TA Training Archives - TA Training

Getting to know the Child

March 16, 2021 By Jane Williams

Exploring the concept of Child ego state

Nearly a week ago, on 10 March, I presented my winter evening seminar with TATO. My theme was Getting to know the Child: An exploration of different structural models of the Child ego state. This area has always fascinated me. I took the opportunity to explore the differences between the various ways our TA theory can conceptualise the Child Ego state. It was lovely to be joined by people from across the UK and a handful from other parts of Europe. We had a lively conversation together about how the theory of the Ego States. Looking at the Child ego state in particular has developed since the 1960s and Eric Berne’s original thinking.

I tend to choose training topics that I am curious to stretch myself on, and this was a typical case for me. Since I have begun training regularly with TATO alongside my colleagues Andy, Bev and Michelle, I have noticed the different emphasis each of us will place on different aspects of theory. I find that I had always felt a little confused about the way the first, second and third order structural ego state models could be seen as complimentary. Or then again, perhaps as offering distinctly different ideas that don’t sit well with one another. Preparing training materials always helps clarify my thinking.

Key Distinctions

I did my best to present the thinking of various TA schools; Classical, Redecision, Co-Creative and Relational. Hopefully without showing my own biases too strongly. The key distinctions I wanted to draw out were the way we can conceptualise the Child Ego state as a map of the development of out past. Also, the way we might think of the Child as containing ‘psychic organs’ that are the location of certain capacities such as intuition, playfulness, somatic awareness or self critique. And finally, the ways that the Child might be considered like a Russian Doll, with every former me one inside the other.

As always we had a great group on the call, who were up for a debate. I found my thinking being challenged. From the comments received at the end, had a really valuable time together. In conclusion, we ended as I always like to, with a warm invitation to join us at TATO; a special place to explore TA theory and skills and to learn to become first rate therapists. A big thank you to all those who attended – for your presence and participation.

Our Spring seminar series is coming soon. Join our mailing list for up to date events information.

Beren Aldridge is a PTSTA(P) and is one of the core training team at TATO. Beren trains on the Foundation Certificate and Clinical Training Programme as well as short courses and seminars.

A psychotherapist and supervisor in private practice in Kendal, Cumbria, Beren also works as a mental health trainer and consultant in local authorities, the NHS and businesses.

Others posts

Season of Imbolc – Hope Born Again

February 24, 2021 By Jane Williams

Following on from my previous video blog and the story of The Old Woman in the Cave, we have now entered the season of Imbolc and as if right on cue, in glides of one of the greatest deities of the Celtic pantheon, the glorious fiery divine power, patroness of Imbolc, Goddess Brigid. She of the sacred fire.

Brigid, Brigantia, Breo-saighead, goddess of the hearth and home, fire, alchemy and smithcraft, light, healing, divination, prophecy and poetic inspiration. A sun goddess bringing the vital energy needed for birthing new life. Even under the snow, new shoots are bursting forth and I am careful where I tread.

Imbolc – start of hope

Imbolc, literally translated, means ‘in the belly’. It is celebrated on the 1st of February as one of the four great fire festivals in the wheel of the year and heralds the return of life giving light and nature about to burst forth when Spring arrives. It marks the beginning of lambing season, and I always feel an uplift of hope, joy and promise when I hear and see the first lambs. Spring is on her way.

Imbolc – Time of hope

Just as the sap begins to rise again in the trees, it is a time of birth and beginnings, a new weaving of life in all her myriad forms. Hope is born again. People gather for the Feast of Brigid, to worship and give thanks with lighting of fires, sharing of food, invocations, songs and each to weaving an ancient solar symbol of protection for the home – the three pointed cross of Brigid.

Sun through trees to represent Brigid and Imbolc

For the Celts, the deities were inseparable from daily life. Their world was infused with relationship to the elemental forces, nature sprites, ancestral spirits, and worship of gods and goddesses alike. Their understanding of how the inner worlds related to the cosmos and the material world was profound. They built sacred sites where ley lines intersected, knowing these were sacred places of power where physical energies aligned with the sun and the cosmos were especially potent. Places of divine conjunction.

Rose Rylands is a Storyteller and walking guide based where she grew up on the East Coast at Whitby. Her mission is to connect people to the earth as a place of magic, mystery and meaning, to arrest ongoing harm to both ourselves and the natural world.

“My passion is to connect people with the earth as a place of mystery, meaning and magic through story. I suppose I am a sort of cultural custodian of my own small space and beloved bit of earth.”

The next blog is a video of Rose sharing about ‘Imbolc – Time of hope’.

Rose is running a series of workshops on the TA Earth theme:

Loss of Language
Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm
Storytelling: Connecting head, heart, earth and hearth
Spiritual Ecology

Take a look at our other TA Earth articles and workshops.

Compass image linking to courses overview page

Deeper relationship with the natural world

Communication with the divine, the spirit world and the non human web of life, combined with a deep kinship and reciprocity was part of their culture, as it had been for thousands of years. Nature was known to be woven through with numinous magic and for millennia people lived with reverence for the living world around them. In all, the living world was the church of our ancestors.

There was no separation between the seen and the unseen worlds. They knew full well that many otherworldly beings existing in other realities, could come and go at will. The veils were thin and much was seen, envisioned, midwifed and balanced in accordance with ancient esoteric laws and practices.

Enormous respect was given to the gods and goddesses. Brigid was one whose appearance was welcomed with relief and warmly celebrated with thanks and praisegiving after the long winter.

Ancient times

It is hard for us to imagine how it was thousands of years ago when sacred fires were kept alight in holy shrines dedicated to Brigid. They were tended and fed with hawthorn, potent branches signifying entry to the Inner World, by priestesses who were also trained to tend sacred wells, groves, caves and places of worship in the hallowed hills. It was the time of Druid magic and wise women of the hedge.

St Brigid's Cross to celebrate Imbolc — St Brigid’s Cross

In Kildare, Ireland, there was a shrine to Goddess Brigid where a fire was attended by 19 priestesses that it should never go out and would burn eternal. The Brudins, a place of magical cauldron and perpetual fires, disappeared when Christianity took hold.

Arrival of Christianity

When early Christianity arrived on these shores, millenia old customs and ceremonies were appropriated and moulded into Christian doctrine. Some of the deities and goddesses who had been celebrated and worshipped over thousands of years were banished. Others became Saints instead. Suffice it to say, Brigid is one of those who epitomises the marriage between the Pagan and Christian traditions. She remains strong as she bridges both worlds, albeit now as Saint Brigid.

But eventually goddess consciousness rotted into the idea of a malevolant, putrid, evil underworld that was projected onto witches (the wise women).They became cast as the evil sorceress. Much esoteric knowledge and wisdom was lost and the later witch who practised occult arts became the half baked shaman, with only half knowledge.

Loss of respect for the old ways – and women

And there we have it – the fire and the cauldron, both symbolic and literal, tended by women, was extinguished by the banishment of pagan culture. It is a long and painful story . Too long to go into here when whole books have been written about it. But it involved a long and drawn out persecution of women. The banishment and murder of priestesses, nuns and women of the hedge. The genocide of the Druids, burning of sacred groves and banishment of millenia old ways of worship. These ways had kept humanity attuned to the deeper rhythms and cycles of nature, and responsibilities as stewards of both the seen and unseen worlds.

Gosh…we have drifted a long way from there to the transactions we now have with our world.

Brigid and Jesus

The involvement of Brigid in the birth of Jesus became the stuff of legend. The story goes that Brigid was midwife and placed three drops of water on His forehead. An ancient Celtic myth tells that three drops of water were placed upon the head of the Son of Light in order to confer wisdom. I think it’s vital to remember that Jesus Christ was born in pagan times. The story of his birth is woven through with the symbolism of his time.

But here, on the emerald islands of Britain, even until a few hundred years ago and before this industrial civilisation, grass was cut with scythe, earth ploughed by man and horse. Crops were harvested by hand, fires lit for both warmth, cooking, and to gather around. Life had it’s own simple rhythms in accord with sunrise and sunset, the turn of the wheel, the cycles of nature and the seasons. Each community celebrated the seasons with song, dance, rituals and gatherings. God fearing and yet still alive with the old ways inherited from ancestors.

The household fire is sacred to Brigid. At the time of Imbolc the fire should be kept going, and each evening the woman of the household should smoor the fire, (cover it over to keep the fire overnight), asking for the protection of Brigid on all its occupants.

Honouring Brigid through Imbolc

There are many ways to honour Brigid. She is sacred to so many things – but she is also known as Brigid of the Sacred Wells. In Druid ritual, Brigid is honored by placing candles around a well. The well is dressed with flowers and green foliage. Coins and silver objects were offered to the well. Many of her holy wells still exist, some thousands of years old. Her waters were said to heal all manner of disease.

Lambing season - begins on 1 Feb, Imbolc

I have a Holy Well at the end of my street that is now known as the Well of St Hilda. But eons ago it would have have been one of Brigid’s Sacred Wells. It is supposed to heal diseases of the eye. I might go down there and splash some water in my eyes and perhaps I will see more clearly..

And now?

So we labour on in lockdown and under a foot of snow. I am listening to the lambs in the field and hoping the farmer will take care of them. I feel in accord with Brigid. The well has been visited and I have been keeping my log burner going overnight. Keeping the fire burning and praying for poetic inspiration. I fight back the darker thoughts that prowl around the edges. I just live in hope that somehow a better normal will arise out of this Imbolc and new beginnings. Let the new weaving begin.

Creativity – a new journey

May 30, 2020 By Jane Williams

Why creativity?

Exploring creativity – both for work with clients and for ourselves – is important to our team. I’m sure you will have noticed the emphasis on creativity in our workshop programme.

Not to be outdone by the trainers at TA Training Organisation, I have also started a journey to explore creativity – using a new book, ‘You are an Artist’ by Sarah Urist Green as a resource.

Sarah has put together a whole range of easy to assignments to help access new ways of expression and creativity. It is about exploration rather than skills development – refreshing when many other resources are about developing a hobby.

In this series of weekly Creativity posts, I’ll share how I got on with my explorative journey and, hopefully, you will find elements to encourage you and ideas to use in client or supervision work.

I was very excited when the book arrived (but then I always get excited by new books). I had a quick skim through the contents and quickly saw that it was going to be fun. And challenging. And much, much, more.

Where to start – First steps

The book has sat on my desk for the last 5 days while I decided where to start. At the beginning perhaps? Well, no, I decided to start with one of the more (apparently) simpler exercises – adding elements to this visual image:

The assignment suggested annotating the picture with my own words, quotes from songs, movies or books, sketches or anything really as long as it gave meaning for me.

Old Boots

I struggled at first. The boots in the image feel very old to me. Maybe belonging to someone from WW1. Not something I have much experience of other than a shared cultural history.

Picture of boots - creativity opportunity

Old Roots

I then moved on to thinking about the boots’ origins. Who owned them? What did they do? Why leave their boots? I began thinking about my ancestors in Ireland working in the fields or factories. Does this picture speak to where I came from? My past being part of me now and my future?

In My Boots

This started me thinking about the phrase ‘being in my boots’ and what it means. To me, it means being firmly grounded and secure and truly me. Boots feel stable to me, not higher heels that can wobble as I walk but solid and supportive. Reliable and resilient.

Resilience

I was tempted by the Lord of the Rings quote above but then this led me to something Terry Pratchett wrote about Tiffany Aching in The Shepherd’s Crown. Whilst its about boots, obviously – I also feel it has a lot to say about resilience and the ability to manage life and its challenges.

Resilience is very important if I’m not going to be flattened by experience. This is true for me generally but particularly in the current Covid-19 times we are living in. But I don’t feel resilience is like a bomb-blast wall – a hardness developed as a response to negative things. There is something joyful about being secure in knowing I can march through anything or, with Peppa Pig, jump in muddy puddles.

What next?

It felt a relief but also very satisfying to pin down the picture to something that does represent how I feel. With the first assignment complete, I’m now a little less daunted and looking forward to the rest of the journey.

Final note

And finally, I’ve put together some images as A4 pdf templates that you might want to use with clients. Click on the buttons below to download. Or create your own.

Andy Williams

February 12, 2019 By Jane Williams

One of our series of interviews with the trainers at TA training Organisation. Andy Williams is Co Director of TA Training Organisation and an experienced psychotherapist supervisor and trainer. Andy lives in Leeds and we tracked him down at the Training Centre in Horsforth.

Q1. How long have you been a psychotherapy trainer and how did you get into this as a career?

My passion for therapy developed when I was working in the corporate world, working for several large hotel companies. I began to see how disjointed the workplace was and how abandoned and “missed” colleagues felt. I knew from this time that I wanted to be a therapist, and then as I became more experienced, to train other therapists. I qualified in Transactional Analysis and became a UKCP registered psychotherapist in 2005.

I have now been a trainer since 2008 and completed my final training exams in Europe in 2015. Every journey in psychotherapy is ongoing. I can definitely say I learn something new every day. Especially from my colleagues.

Q2. Is there a specialist area that you are particularly passionate about and why?

When I think about therapy I think about freedom, emancipation and liberation. I want people to be free to be fully themselves; and to be comfortable in their skin. This often leads me to be passionate about those who are at the margins and edges of our world. I am very interested in the huge variety of gender identities, gender expression and differing sexualities. I am also deeply committed to teaching and working particularly in the area of relational theory. I am fascinated to see what happens in the therapy relationship can be a mirror of our past.

Q3. Do you find that as a trainer you learn something as part of the sessions you run which you can take back to your own practise?

It is a great privilege to be a trainer. Humbling, and there is deep learning throughout every process and session. Above all at the moment I feel I am learning to think! I can be terribly impulsive and want to get things done and finished. This is not a good process when considering being or learning to become a therapist. Things take time and deep reflection.

Q4. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of taking up psychotherapy or counselling as a career?

I feel generous and warm towards someone who is considering the profession. I would encourage them to come and talk to someone, to take advantage of one of our free advice hours or to speak to other professionals and ask their advice and seek their experience. You must find a course and environment that “fits” and goes well with your way of being. Here at TA Training Organisation there are several ways you can have an experience of what it might be like to train here. The TA 101 is a good first step.

Q5. How do your training sessions support students in their careers?

Well I see us as a totally applied training, we watch people becoming living and breathing practitioners. This week during training we supported someone who was starting running their own business and their own private psychotherapy practice. We train at the TA Training Organisation in order that people can go and do! I see it as a very pragmatic process.

Q6. Has there ever been a particularly memorable course that you have run and why?

I have had a few disasters in my time! I have learnt that it does help if the trainer reads the course brief before starting, so they don’t, for instance, deliver the wrong material to the wrong group.

On a more serious note, I have greatly enjoyed working with external agencies and delivering training to them. It’s been great working with some of the local universities and exploring integrative psychotherapeutic approaches in order to support the counselling for students service.

Interested in finding out more about working with us? Please contact us here.

Playing Detective – Or, is it ever really about the toothpaste?

February 5, 2019 By Jane Williams

Psychotherapy is often like being a detective. In learning how to be a psychotherapist we go on the hunt for what is the underlying meaning beneath the narrative the client brings. I often find myself thinking as I’m listening to a client describe their week – and a key event that has them troubled in some way – what is this person telling me? What is this really about? Eric Berne referred to his process as learning to speak Martian.

Supervision in Psychotherapy

Supervision in psychotherapy is where we can take our professional questions about our work. In the beginning of our practice it is about learning how to be a psychotherapist with one to one support of another experienced psychotherapist. Supervision is for learning and development, and for support.

Talking about listening for the underlying meaning is something I do with some of the people I supervise. As they are learning how to be a psychotherapist, I will often talk about how we can be distracted from the meaning of what a client is telling us by the subject matter of the narrative. One of the important developments for new therapists is learning to listen to the subtext. Therefore to focus on the underlying psychological process rather than the happenings in the story.

Here’s an example composed from several typical stories from my clients to illustrate what I mean.

Is it really about the toothpaste?

Let’s suppose I have a client who comes and talks to me about how angry she is over the way her partner leaves the top off the toothpaste. She finds this a revolting mess, and hates finding toothpaste all over the side of the sink. She tells me about her seething resentment and anger at having to clean up after her partner again. That it’s not fair that she always has to do this. She describes how she has spoken to her partner about this, but it just gets laughed off as unimportant.

How do we approach this kind of question therapeutically? One way would be to look at alternative strategies around the toothpaste. I might make suggestions to “problem solve” the toothpaste question. I could suggest buying two tubes of toothpaste. I could encourage my client to talk to her partner and tell her how she feels. We could work on my client finding a way to be more relaxed about mess. All of these approaches might go some way to helping my client. However as someone who is interested in speaking Martian with my clients I think about the underlying psychological process.

What is the underlying psychological process?

Therefore this means I will explore with her how this experience might remind her of her history. We talk about how she feels when she cleans the sink yet again. We make connections and see patterns in her experiencing of the world. We begin to understand that this is connected to being the eldest child in a family with four siblings. What it felt like to be the one to tidy up after the other younger children.

So, the messy toothpaste in the present day is a powerful psychological reminder of the past. Of a particularly difficult experience of being a child oneself and being made responsible for the tidiness of younger siblings, when you have no adult power to do so. Of other memories as a teenager where her sisters would come into her room and mess about with her clothes and make-up and make a mess. How powerless again she felt to do anything about this because parents would just tell her to “laugh it off because they’re only playing.”

Past and Present Day

We can look at what is happening today with my client’s partner with a fresh eye. Connections between past and present can be explored. We may see that this is not really about the top on the toothpaste. It is about how important it is for my client to be listened to when her parents didn’t. About feeling that her needs are being recognised, heard and met. About not feeling like the responsibility is always hers to tidy up another’s mess.

Next Steps?

Does this example interest you? Would you like the task of uncovering how the past can be influencing our relationships in the present? So, sometimes we get to play detective and the role of psychotherapist is to help the people we work with to understand how history and the present may converge. That sometimes it’s really not about the toothpaste.

Does this sound like the kind of work that appeals to you? If so, you could take our email challenge which is to help people explore more about themselves in thinking about psychotherapy as a career. Or, why not contact us using the form below for a further discussion about training and learning how to be a psychotherapist.

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Who Trains to Be a Psychotherapist?

December 17, 2018 By Jane Williams

Supervision Group Are you thinking that you might be interested in training as a psychotherapist or a counsellor? Wondering if this is the kind of work you might enjoy? Or if it’s for you? One of the questions people often ask is, “who trains to be a psychotherapist?” They also want to know if people who apply come from a particular background, or employment history. I will answer this last question first. Whilst it can help to have previous experience in working with people in some kind of helping role, it is not essential. Training to be a psychotherapist is as much about the kind of person you are, and mindset you have, as it is about having previous relevant job experience. Let me talk you through some of the qualities we look for when we are accepting applications on to our training programme.

Having an Enquiring Mind

Curiosity, and having an enquiring mind are important qualities of being a psychotherapist. Are you interested in people, why people think, feel and behave in the ways they do? Do you want to understand ways of making sense of human behaviour? Behaviour is so often a result of the underlying thoughts and feeling we may have about a situation. Sometimes those thoughts and feelings can be just outside of our awareness. Or they can be more deeply buried in our unconscious. As a psychotherapist one of your tasks is to facilitate people in uncovering their deeper thoughts, feelings and motivations regarding their behaviour. So, it helps to be interested and curious in people because part of the role is to question and enquire about such things. Are you interested in asking questions like how and why?

Self-Directed Learning.

Other qualities that are important in who trains to be a psychotherapist is self-motivation and enjoyment of learning. Training to work as a psychotherapist involves the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, practical experience in working with clients and self-development and awareness. Because each person begins training with their own history and experience, each person’s journey will be different.

Secondly, as you set out on the training you will discover areas of the work that interest you more than others. You may develop a specialism in working with a specific group of clients, or want to work in a particular way. Because of this, being willing and interested in developing your own learning journey is an important part of the training. You will want to seek out and find your own sources of learning. This might be in the form of additional training, with a supervisor with a relevant area of expertise, through research and reading. Therefore, you will need to be self-motivated and proactive.

Self-Development

The next area I am going to talk about is that of self-development. You will need to have a keen interest and be committed to your own self development. These are important qualities in who trains to be a psychotherapist. A very big part of training as a therapist is about self-knowledge. This is because therapists need to have enough emotional competence and internal resources to engage with the demands of the training and the work of psychotherapy.

Emotional competence is about understanding feelings. It is also about how to express feelings appropriately and use them to inform your thinking. Internal resources are about being ok with people who may be distressed. It is also about recognising when you need help yourself. How can we help others to know themselves if we do not understand ourselves? So, most training will include a requirement for personal therapy. Therefore, it is very important that you are willing to explore all aspects of yourself. This includes your less positive attributes and qualities. You can also use therapy to build more emotional competence and your internal resources.

Non-Judgemental Stance

Working as therapist will bring you into contact with a very wide range of people from different circumstances and backgrounds. You do not need to know all about different cultures, religions and contexts. To be a competent therapist you will need to have some awareness and sensitivity in relation to the political, socio-cultural and religious or spiritual contexts of people’s lives and how different they can be. As well as this sensitivity you will also have some awareness of prejudice and the many forms it can take. You will also need the ability to respond openly and without judgement to questions of race, gender, age, sexual preference, cultural difference, and diversity for example.

Self-Reflection

The final quality in this post about who trains to be a psychotherapist, is that of self-reflection. Part of the task of the therapist is to think about their work, their clients and themselves because this is one of the ways we can learn about our work and practice and improve it. Reflective practice is a skill that can be developed. It is attended to during training in a variety of different ways; journaling, discussions and supervision are examples of reflection in practice.

Next Steps?

If you have found this a helpful post and want to take the next step then you can:

Sign up to our Five-Day Email Challenge. Starting in January, we will be sending you an email a day for five days with a series of question and tasks based on this post. Click here to sign up for the challenge.

Book on to the next TA101 course. The TA101 is a great way to find out more about studying a psychological model. It is also a personal development course so will be a great way of understanding yourself and others better.

What to expect on psychotherapy training

December 7, 2018 By Jane Williams

Fish jumping If you are considering a career change to working as a psychotherapist this post is for you. You will find out what to expect on psychotherapy training and particularly transactional analysis training.

Firstly, there are different approaches to training.

Types of Psychotherapy Training Course

The academic model in a university is different to an apprenticeship or competency-based model. Both models are based on meeting requirements. These will be a mixture of demonstrating competency, attaining certain skills and meeting specific requirements.

An academic model the training is driven by academic years or a set timescale. With this approach students/trainees are tasked with achieving skills and completing tasks within a set time-frame. In an apprenticeship models of training the meeting of the requirements are not linked to a specific timescale. The latter model can offer a great deal of flexibility in the process towards the goal of qualification.

The length of time of training and the emphasis on theory teaching and clinical practice can vary according to the modality or type of psychotherapy being studied. In general however there are five main areas to think about. Thinking about what to expect on psychotherapy training, the first area is learning about theory or studying a psychological model.

A Psychological Model

A psychological model or modality of psychotherapy is usually a set of theories and ideas about people and their psychology. Transactional analysis psychotherapy has theories about personality structure, child development, communication and relationship, groups. It also has set of theories about psychopathology. In more straightforward language, theory about how psychology can be problematic and mean that people have difficulties in living their lives. It is important in considering which training to choose that the model you select holds some fundamental truths for you. It needs to “makes sense” to you, so that you are studying a model that is congruent with your beliefs and values about people and how they function. In studying a psychological model the tasks will be to learn and understand the key theoretical concepts that are are part of the theory, and to understand how to apply them in working with clients.

Clinical practice – Seeing clients under supervision

The second aspect of training is that of gaining experience in working with clients. This is always done under supervision by a more experienced therapist.

Before seeing clients, trainees are usually asked to demonstrate that they can use counselling skills effectively to problem solve in a counselling situation. You will also need to show that you have a general foundation level of understanding of TA. Then you will begin to offer counselling and psychotherapy to your own clients. Most people usually beginning with two of three clients a week and build this slowly. You will attend supervision and play tapes to your supervisor of you working with your clients. Sometimes you will simply discuss the work you are doing. Supervision is a teaching and learning activity for the development of the trainee’s skill and competence in clinical work.

Personal Therapy – developing understanding of self, self-awareness and reflexivity.

Personal therapy and personal development is another key aspect of the training to work as a psychotherapist because self-awareness and self-knowledge are important qualities in an effective practitioner. Many courses will have a requirement for trainees to engage in a period of personal therapy. Some courses will require that therapy is for the duration of training. The purpose of therapy is to provide a significant experience of therapy. The therapist needs to have experienced therapy that is similar to the work they will be doing. Personal therapy is also for the support of the practitioner because the work can have an emotional and psychological impact. Working through one’s own personal psychological material helps us to be able to effectively work with others. Finally a good psychotherapist will have a consistent and robust habit of reflection because it supports their ongoing development and learning.

So, in addition to studying theory and seeing clients, what else can you expect on psychotherapy training?

Professional development

Even as a trainee once you begin seeing clients part of your development is to begin to develop your own specific areas of interest. Some of this might be in the form of specific shorter training. It might also be through reading, workshops, conferences and supervision. There are a variety of activities that can fall in to this category and all are about how you choose to develop your interests as a practitioner. So examples of what this might look like could be developing an interest in another modality perhaps CBT or EMDR. It might be about working with a specific client group or a particular way of working for example outdoor therapy.

Mental health placement

Part of the requirement for psychotherapists in the uk is to be familiar with the management and treatment of mental health in the uk because there will be times when you may need to refer clients on to other professionals. The mental health placement will involve you meeting a variety of people. Including service users with more severe mental health problems, staff who work with people in this area and gaining an understanding of the services available and approaches used.

Next Steps?

Training to work as a psychotherapist involves a wide education including the development of theoretical knowledge and understanding, broad clinical experience and personal development through self-awareness and self-knowledge. It is about developing as a professional with all the experience, skill, ethical awareness and responsibility that entails, along with the rich rewards of a stimulating and rewarding field of work.

Now you have a better ideas about what to expect on psychotherapy training what are the next steps?

Introduction to TA A TA101 is a great way to experience studying a psychological model, go to our events page to check out the next date. Or read about this two day course here.

Our Foundation Certificate course is a one year part time course which is also the first year of our clinical training. Read more here.

Or, if you would like to find out more about this type of training and career then we offer free informal chat with one of our trainers. Contact us on contact@tatraining.org to arrange a time and date.

Evening Seminar Programme Launches in Buxton

September 18, 2018 By Jane Williams

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 26^th 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

July 5, 2018 By Jane Williams

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

Career 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 21^st 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

March 14, 2018 By Jane Williams

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.