Foundation Training in Psychotherapy within an Ecological Approach

The Foundation training takes place over 10 weekends each year (October-July).

All Foundation psychotherapeutic theory and practice, including Transactional Analysis (TA), is held within an eco-systemic frame of reference and viewed through a lens of intersectionality.
We encourage the development of ongoing self-reflection, co-creativity, curiosity, relationality and critical thinking as a part of the learning process to become an ethical and competent psychotherapist and/or ecological practitioner.

Every weekend the learning takes particular account of the ecological spaces in which we live and learn, including ‘getting on the move’ in accessible natural settings.
We foster a co-creative and relational learning environment through an experiential style of teaching/delivery to open up reflective spaces to stimulate your own thinking and practices. We invite deeper inquiry, active participation, curiosity and interactive dialogue within pairs/triads and the bigger group to lift your learning.

We have a practise-based approach to our delivery of all theory which involves critical reflection upon all theory and developing core therapeutic skills to support the work you do in both indoor and natural spaces. All theoretical input is consolidated and expanded upon with required reading between weekends of the teaching notes/powerpoints and further reading within the literature.

We emphasise throughout the training how ‘practice’ not only refers to interventions with clients but also to our own personal practices. You develop your own intentions and learning aims for the year with ecological and spiritual practices to support your own well-being (body-mind, soul, spirit) and the work you do as a psychotherapist and/or ecological practitioner.

The Foundation Year covers core topics in these Course Modules:

• Ecological Philosophy, Theory + Practices;
• Ego states & Transactions;
• Script & Motivation;
• Games, Rackets & Enactments
• The Therapeutic Relationship
• Contracting & Ethical Practice
• Assessment + Treatment Direction;
• Therapeutic Skills;
• Somatic Experience & the Body;
• Neuroscience & Human Development;
• Approaches within TA and the wider fields
• Specific mental health difficulties, client issues & contexts’.
• Writing & Research;

Theoretical Learning Aims

We have a practise-based approach to our delivery of all theory which involves your own critical reflection to consider how theory might relate to and support the work you do as an psychotherapist:

• introduction to core eco-philosophy, theory developments and practices;
• build experiential understanding of the core TA concepts covered on the TA101;
• learning of core psychotherapeutic theory and practice, including TA, within an eco-systemic frame of reference through a lens of intersectionality;
• develop your capacities to reflect upon and apply theory to understand and relate to self, others and he more-than-human;
• begin to learn skills and competencies in contracting, assessment and treatment direction with a range of mental health difficulties (Axis I);
• begin to locate different TA theoretical perspectives within the wider fields of other theoretical psychotherapeutic approaches;

Personal Development

We emphasise how ‘practice’ not only refers to interventions with clients but also to our own personal practices.

• develop your own intentions and learning aims for the year with ecological and spiritual practices to support your own well-being (body-mind, soul, spirit) and reflectivity as a psychotherapist.
• reflect and apply your learning to your own script process and relating to self, others, the more-than-human within the contexts of the wider world.

Practice Learning Aims

We learn and practice core therapeutic skills and interventions to support the work you do with clients in both indoor and natural spaces as a psychotherapist and/or ecological practitioner:

• introduction to ecological practices: rites of passage (intention, severance, threshold and return), sufficiency, containment, eco-biography, discipline and ‘clean’ practice.

• begin to develop skills in contracting, assessment and treatment direction to begin your voluntary placement (Axis I mental health difficulties);

• understanding of the therapeutic relationship and different ways of relating;

• core therapeutic skills to support the ‘internal work’ with clients ie. presence skills, movement exercises, storytelling, ritual.

• navigating the terrain of the psychotherapeutic process; interventions to facilitate the process of change ie. building the working alliance, strengthening Adult, decontamination, social control, symptomatic relief.

• awareness of ethical thinking and practice;

• use of supervision;

• develop your capacity to reflect upon theory and practice.