Diploma in Psychosexual Therapy

Key Information

Start date: January 2021
Course length: 2 years
Fees: £5,900
Venue: Central London
Course code: T3

Application deadline is Friday 6 November 2020

"Loving the course; it’s the right balance for me in terms of content, delivery methods and work involved between weekends including reading"

Current Student

Download the brochure.

Enquire About This Course

Overview

This course is designed to provide knowledge, skills and opportunities for clinical practice in the area of psychosexual therapy. It qualifies graduates to practice as psychosexual therapists in statutory and voluntary sectors as well as in private practice.

2-year course leading to qualification as a Psychosexual Therapist
Open to qualified therapists and counsellors of any discipline
Weekend teaching modules
This course has been approved by the COSRT Professional Standards Board Assessor to use the title “Course Approval Pending"

Course Content

The Diploma offers a clinical, professional training in the theory and practice of Psychosexual Therapy.

Theory and Practice

The course includes:

seminars on psychosexual and relationship issues
opportunities to develop critical thinking by means of written assignments, reading, discussion
group work and role play
monthly case discussion/supervision group
monthly self-reflective group
support from a personal tutor throughout the course
overseeing student’s progress in fulfilling COSRT clinical and supervision requirements.

Clinical Work

Students are required to complete 200 hours of face-to-face clinical work. They must see a minimum of 10 cases, five of which must be with couples.

We provide some opportunities to undertake clinical work at an external placement to broaden experience.

Supervision

In accordance with COSRT guidelines, supervision must be undertaken at the supervision ratio of one hour per six hours of clinical work. Supervisors should be experienced COSRT-accredited psychosexual therapists.

Students working in private practice may charge their psychosexual training clients but must inform clients about their trainee status. Private work must be supervised by a Tavistock Relationships-approved supervisor.

Payment for private supervision is not included in course fees.

Entry Criteria

Minimum Entry Requirements

Applicants will need:

A clinical qualification in individual, couple, child psychotherapy or counselling from a BACP/UKCP/BPC accredited training or
A clinical qualification in individual, couple, child psychotherapy or counselling plus BACP/UKCP/BPC accreditation or
A qualification in Counselling Psychology plus accreditation
At least two hundred hours of supervised face-to-face clinical work with individuals or couples.
Appropriate personal qualities (a high degree of self-awareness, capacity to make and maintain close personal relationships, ability to reflect on personal experience).
Commitment to self-development, a willingness to be open to experiences and to work with others in reflecting upon them.
An appropriate level of self-awareness in relation to motivation for learning about working with psychosexual difficulties; a capacity to reflect on experience of personal, couple and family relationships.

NB Successful applicants who have had less than one hundred hours of personal individual therapy will be expected to complete this requirement during the training.

Entry with Advanced Standing

Applicants to the programme may apply for admission with advanced standing where they can produce evidence of prior learning that demonstrates that the learning outcomes of the identified components within the programme have been fulfilled.

Exceptional Entry:

Applicants with other qualifications, or assessed prior (experiential) learning, may be considered for exceptional entry on their merits if the selection panel and the Assessment Board can be satisfied of their clinical and academic competence on the basis of:

evidence from two referees who can confirm the applicant’s clinical and academic attainment
other relevant equivalent training and a portfolio demonstrating prior (experiential) learning..

Applicants for advanced standing and exceptional entry will be required to offer evidence of:

the nature, duration and context of all prior relevant learning
the standard achieved in any assessment or, if no formal assessment was undertaken, other evidence which can be evaluated by the Assessment Board for entry.

Access:

At present there is no lift access to our 4th floor training room.

Our trainings take place on upper floors, from Spring 2020 they will be accessible by lifts with the following specification: Type 1 provides only limited accessibility for persons using a manual wheelchair as described in EN 12183:2014 or an electrically powered wheelchair of class A described in EN 12184:2014. This car accommodates one wheelchair user without an accompanying person.

Assessment

Assessment is by: case studies; training log; theory papers; seminar review papers; oral presentation; project work; end-of-course written and verbal examination; ongoing assessment by supervisors, seminar leaders, self-reflective group conductors, and tutors; and a minimum of 200 hours of clinical practice under supervision. (See below.)

Academic Assessment Requirements	Assessment
Theory, practice and research of psychosexual therapy	confirmation of attendance at seminars (80% minimum) seminar presentations two assessed role plays assessed case studies a written examination of clinical competencies a 5,000-word qualifying paper six case summaries a resource portfolio seminar leaders’ reports.
Clinical Requirements (may be modified according to professional body or Tavistock Relationships requirements)	Assessment
Personal Psychotherapy - 100 hours minimum Training journal	Confirmation of attendance from former or present therapist Tutor’s confirmation
Supervision at approved ratio (one hour for every six hours clinical work) from May 2019 until qualification	Case record notes Supervisor reports and confirmation of readiness to qualify
Clinical practice: - 200 hours psychosexual therapy Minimum 10 cases, of which at least five must be with couples	Supervisor reports Case log
Tutorials: - 3 hours in Year One 4 hours in Year Two	Tutor’s reports

Syllabus

The structure of the course is modular but issues around assessment, treatment planning, diversity and relationships will be threaded through all modules on the course. All set reading material, apart from chapters in prescribed text books, will be supplied but students are expected to read and research widely around the topics.

Students will be expected to keep a self-reflective journal throughout the course and to compile a folder of resource material.

Module 1: Thinking About and Working with Relationships

Why relationship focus?
Relationship diversity
Psychodynamic aspects of the couple relationship
Attachment theories
Genogram
Working with individual clients on relationships issues
Key skills in working with the couple
Working with violence, aggression and vulnerability
Protection issues relating to children and vulnerable adults

Module 2: Psychosexual Assessment and Treatment

Introduction to psychosexual therapy
Psychosexual assessment
Psychosexual dysfunctions
Desire disorders
Anatomy and physiology of sexual response.
History taking
Treatment planning
Behavioural and education work
Time-limited work

Module 3: Working with Diversity and with Different Clinical Groups

COSRT ethical framework
Sexual minorities, gay and lesbian, bisexuality, asexuality, polyamory
Transvestism, transgender and intersex
Working with different cultural groups
Feminist and eastern thinking and practice
Sexual compulsivity
Working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Module 4: Sex Through the Life Span

Sexual development
Contraception, abortion, infertility
Sex after illness, childbirth/becoming a parent, menopause
Sex in later life
STIs, HIV

Module 5: Ethics and Revision of Competencies

Erotic transference
Ethics and ethical considerations
Pharmacology and its impact on sexual and emotional function
Review of assessment, formulation, treatment planning
Practice management
Non-pharmaceutical resources

Module 6: Good Enough Sex

Desire
Mourning and acceptance
Endings in relationships and in therapy
What is meant by good enough sex?

Clinical Hours and Case Requirements

In order to complete the Diploma and conform to COSRT requirements, trainees must complete 200 hours of face-to-face psychosexual therapy with clients. Trainees must work with a minimum of ten psychosexual cases of which at least five should be couples. Trainees may achieve these hours on placement, in their organisation, in their private practice or in a combination of these.

We encourage those in private practice to seek a placement in an NHS psychosexual clinic, for at least some of the required hours, because of the experience and support this gives.

Trainees may charge their psychosexual training clients but must inform clients that they are in training. Private work must be supervised by a Tavistock Relationships-approved psychosexual supervisor.

NB In accordance with COSRT guidelines, trainees with less than 200 hours’ prior experience of face-to-face clinical work are not permitted to see training clients in their private practice. They must seek a suitable placement.

Course Leader and Teachers (click to reveal)

Programme Heads

Marian O’Connor is a UKCP- and COSRT-accredited psychosexual and relationship therapist with nearly thirty years’ clinical experience working with individuals and couples. Formerly the Programme Leader of the MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy at Tavistock Relationships, she has presented on psychosexual issues in conferences both home and abroad, and frequently writes for or advises the media on psychosexual and relationship issues, most recently (2018) in Huffington Post, Telegraph and Mental Health Today. She is co-author of the chapter ‘Psychodynamic Aspects of Psychosexual Therapy’ for the European–wide syllabus of clinical sexology published by the European Society of Sexual Medicine and contributed a chapter 'Let's talk about Sex' to Tavistock Relationships new publication, 'Engaging Couples: New Directions in Therapeutic Work with Families' (Routledge,2018)..

She supervises and teaches on the Diploma.

Jane Seymour MA (Psychoanalytic Studies), PGDip Psychodynamic Couple Counselling, Dip Psychosexual Th, Certificate in Supervision (SAP), MBACP Accred, COSRT Accred, UKCP Reg, BSCPC (FM) trained as a Couple and Relationship Counsellor at London Marriage Guidance. She subsequently trained as a Psychosexual Therapist and a Supervisor. She has also completed an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies. Jane devised postgraduate training in psychosexual and relationship therapy at Tavistock Relationships and continues her involvement with Tavistock Relationships as a trainer and supervisor. For several years now she has taught the Introduction to Couple Counselling and Psychotherapy with colleague Patsy Faure. Jane has delivered the Certificate in Psychosexual Studies for therapists in Turkey and visited Stockholm to lecture on the subject of psychosexual assessment. She has presented training for a range of organizations including Relate, BUPA, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Academy of Live and Dramatic Arts. Jane works as a therapist and supervisor in private practice in South London.

She teaches on the Diploma.

Marian and Jane are supported by an excellent teaching team comprised of qualified psychosexual therapists with several years’ experience of teaching/supervising/tutoring in the field.

Teaching Team

Linsey Blair MSc (Psychology), PGDip Psychodynamic Cpl Cllg, Dip Psychosexual Th, MBACP Accred, COSRT Accred, UKCP Reg, BSCPC (FM)
Research/teaching interests: gender issues, female sexual dysfunction.
Dr Karl Hollows Dip Psychosexual Th, PgDip MedEd, DipGUM (Diploma in Genitourinary Medicine), COSRT Accred, FECSM (Fellowship of the European Committee of Sexual Medicine), MFSRH (Membership of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare), BASHH (Secretary)
Specialist in: Sexual Health Medicine, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Judith Jamieson MSc Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, PGDip Couple and Individual Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, BSCPC (FM), MBACP General Member, COSRT Accred, UKCP Registered
Special interests: risk assessment, diversity.
Clinical Lead at Tavistock Relationships.
Remziye Kunelaki Psychosexual Therapist and Supervisor, COSRT Accred, BPS, BASHH, Committee Member BSSM, European Certified Psycho-Sexologist (EFS and ESSM), The EFS/ESSM Psycho-Sexology Accreditation Committee Member (EPSA)
Research/teaching interests: short-term focussed work, STIs.
Lead Psychosexual Therapist, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Poppy Mellor MSc, PGDipDip Psychodynamic Cpl Couns, COSRT (GM)
Research/teaching interests: couple psychodynamic therapy, psychosexual therapy, doctoral student specialising in pornography and internet addiction.
Dorota Mucha MA Social Psychology, MSc Psychosexual Therapy, PGDip Psychodynamic Couple Counsellor, MBACP, COSRT
Special interests: ChemSex, same sex couples, polyamory.
Lead Psychosexual Therapist in NHS CUH (short term psychosexual interventions).
Inge Fisher MSc Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, PGDip Couple and Individual Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, Msc in Career Management and Counselling MBACP, COSRT
Research/teaching interests: relationship and psychosexual issues.
Olivia Luna MSc Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, PGDip Couple and Individual Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, PGDip Psychology, BA Sociology MBACP, COSRT Accredited, UKCP Registered
Tristan Royez-Gall PGDip Couple and Individual Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy, MBACP, COSRT (accred) Research/teaching interests: personal development, affairs, male and female psychosexual difficulties, LGBT relationships.

External Examiner

Jane Read, Psychosexual Therapist and Supervisor, COSRT Accred, psychotherapist, counsellor, trainer in women’s reproductive health issues, infertility, sexuality and relationships since 1979.

Over 10 years’ teaching/tutoring/supervisory experience.

Why Tavistock Relationships? (click to reveal)

Highly experienced staff give you support and advice throughout the length of the course
Opportunity for placements in NHS Psychosexual Clinics
A chance to be part of an institution with 70 years' training and research experience
Benefit from Tavistock Relationships’ long history as an internationally-renowned academic institution within the field of couple relationships
This course replaces our MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. Trainers and supervisors from the MSc will continue to teach and supervise on the new Diploma

Course dates and teaching times (click to reveal)

Course Dates

2021

Saturdays 10.30am – 5.30pm
Sundays 10am – 4pm

9 and 10 January 2021
6 and 7 February 2021
13 and 14 March 2021
17 and 18 April 2021
15 and 16 May 2021
12 and 13 June 2021
10 and 11 July 2021
11 and 12 September 2021
9 and 10 October 2021
6 and 7 November 2021
4 and 5 December 2021

2022

Saturdays 10:30 – 5:30pm

15 January 2022
12 February 2022
12 March 2022
9 April 2022
14 May 2022
11 June 2022
9 July 2022
10 September 2022
15 October 2022

Teaching times

Saturdays 10.30am – 5.30pm

Sundays 10am – 4pm

Teaching hours for 2021 and 2022

2021 Saturday sessions will run from 10.30am – 5.30pm and will include:

45 minute self-reflective group
1.5 hour case discussion group from May 2021.

Sundays sessions will run from 10am – 4pm and will include:

30 minutes feedback/reflective group.

2022 Saturday sesssions will run from 10.30am – 5.30pm and will include:

30 minutes feedback/reflective group
1.5 hour case discussion group.

What Students Say (click to reveal)

Accreditation (click to reveal)

Further information (click to reveal)

How to apply

There is an application fee of £120 (£50 non-refundable application fee + £70 interview fee).

Download the application form here:

Application deadline is Friday 6 November 2020.

For more information please contact Training@TavistockRelationships.ac.uk.