IGA Qualifying Course

The Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) offers a full professional training in group analytic psychotherapy. The course in Greater Manchester is designed on block basis over a minimum of three to four years and may be of particular interest to professionals throughout the UK and overseas who may wish to train as Group Analysts.  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.

Prior Therapy

Applicants must have had a minimum of one year’s group analytic therapy prior to starting the Qualifying Course. (Students on the Manchester Diploma in Groupwork Practice receive group psychotherapy as part of their training experience.)

Psychiatric Experience

Applicants must have adequate experience of working within a psychiatric setting before they can qualify. This will be the equivalent of one day a week for six months. Applicants without this professional experience must arrange a psychiatric placement.  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.  You must be able to demonstrate that you have the following experience:

  •  The ability to recognise serious mental illness.
  • An understanding of the risks associated with serious mental illness.
  • Experience of risk assessment and management of people with severe and enduring mental health problems.
  • Experience of face-to face work with people with serious mental health problems.
  • The ability to recognise serious mental health problems.
  • Knowledge of services available for people with serious mental health problems.
  • Knowledge of Mental Health Legislation.
  • An understanding of how the statutory mental health system works.
  • Experience of communication with a variety mental health practitioners.

Individual Psychotherapy Practice

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 weekly 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 Director prior to completing their application form. This is to ensure that the 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.

The application form includes a personal statement explaining why you wish to undertake the training. There is a one-off selection fee of £635 which is payable to the IGA upon submission of the completed application form. If offered a place on the course an additional fee of £75 will be payable to GAN for a therapy group assessment interview.

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

An open session for the Qualifying Course will be held on Wednesday 6 November 2024, 7pm – 8pm.  Please contact the GAN Administrator to book a place.

Course Fee

Fees for 2025-26 are £8895 (£9870 for places funded by employers)

The fees include all elements of the course – therapy, seminars, supervision, large groups).

 

Fees can be paid over 10 or 11 months each year.

 

Small bursaries are awarded each year from GAN and the Harry Guntrip Trust.

 

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.

Therapy only information

Large Groups

Two Large Groups take place each training weekend. These groups include all students in the training community together with the core members of the staff team.

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
  • Developmental processes in Group Therapy
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Psychopathology
  • Difference and Social Unconscious
  • Professional Practice and the Wider Context

In addition to the seminars that take place on the training weekends there are 5 afternoon online workshops (Friday Seminars) that take place each year on the theme of the applications of group analysis and  research. 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 in partnership with The University of Manchester and are also attended by IGA Diploma students, higher degree students of The University of Manchester and members of Group Analysis North (GAN).

Conducting Groups Under Supervision

Students will set up and run a training group, which is a once-weekly, slow open mixed, clinical stranger group for adults.  However, other groups which do not obviously meet this description may be considered if it can be shown that the proposed group will enable the student to demonstrate the Clinical Competencies.  In the first instance the proposed group should be discussed with the Courses Director and/or QC Supervisor. 

Students attend supervision in person during the training weekend and online via Zoom in-between the weekends. Supervision continues until the group has been formally accepted by the IGA Student Progress 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 ‘applied’ training group under supervision for a minimum of one year.

Written Assessments

Essay: 3,000—4,000 words, submitted in June of first year;
Case Study: 2,500—3,000 words, submitted in second year;
Dissertation: 6,000—8,000 words submitted in penultimate year;
Qualifying Paper: 8,000—10,000 words, submitted in final year.

Once the clinical paper is accepted the IGA’s Student Progress 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.