs are covered by students.

Course Details


The Foundation Course in Integrative Psychotherapy provides about 135 hours of training in total and is divided into three modules summarised below. Please note there is an 80% minimum attendance requirement; when missing a session, students might be invited to complete some extra tasks to keep-up with the rest of the group.

Modules

  1. Foundation in Counselling Skills. Students will learn foundational counselling skills, including therapeutic presence, listening, empathic reflection, assessing clients’ preferences, alliance building, working through alliance ruptures, and sitting with painful affect. Assessment: a video recorded role-play with reflective commentary (1,500 words).
  1. An Introduction to Integrative Psychotherapy Theory. Students will be introduced to some of the major theoretical orientations and will be encouraged to reflect on similarities and differences across approaches. They will also learn the key concepts informing psychotherapy integration, while reflecting on their own personal theories on how people change. By actively engaging with the course material, students will develop an informed perspective on how therapy works. Assessment: 3,500-word essay.
  1. Self in Process. This module will offer opportunities for self-discovery by a contemplative engagement with philosophy, literature, and the arts. Working with metaphor and imagination, students will be invited to expand their self-awareness and share their insights within the group. Moreover, yoga and meditation practices will be introduced to support ongoing presence and bodily awareness. Assessment: 2,000-word personal process report and creative group presentation.

In addition to the modules, the course offers space for relational exploration through:

  • Group process: As integrative psychotherapists drawing primarily on relational psychoanalysis, we believe we are constantly playing out our relational templates. The teaching class therefore offers an invaluable opportunity to observe and experience some analytic concepts in action.

 

  • Space for in-depth relational exploration outside of class: Across both courses, during classes and breaks mealtimes there will be opportunities for relational exploration within the group, to support you in cultivating a reflective state of mind that can facilitate the learning and insights. During the immersive residential weekend course, there will be more extensive space for in-depth relational exploration during activities, including a welcome dinner and reflective practice circle, as well as time for individual and private contemplation.

Assessments


Students are assessed by Inner Citadel staff.

Students will also be given feedback on their participation and self-awareness, to further develop their personal readiness for future trainings.

Philosophy and Learning Objectives


We believe teaching should be a transformative practice that challenges more established ways of seeing, supporting learners in exploring novel perspectives and integrating new insights into their way of being in the world.

Being mindful of our power as tutors, we try to use it to give voice not only to underrepresented students, but also to underrepresented ideas, challenging mainstream assumptions in the field of counselling and psychotherapy.

Diversity is not discussed as part of a dedicated session, in a tokenistic way, but interwoven throughout our teaching.

 

Learning Objectives

 

Experiential learning

  • To offer an enriching experiential right-brain learning process that enables the development of psychotherapeutic skills, including a capacity for moment-to-moment self-reflection, mindful contextual reflexivity, phenomenological enquiry and affect attunement.
  • To provide learning through both plenary teaching and interactive discussion that facilitates the development of a discerning yet relational stance of authority and authenticity.
  • To offer opportunities for input to the direction of the course, through reciprocal and responsive dialogue with the trainers based on evolving learning needs.

 

Personal and professional learning development

  • To begin to cultivate one’s own Inner Citadel through exploring and developing different dimensions of Self, including affective, cognitive, relational, physical, behavioural and transpersonal aspects of experience.
  • While supporting one’s personal development, this also cultivates the use of a multidimensional Self as the professional instrument of the therapeutic work, facilitating change and healing.

 

Relationship and community

  • To facilitate spaces beyond the ‘classroom’ for in-depth relational exploration where trainees can really get to know each other and make use of the potent relational possibilities of the group to enhance their reflective capacity and learn about themselves and others.
  • To create a community through the Inner Citadel where people can authentically connect and experience a sense of belonging.

 

What is an Inner Citadel

An ‘Inner Citadel’ is a sacred, contemplative space within our Self that is private, precious, and protected from external stressors. Yet it is also a relational space where we can invite others in to connect and express ourselves, feel heard and be seen. We believe therapy can be a profound experiential journey toward cultivating an Inner Citadel in ourselves.

As the maze of the Inner Citadel symbolises, this journey may not be linear nor easy, but it can be an expansive and enriching process of discovery across multiple dimensions of Self. Looking beyond alleviation from clinical symptoms as a therapeutic goal, cultivating an Inner Citadel can enable people to find greater authenticity, meaning and fulfilment in their daily lives, while acknowledging the impact of intersectional and societal systemic factors on a person’s reality.

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vows
A thousand times.
Come, yet again, come, come.
Rumi –

 

Course Leader


Inner Citadel, therapy clinic and training institute, Dr. Tanya Lecchi Clinical Director

Dr. Tanya Lecchi

Tanya is a BPS Chartered Psychologist, Registered Counselling and Clinical Psychologist (HCPC), Relational Psychotherapist, Mindfulness Teacher, and Senior Research Fellow.

She has extensive training in a range of approaches to therapeutic work, with a focus on psychodynamic approaches and relational models. She has 15 years of experience in providing psychological assessment and treatment to adults, families, children and young people in different care settings, including the hospital environment and private practice.

Tanya is a lecturer on the DPsych at City, University of London, and a senior research tutor and a senior research fellow within the Child Attachment and Psychological Therapies Research Unit (ChAPTRe) at the Anna Freud Centre.

When Tanya teaches, she models both an empathic and relationally attuned way of being together with a deep intellectual and erudite knowledge of psychotherapeutic theory. Above all you feel seen, validated and encouraged to learn.

Tobias

Integrative Psychotherapist, Former student of Tanya

I had the pleasure of having Tanya as my main tutor during a year of my doctoral training. She displays a rare intersection of outstanding academic knowledge with the highest communication skills, infusing it with her deeply compassionate human spirit and years of professional practice.

Alastair

Integrative Psychotherapist, Former student of Tanya

Tanya is exceptionally skilled at nurturing the person of the therapist. Specifically, her ability to identify her students’ clinical strengths, and to support those individuals to develop their assets to become practitioners capable of engaging with the world from their own unique place of authenticity. This has greatly benefited me both personally and professionally, in allowing me to better know myself and to better serve my clients.
Michelle

Counsellor and Integrative Psychotherapist, Former student of Tanya

Logistic Details


Dates

Weekly Course
Running every Wednesday and Thursday evening:

  • First term: Monday 14 Oct to Friday 13 Dec 2024
  • Second term: Monday 20 Jan to Friday 21 Mar 2025
  • Third term: Monday 28 Apr to Friday 27 Jun 2025

Location: Inner Citadel premises.

Residential Course
Term dates are more flexible for the residential course.

Location: Venue in Oxfordshire.

Fees


Option 1 – Weekly

Fee: £3,500
(refreshments included)

  • Early Bird (by 30 June 2024): £3,250
  • Pay-It-Forward (for those with abundance who wish to help a fellow student who is financially struggling): £3,700
  • Concession Fee (these limited places are funded by our Pay-It-Forward scheme. Please only choose this option if really in need): £2,800
  • BIPOC Community Scholarship: £700

Deposit: £700

Option 2 – Residential

Fee: £5,850
(accommodation and meals included)

  • Early bird (by 30 June 2024): £5,600
  • Pay-It-Forward (for those with abundance who wish to help a fellow student who is financially struggling): £6,000
  • Concession (these limited places are funded by our Pay-It-Forward scheme. Please only choose this if really in need): £5,250
  • BIPOC Community Scholarship: £2,500

Deposit: £700

Registration and Payments


Step 1

Click on the Apply Now button at the bottom of this page or in the Key Info box.

Step 2

Fill the form with all details and Submit it.

Step 3

Attend the introductory Zoom call we will set up to say hello and provide you with some more information about the course.

Step 4

Pay the Deposit of £700 to confirm your place.

Step 5

Get excited to join us in October!