TA Training

TA Training In West Yorkshire

Evening Seminar Programme Launches in Buxton

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The Old Hall Hotel

Our seminar programme in Leeds has been a wonderful success. From January 2019 we will be running a similar programme of informal CPD and networking events in Buxton. These will be taking place at the Old Hall Hotel in Buxton.  The events offer support to practitioners by providing a forum for learning and socialising.  Taking advantage of the beautiful quiet peaceful location in the Peak District these events are for mental health workers, youth workers, social workers, teachers, counsellors, therapists and trainees.  Our Buxton CPD Seminars and are an opportunity to meet up once every other month for a social and professional evening.

We will be inviting speakers to come along and present for an hour and a half on a subject in which they are interested.  You will have opportunity both before and after the event for networking and socialising. We provide some light refreshments including hot and cold drinks.  Sign up to our mailing list to get your invitations to these events.

The Buxton Seminars are on a Tuesday evening once every other month.  They run from 6pm until 8pm.  Arrive for 6pm, the seminar starts at 6.15pm and goes on for an hour and a half, leaving time at the end for networking and socialising.

Dates for the seminars are:

January 22nd, March 19th, May 21st, July 16th, September 17th and November 26th at The Old Hall Hotel the oldest hotel in England.

The Old Hall Hotel
The Square
Buxton
Derbyshire
England
SK17 6BD

The cost is £15 per event, the fee covers the cost of room hire and refreshments.  Any money remaining at the end of the year will be donated to a local charity.

Open Day – Train as a Psychotherapist

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So, you think you might want to begin psychotherapy training?

Clinical trainingCareer Change

You probably have lots of questions as you think about making this potential career change with psychotherapy training. TA Training Organisation are having an Open Day on Saturday 21st July 10.30am until 1pm for prospective trainees.  You can come along, see the training centre, meet us and ask any questions before taking the step of applying.

For many people psychotherapy training  is a career change.  Making such a significant life change we thought it might be helpful for people to meet us prior to applying are so that you can find out if psychotherapy might be the career for you.  Psychotherapy is often a second career for people particularly in the UK.  For example, Lin had a 20 year successful career in sales and marketing before she set up her private practice.  Andy worked in hotels and schools in management positions.

Open Day

What is the plan for the Open Day? Here are some of the items on our agenda.

We will be talking about the kind of person who trains to be a therapist and what some of the longer-term career options look like that are available.

We will also talk about what is involved in training to be a therapist.  Learning about theory which involves studying a psychological model.  We will outline some of the requirements that are involved outside of the taught elements. For example, seeing clients, having supervision and your own personal therapy.

There will be some thoughts from us on the different kinds of training that is available.  We will talk about the difference between going to a university  or attending a smaller training institute owned, run and managed by practising psychotherapists.

We will tell you about the training course we offer at TA Training Organisation in Horsforth, Leeds.  Our ethos and philosophy and what it would be like to train with us now – group sizes, facilities available.

Finally, both Lin and Andy will do a short teach on a TA topic to give you a taste of the type of thing you can expect on the programme we run.

Book Your Place

This is a great opportunity to find out more and get your questions answered if you are thinking about this career change.  Reserve a place on the Open Day now and we look forward to meeting you soon.

If you would like to come along, please do get in touch and let us know you are attending by booking a ticket using the button below – so we can make sure we allow enough time for your questions.

Book Tickets

What to Expect on the TA 101

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What might you expect on the TA101?

The TA 101 is known as the “official introduction” to transactional analysis.  What does official introduction mean? If you are thinking about coming on the course, carry on reading.

Transactional Analysis Theory

Well, first it means that you will be covering some of the key concepts in transactional analysis. You will then look at applying those transactional analysis concepts to yourself and your relationships.  You will gain insight into how you might be able to change some of your internal and external communications to gain more positive outcomes.

We begin with simple fun exercises to help the group to settle and get to know each other.  Feeling relaxed and comfortable is important in helping people to learn. The main format of the teaching is to present one of the models, followed by looking at real life examples.  Then you will engage in reflective exercises. These are mostly in small groups, applying the theory to yourself to see what you can learn about yourself.

Over the two days you will look at the underlying principles of transactional analysis.  You will consider what these then mean in practice and apply them to yourself. You will also look at 9 key theoretical models in transactional analysis.

When you have completed the 2 days, you will receive a certificate from UKATA, the UK branch of the European Association  for TA.

Informal Training

The style of the training is very informal.  We use lots of real life examples to help you understand the material.  The course is relevant to lots of different job roles.  For example  you might be a counsellor looking to develop an understanding of TA to use in your clinical work.  You might be a  teacher wanting ways to increase your effectiveness at work through understanding parents and children.  Or you might be from the world of business and coaching  wanting ways to understand staff better and improve performance at work.  For all these different roles Lin and Andy will look to find examples and applications of theory that are relevant to your work setting.

Counselling Training

If you are thinking of training as a counsellor or therapist then this course is a brilliant first step.  We will introduce you to what it is like to study a psychological model. It looks at what that means in practice and provide you a basic understanding of how TA is applied in a counselling or therapy setting.  It’s a great way to see if counselling training might be for you.

So, if you are interested in learning more about what makes people tick and some of the reasons why we do what we do then the TA 101, the official introduction to transactional analysis is a great course to really get some insight and the answers to these questions.

New Peak District venue for TA101s

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Devonshire Dome

We now offer TA101 courses in the beautiful town of Buxton, Derbyshire in addition to our Leeds venue.

Courses take place on 19 & 20 March 2018 or 14 & 15 June 2018 and are presented by Lin Cheung. We know you will love the venue for these workshops – the amazing Devonshire Dome, right in the heart of Georgian Buxton and surrounded by the the outstanding Peak District countryside.

To book your ticket for either of these courses, go to our TA101 page.

Favourite Quotes and Ideas about Ego State Theory

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child ego state

Ego state theory is one of the models in TA theory I use regularly in my work with clients and in supervision.  It’s one of the ideas in TA that immediately resonates with clients. In its simplest form it is easy to understand and apply to self with some degree of accuracy.  In this post I thought I would share some of my favourite quotes, definitions and ideas about ego state theory.

As many of you will know Eric Berne’s background was as a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. His work means that  transactional analysis theory has a psychoanalytic heritage.  Berne was familiar with the work of ego psychologists Fairbairn and Federn. They were writing about ego states in the 1950’s.

Berne’s significant contribution to ego state theory was that ego states are being experienced internally. In addition, categories of ego states have specific sets of behaviours that are consistent with these internal states. By observing patterns in behaviour, the therapist can begin to form a view of the ego state of the person.

Definitions, Quotes and a Few Important Terms

“Exteropsyche,neopsyche, and archaeopsyche are regarded as psychic organs. And which manifest themselves phenomenologically as exteropsychic (e.g. identificatory), neopsychic (e.g. data processing), and archaeopsychic (e.g. regressive) ego states.  These types of ego states are referred to as Parent, Adult, and Child.” Berne (1961 p23)

Transactional analysis’ psychoanalytic roots can be seen in this quote where Berne is referring to psychic organs. These are a metaphor or a way of describing a psychological or mental process. Mental processes which then show themselves in what he describes as Parent Adult Child.

Ego states:

“are coherent systems of thought and feeling manifested by corresponding patterns of behaviour.”  Berne (1974)

This particular quote highlights the link between behaviour as something that corresponds to a pattern of thinking and feeling. Therefore, if we begin to identify patterns in behaviour we can begin to understand the thinking and feeling.  This idea helps us begin to identify discrete psychological processes linked to stimuli.

Parent Ego State

A Parental ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour patterns which resemble a parental figure.” (1961 p75)

“Parent is exhibited in two forms, direct and as an influence.” Berne (1964)

This idea of the Parent ego state as an influence, is highlighting that when the Child ego state is cathected there will be a part of Parent that is also active in the form of an influence.  An internally experienced replay of an aspect of Parent, possibly offering helpful structure or nurture or in the negative aspects of Parent, control and criticism.

“Parent ego states are an actual historical internalisation of the personality of one’s own parents or other significant parental figures as perceived by the child at the time of introjection.” Erskine (2003 p89)

Erskine is offering the view  that Parent content at the moment of introjection is as perceived by Child. This explains the punitive, critical and sometimes frightening nature of the content of Parent ego state.

Adult Ego State

“The Adult ego state is characterised by an autonomous set of feelings, attitudes, and behaviour patterns which are adapted to the current reality.” Berne (1961 p76)

“When in the Adult ego, a person is in full contact with what is occurring in a manner appropriate to that developmental age.  This neopsychic (current mind) function of the ego accounts for and integrates: 1) what is occurring moment-by-moment internally and externally, 2) past experiences and their resulting effects, and 3) the psychological influences and identifications with other significant people in one’s life.” Erskine (2003)

The idea of the integrating function. Adult draws on Parent and Child content and sifts it for usefulness and applicability in the current reality.

Child Ego State

“The Child ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes and behaviour pattern which are relics of the individual’s own childhood.” (Berne 1961 p77)

“Each person carries within a little boy or little girl, who feels, thinks, acts, talks, and responds just the way he or she did when he or she was a child of a certain age.” Berne (1974 p31)

“a system linked to the organisation of instinctual drives, basic needs and primary emotional experiences” (Tudor2002 p10)

Introjection.  Process of identification and internalisation of the experience of another including perceived thoughts feeling and behaviours.

Berne talked of Child as being about primary process, a psychoanalytic term used by Freud and as Tudor describes above instinctual needs and drives.

Contamination

Contamination of Ego states occurs when the solidity of the barrier around the Adult ego state breaks down and beliefs from the either the Parent or Child ego states, or both “contaminate” Adult ego state functioning. I.e. the person is using thoughts/feelings and experience from either Parent or Child to problem solve in the present without reality testing their relevance, accuracy and applicability.  This means that the Integrating function of the Adult is affected by unfiltered content.

Executive

Identifies the ego state that is the one that is in control. That is where the majority of the person’s energy is. It is also the ego state which is dictating the patterns of thinking feeling and behaviour.

What this hinting at is that we are rarely ever completely in only one ego state.  Often even though in the main it is the Adult ego state that is cathected, content in Child and Parent might be active. An example of all three ego states being active whilst the Adult remains in the executive:

Being asked to give a speech at the National TA Conference, I may be feeling a whole range of things:

  • confident and well prepared to speak in public
  • I will also be experiencing my Parent ego state giving me messages about “always getting things right”.
  • I can also, and at the same time, be nervous and scared.

So, these are some of my favourite quotes and ideas – what are yours?  What aspect of ego state theory do you make most of in your practice?  I’d love to hear from you.

And, if these ideas are new to you and you’ve found them useful then maybe you’d like to find out more.  Our TA101 course is a first introduction to TA and is a great beginning .

Contracts and Contracting

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Lin Cheung talks about contracts and contracting and their importance within the transactional analysis model.

What is contracting?

Contracting is one of the key principles of how we work as transactional analysts. As they say “If you are not contracting, you aren’t doing TA” This is a really interesting idea but what does it mean?

I think its about being clear about what we are doing and why we are doing it. And that its not just me that is clear about that but also the person I am working with. It applies across the board, whether we are in an organisation working as a coach, if we are doing organisational consultancy, if we are a psychotherapist, if we are a counsellor. Its about being clear and not having any confusion about what we are here to do and what the end outcome is.

Charlotte Sills uses the word ‘confusion’ and I really like that idea. What we are seeking is clarity. This doesn’t necessarily happen straight away and can often be emergent. Moment by moment we are seeking clarity – ‘What does this mean to me right now?’

Our clients often come to us, as psychotherapists, without a sense of what they are seeking and a big part of what we are there to do is to help them work it out for themselves and then to have a shared idea of the goals of psychotherapy and how we are going to get there.

That is contracting for me.

We explore contracts and contracting in our Foundation Certificate course which runs each academic year, September – July.

Working with Groups – brief introduction

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Groups work with the Clinical Training Group

Andy Williams is talking about the Working with Groups training that took place over the weekend in this short clip.

Hello everybody, I’m checking in after this weekend with the advanced psychotherapy clinical training group looking at group work.

We had a really good time considering aspects of working with process groups and the theory of running process groups.

We were looking at the 7 principles of process group work that Adrienne Lee* talks about. The fact that we are healing primal wounds so a group can be many things:

  • If you feel abandoned, the group can be about real contact.
  • When you are feeling engulfed, the group can be about finding space.
  • If you are feeling hurt, it’s about protection.

The group is about moving from non-relationship into relationship.

We also talking about ideas of intimacy through ensuring we close things down and there are no loose ends at the ends of groups (if we can help it).

We looked at empowering the client. The group is there to change things through having an authentic, relational experience with people and we talked a lot about the relationships within a therapy group.

Finally we explored the experience of ‘plenty’ – Adrienne Lee talks about the idea of  ‘plenty’ – there is enough for everybody, over time, within a therapy group.

Find out more about our Clinical Training programme by clicking here.

*Adrienne Lee BA MPracNLP TSTA(P)

Advanced Clinical Training – new CPD opportunities

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Advanced Clinical Training DaysClinical training

We are now offering experienced therapists the opportunity to join our Year 4 Theory Group for single days of advanced clinical theory. Attendees will spend a day considering advanced counselling and psychotherapy theory on specific topics.
As well as in-depth theoretical exploration, we offer a warm, welcoming and relaxed setting – a great basis for getting involved in engaging discussions and thinking around a theory topic.

“It’s great to be able to spend a day in the comfort of the The Horsforth Centre and engage with like-minded therapy colleagues, thinking about advanced topics”

Who can attend?

Since the workshops are open to experienced therapists and practitioners, we expect that attendees may be:

  • Qualified counsellors who have completed a Diploma qualification
  • Practitioners who have two years of clinical experience
  • Experienced counsellors, experienced psychotherapists, clinical psychologist advanced trainees and qualified, mental health professionals, CBT practitioners, EMDR advanced practitioners
  • Practitioners who are ready to access advanced TA and integrative theory.

Seminar programme

The seminar programme includes The Therapeutic Relationship, Working with Obsessive Compulsive Clients, Psychodynamic Modality, The Schizoid Defensive Structure, Memory and the Brain, Humanistic Theory, and also Borderline and Narcissistic Traits. Whilst the headings give you a general idea of content, there is more detail on the workshop page. You can reach it using the link below.

Seminars take place roughly one Saturday per month over the year and cost just £75 per workshop. We have full information available which you can reach by clicking here.

 

 

 

Feedback on our training courses

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What our delegates have to sayCustomer reviews and feedback

Our First Steps to Private Practice day took place on 13 May with some excellent feedback from those who attended. Here are some of the things they said:

“Really ‘on the ball’ training” V, Leeds

“An excellent course that more than fulfilled my needs and expectations. Would highly recommend“, J Firth

“Attuned therapists, warm and engaging” AW

“I found the training today informative and affirming of me as a practitioner. There has been a lot of new information to go away, reflect and digest. I feel encouraged and supported“. Joanna Buglass, Bingley

“Excellent, informative and thought provoking day, delivered professionally and enthusiastically“. D Hooker

The First Steps course is on 17 March 2017. If you have a specific issue to do with working in private practice, book on to a Supervision day and bring your issue as part of the agenda for the day – receive advice, discussion and input within a small group setting.