IGA Qualifying Course in Group Analysis (Manchester)

Introduction

The Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) offers a full professional training in group analytic psychotherapy. The course in Manchester is designed on a weekend block basis over a minimum of three years and may be of particular interest to professionals throughout the UK and overseas who may wish to train as Group Analysts. Cheap flights and the block nature of the training make Manchester a good option for those near a connecting airport anywhere in the UK or abroad. Transport links by road and rail are also excellent.

The training leads to full membership of the IGA and inclusion in the UKCP Register of Psychotherapists.


Admission Requirements

• IGA Diploma in Groupwork Practice
  Applicants must have successfully completed the IGA Diploma in Groupwork Practice prior to the start of the qualifying training. Applicants may choose to apply for the qualifying course while studying on the Diploma in Groupwork Practice.


• Therapy
  Applicants must have experience of an analytically-orientated therapy prior to applying for the Qualifying Course. Students on the Manchester Diploma in Groupwork Practice receive group psychotherapy as part of their training experience. Applicants from other Diploma in Groupwork Practice courses may apply to receive group therapy on the Manchester training weekends or may opt to gain this experience elsewhere.


• Psychiatric Experience
  Applicants must have adequate experience of working within a psychiatric setting before they can qualify. Applicants without this professional experience must arrange a psychiatric placement. This will be the equivalent of one day a week for six months. It is strongly recommended that this experience is obtained before starting the training. Guidance on how to arrange a psychiatric placement can be offered if required.


• Individual Psychotherapy
  Applicants must have experience of providing individual psychotherapy. Students are required to have seen two individual patients for psychoanalytically-orientated therapy for a minimum of one year under supervision. Applicants without this experience will be required to meet this criterion early in their training.

Application Process

People wishing to apply for the IGA qualifying Course are asked to speak to the Course Convenor prior to completing their application form. This is to ensure that applicant is clear about the admission criteria/application process and it gives the applicant the opportunity to decide whether the training is right for them.

Please complete the form at the bottom of the page. The GAN administrator will then send you an application form. The application form includes a personal statement explaining why you wish to undertake the training. There is a one-off selection fee which is payable to the IGA upon submission of the completed application form.

The selection process consists of a psychiatric interview and a separate panel interview to which the psychiatrist's report and other professional references have been submitted.


The deadline for applications is 31st January each year in order to start the training in the following September.


Outline of the Training

• Personal Therapy
  All students join a group analytic psychotherapy group as part of the training programme. Participation in this group is for the total period of the training (i.e. until the student's clinical paper has been formally accepted by the IGA and all the other course requirements have been completed). It may be possible to stay on in therapy beyond the period required by the training, space permitting. It is expected that participants in group therapy will give appropriate notice of their intention to leave therapy (typically 3 months) and will leave in either July or January each year.


• Large Groups
  Two Large Group experiences take place each training weekend (each lasting one hour). These groups include all students in the training community together with the core members of the staff team. The Large Groups are spaces to explore the complex dynamics of social identity and social processes as they are experienced both on the training and within the wider society. They are also an opportunity to reflect upon the experience of being part of the training community in Manchester.


• Theory Seminars
  Students study a broad range of topics related to group analysis, psychoanalysis, social issues and psychotherapeutic practice. The titles of the course modules are:
  • Concepts in Group Therapy (a)
  • Concepts in Group Therapy (b)
  • Psychoanalytic Theory
  • Psychopathology
  • Difference and the Social Unconscious
  • Professional Practice and the wider context
  In addition to the seminars that take place on the training weekends there are four whole day workshops (Friday Seminars) that take place each year on the theme of the applications of group analysis. The focus of these seminars is to examine how group analysis is practised in different organisational contexts and with different client groups (e.g. eating disorders, young people, and addiction groups). The seminars take place at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and are also attended by IGA Diploma students, higher degree students of MMU and members of Group Analysis North (GAN).


• Conducting Groups under Supervision
  Students must conduct a once-weekly, slow-open psychotherapy group for a minimum of two years. This must be a new group rather than one that the student is already conducting. The setting for this group must be approved by the training course and can be in the student's workplace or elsewhere. Students attend supervision during the training weekend and via telephone conference in between the weekends. Supervision continues until the group has been formally accepted by the IGA Manchester Courses Committee (which is responsible for monitoring and assessing student progress throughout the training). Students who do not have IGA Group Work Practitioner status following completion of the Diploma in Groupwork Practice will be required to conduct a second training group under supervision for a minimum of one year.


• Written Requirements
  
  • First Year Essay – At the end of the first year of training, students are required to write an essay (1500-2000 words) on the concept of dynamic administration – linking their theoretical knowledge to their practice of setting up and conducting their training group.
  • Theory Paper – From the second year of training onwards students will write a theory paper exploring in depth a subject related to group analysis. The title of the theory paper must be agreed with the course convenor. The papers should be 5,000 – 10,000 words in length and are presented to a seminar group of peers prior to being formally assessed.
  • Clinical Paper – The clinical paper may be submitted at any time after all the other requirements of the training have been successfully completed. The paper should integrate theoretical learning, one's learning from the experience of conducting a therapy group (including the use of supervision) and the leaning from one's own experience of being a patient in group analysis. This paper should be 8,000 – 10,000 words in length. Once this paper is accepted, and all other course requirements are met, the IGA's Manchester Courses Committee will formally confirm that the training has been successfully completed and that the student may become a member of the IGA and the UKCP.


• Student Meetings/Staff & Students Meeting
  There are regular opportunities to discuss issues as they arise both for individual students and for the training community as a whole. Each training weekend there is a student-only meeting and a staff/student plenary. Three times a year there is a longer staff/student meeting attended by the core staff team and nominated representatives of the training community (representing the different training courses). When necessary the convenor is available to meet with individual students to discuss particular issues which may be of concern.

MSc. Degree

Students may undertake a top-up MSc. with Manchester Metropolitan University by completing an additional dissertation. Study for this can begin after the end of the academic requirements of the clinical training.

The training is under continuous review and is liable to change at the discretion of the IGA. It is important to recognise that the nature of Group Analytic Psychotherapy is long term and students complete their training at different paces depending on their prior experiences and their personal and professional circumstances.



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