Foundation Course Year 2
Clinical Applications

The second year of the 2-year foundation programme follows on from the Introductory year, but may also be available as a direct-entry course for students who already have an equivalent appropriate background in the subject. In this year, the emphasis is on the relationship, and mutual influence, between psychoanalytic theory and practice, with substantial weight placed on the development of clinical processes and familiarisation with psychopathology. Consideration is also given to both competing and complementary approaches with regard to contemporary psychological understanding and treatments.

Aims

The course sets out to:

·      provide a comprehension of the reciprocal relationship between clinical practice and psychoanalytic theory

·      promote the importance of understanding underlying motivation (often unconscious), in both clinical and non-clinical settings (personally, socially, organizationally, politically)

·      contextualize the area of study culturally, both historically and  currently

·       foster a psychoanalytic attitude to thinking and behaviour

·    increase awareness of current competing and complementary approaches to mental health

·      construct a platform for further study, in both theory and practice, through an introduction to the specific research methodology relevant to this field

Course Structure

YEAR 2:  CLINICAL APPLICATIONS: Relating Theory and Practice

Pre-requisites for FOUNDATION year 2

Students applying for Foundation Year 2 will be expected to have completed Foundation Year 1, or to have an equivalent learning experience or background in the field.  Students are expected to attend all seminars, undertake the required reading and prepare to both contribute and participate in presentations within the group. Students are informed of both the required and the recommended reading well in advance of the programme that  will for the most part be available through the library, or online, via PEPWeb. Students are also encouraged to attend the ongoing programme of public lectures and events. Progress is monitored via self-assessment, and through teachers’ and tutor’s termly reports.

Written work: Students are required to write a theoretical paper of between 3,000 and 5,000 words researching and reflecting upon an aspect of the content of the programme of the second year.

(NB: While the taught components are identical, the assessable components/ requirements for the MA Programme differ from those of the Foundation Course [Link to MA]).

Students in either year can apply to enrol in the Infant Observation module, both of which may be taken as an additional educational component of psychoanalytic theory and practice but is a requirement for those intending to apply for the 3-year Qualifying Course.