This unique reading group is now entering its 15th year and has gone from strength to strength. We are delighted to be able to offer an opportunity to explore, examine and enjoy the books below. Our presenters have been stimulating and challenging, and have introduced us to new delights or opened up fresh vistas onto pre-loved favourites.

Although many participants have been trainees and practising counsellors or psychotherapists, everyone is welcome to attend. If you are thinking of attending for the first time or have enjoyed one of the previous sessions, why not tell a friend and encourage them to come along too. Please read the book before attending.

All are welcome to attend this event. Refreshments provided.

Friday 18th October  2019
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Led by Stephen Crawford

Friday 17th January 2020
Exposure by Helen Dunmore
Led by Pat MacDonald

Friday 28th February 2020
A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas
Led by Jan McHugh
We are delighted that Bev Thomas will be joining us for this group. She is looking forward to taking part in the discussion of her book, as well as answering any questions. 

Bev Thomas was a clinical psychologist in the NHS for many years. She currently works as an organisational consultant in mental health and other services. ‘A Good Enough Mother’ is her debut novel.

Friday 26th June 2020
In the Woods by Tana French 
Led by Rayna Denitsova

Friday 10th July 2020 – Rescheduled to 26/Feb/2021(Friday)  7-8.30pm
Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty
Led by Jenny Riddell

Before booking please read our Terms and Conditions for CPD events here.

There are opportunities to facilitate reading groups in the 2020/2021 programme, so please e-mail events@wpf.org.uk if you are interested.

This study group will be delivered via Zoom online.

How could Kleinian perspectives help you in your practice? Perhaps you’ve looked at the work of people like Hanna Segal, Wilfred Bion, Betty Joseph, John Steiner and Ron Britton in training. Coming back to these with greater clinical experience allows you to explore what they offer in more depth – to get hold of connections and understand better what goes on in and beyond the consulting room.

This study group is concerned with developments in Kleinian theory and practice over the past seventy years – what has remained central, what has been discarded, what has become better understood and what is contentious today. It is designed to work at different levels, offering food for thought to those unfamiliar with psychoanalytic thinking as well as to those who wish to extend and enrich their understanding and use of Kleinian approaches.

The group has been popular and successful in previous years and is generally fully subscribed. The 2020-2021 course will be entirely online, allowing those who live outside London to take part.

2021 marks the centenary of Melanie Klein’s first psychoanalytic publication, ‘The development of a child’, in which she argued for the liberating effect of responding honestly to children’s questions. Since then, Klein and her associates have played a major role in the development of psychoanalytic thinking and practice. Much that was once considered innovative and controversial in her approach has been taken up by those with reservations about her basic tenets. Lively debate continues among those more sympathetic to Kleinian ways of seeing and working.

It is possible to attend individual sessions, but there is much to be gained by revisiting material that may seem familiar and through involvement in an ongoing process. In previous years there has been a lively dynamism in the group. Members have found a space to share impressions, responses, puzzlement, realisations and insights, with an emphasis on clinical issues.

The readings include earlier and later practitioners, clinical and theoretical considerations. We refer back to Freud and Klein as we consider how thinking and technique have developed, aiming to replicate the analytic cycle of learning and working-through. Detailed notes are provided to help contextualise the readings and support engagement with them.

By participating in this study group, you can expect to gain:

1. A deeper understanding of projective and identificatory processes in work with clients.
2. A broader conception of how internal and external worlds interact and affect each other.
3. Greater clarity about where you stand in relation to key theoretical and ethical issues.
4. An overview of what the Kleinian tradition has contributed to British Object Relations.

There will be a different paper for each session. The programme centres on readings from key figures in the Kleinian tradition – Freud, Segal, Rosenfeld, Bion, Money-Kyrle, Meltzer, Joseph, Steiner, Britton. We will think about the issues raised in the readings in relation to participants’ clinical experiences and dilemmas.

Comments from Previous Participants

• “This once monthly format is really good value, as I have learnt so much more compared to the equivalent amount of hours in an average 2 days CPD course.”
• “I’m finding the papers enriching whilst at the same time challenging as well as questions and views raised by the group.  This is good as its stirring me up out of lazy thinking.  I have found the relevance/benefit of theories has been demonstrated in the group on several occasions and also it’s helping me with often confusing work.”
• “Linking the reading to our clinical work is most valuable.”
• “The things I found most useful and enjoyable were the readings suggested, the session notes sent in advance and the clinical examples in the sessions.”

Course Reading

Detailed reading lists will be sent on booking. WPF gives participants electronic access to texts.

David Smart’s first career was in multi-disciplinary work in mainstream educational and off-site settings with secondary-age pupils experiencing difficulties. He trained with WPF Therapy to practice as a school counsellor and work privately as a psychotherapist with adults. He is committed to collaborative learning and understands development as a life-long, spiral process. Publications include “Play’ in practice in psychotherapy and education’, European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2008, pp. 147 – 158 (with L. Gomez).

This course will be relevant to practising counsellors/psychotherapists and trainees engaged in clinical work and to those engaged in academic study in the field. There will be a focus on working with the ideas and issues clinically. Priority will be given to applicants who can attend the whole course.

If you experience any problems during the application process then please contactevents@wpf.org.uk.

This study group will be delivered via Zoom online.

How could Kleinian perspectives help you in your practice? Perhaps you’ve looked at the work of people like Hanna Segal, Wilfred Bion, Betty Joseph, John Steiner and Ron Britton in training. Coming back to these with greater clinical experience allows you to explore what they offer in more depth – to get hold of connections and understand better what goes on in and beyond the consulting room.

This study group is concerned with developments in Kleinian theory and practice over the past seventy years – what has remained central, what has been discarded, what has become better understood and what is contentious today. It is designed to work at different levels, offering food for thought to those unfamiliar with psychoanalytic thinking as well as to those who wish to extend and enrich their understanding and use of Kleinian approaches.

The group has been popular and successful in previous years and is generally fully subscribed. The 2020-2021 course will be entirely online, allowing those who live outside London to take part.

2021 marks the centenary of Melanie Klein’s first psychoanalytic publication, ‘The development of a child’, in which she argued for the liberating effect of responding honestly to children’s questions. Since then, Klein and her associates have played a major role in the development of psychoanalytic thinking and practice. Much that was once considered innovative and controversial in her approach has been taken up by those with reservations about her basic tenets. Lively debate continues among those more sympathetic to Kleinian ways of seeing and working.

It is possible to attend individual sessions, but there is much to be gained by revisiting material that may seem familiar and through involvement in an ongoing process. In previous years there has been a lively dynamism in the group. Members have found a space to share impressions, responses, puzzlement, realisations and insights, with an emphasis on clinical issues.

The readings include earlier and later practitioners, clinical and theoretical considerations. We refer back to Freud and Klein as we consider how thinking and technique have developed, aiming to replicate the analytic cycle of learning and working-through. Detailed notes are provided to help contextualise the readings and support engagement with them.

By participating in this study group, you can expect to gain:

1. A deeper understanding of projective and identificatory processes in work with clients.
2. A broader conception of how internal and external worlds interact and affect each other.
3. Greater clarity about where you stand in relation to key theoretical and ethical issues.
4. An overview of what the Kleinian tradition has contributed to British Object Relations.

There will be a different paper for each session. The programme centres on readings from key figures in the Kleinian tradition – Freud, Segal, Rosenfeld, Bion, Money-Kyrle, Meltzer, Joseph, Steiner, Britton. We will think about the issues raised in the readings in relation to participants’ clinical experiences and dilemmas.

Comments from Previous Participants

• “This once monthly format is really good value, as I have learnt so much more compared to the equivalent amount of hours in an average 2 days CPD course.”
• “I’m finding the papers enriching whilst at the same time challenging as well as questions and views raised by the group.  This is good as its stirring me up out of lazy thinking.  I have found the relevance/benefit of theories has been demonstrated in the group on several occasions and also it’s helping me with often confusing work.”
• “Linking the reading to our clinical work is most valuable.”
• “The things I found most useful and enjoyable were the readings suggested, the session notes sent in advance and the clinical examples in the sessions.”

Course Reading

Detailed reading lists will be sent on booking. WPF gives participants electronic access to texts.

David Smart’s first career was in multi-disciplinary work in mainstream educational and off-site settings with secondary-age pupils experiencing difficulties. He trained with WPF Therapy to practice as a school counsellor and work privately as a psychotherapist with adults. He is committed to collaborative learning and understands development as a life-long, spiral process. Publications include “Play’ in practice in psychotherapy and education’, European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2008, pp. 147 – 158 (with L. Gomez).

This course will be relevant to practising counsellors/psychotherapists and trainees engaged in clinical work and to those engaged in academic study in the field. There will be a focus on working with the ideas and issues clinically. Priority will be given to applicants who can attend the whole course.

If you experience any problems during the application process then please contactevents@wpf.org.uk.

Why not join us this evening to share our experiences of moving our psychotherapy practice online?  Although some models of therapy have been offered online for years, for many psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapists it’s new.  Are you scanning the literature for help?  This is an opportunity to learn, share and explore some of the dilemmas, difficulties, opportunities and surprises around working online for both clinician and patient with fellow psychotherapists and counsellors.

Have you moved your clinical practice online or is your organisation re-shaping itself to deliver therapy differently due to COVID restrictions?

What challenges have you faced?

Would you like to share experiences of providing therapy online with other clinicians?

What issues and dilemmas does working psychodynamically online bring up?

During this workshop you will be able to hear from colleagues about their experiences working online psychodynamically and share some of your own.  How do we work with unconscious processes including interpretation, transference dynamics, fantasy, enactments and containment in the presence of the computer and the physical absence of the body?

Workshop Aims

By the end of the workshop, you will have the opportunity to: 

• Consider issues around working therapeutically online. 
• Explore some of the issues, dilemmas and opportunities of providing psychotherapy and counselling online.  
• Share a range of experiences of providing psychotherapy and counselling online. 
• Increase your confidence and competence in working without the physical framework of a consulting room.  

Outline

This workshop will begin with a short introduction followed by talks from the two workshop leaders. There will be small group discussions and a full plenary to draw out shared insights and learning from the workshop.  

Sarah Jones 

Sarah qualified as a psychodynamic psychotherapist in 2012. Sarah has worked in private practice, as a seminar leader at WPF Therapy and workshop facilitator for the University Mentoring Organisation (UMO). She works as a Specialist Mental Health Mentor for UMO, mentoring both in person and online since 2016.  

Cate Lyon 

Cate is a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist trained at WPF Therapy. She is Counselling Lead in NHS Primary Care (IAPT). As part of the Senior Management Team, Cate has recent experience of implementing a rapid reconfiguration of her IAPT Service systems, staff working arrangements and patient communications to provide online and telephone therapy from remote settings in response to COVID-19. She also practices and supervises in Private Practice. She teaches and trains extensively in the field and consults in these roles in a range of public and private organisations. 

Target Audience:

This workshop is open to training and qualified counsellors and psychotherapists.  Please note that by booking on this workshop you agree to keep all discussion confidential.   

Applications must be received by Thursday, 8th October 2020. Booking will be final after receipt of payment.

Before booking please read our Terms and Conditions for CPD events here.

If you experience any problems during the application process then please e-mail Training Administration events@wpf.org.uk in order to be sent an application form.

This workshop will be delivered via Zoom online.

This talk will focus on the meaning and purpose of the erotic transference in psychotherapy, the boundary issues raised when working with the terminally ill, and the reason for abstinence when dealing with intense transference – countertransference dynamics.

The first part of the talk will be a case presentation and lecture. This is a story of love and death mediated in psychotherapy.  When a patient in psychotherapy is confronted with a life-threatening illness the therapeutic relationship inevitably intensifies. The work becomes time limited but the end date is uncertain.  Boundaries of the analytic frame may come under extreme pressure especially when an erotic transference –countertransference dynamic emerges. A series of dreams reveals how, as analysis deepens, the pace of individuation quickens.  Theoretical and clinical material will give the background to what is hoped will be a lively discussion.

All counsellors and psychotherapists, both qualified and in training, will find this a valuable day where they will have the space and the expert guidance to:

• think more about working with the dying in psychotherapy
• think about the challenges and implications of working with erotic transference and dreams
• explore the countertransference issues faced in both these situations.

Lecturer
Professor Joy Schaverien PhD is a Training Analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology (London) with a private analytic and supervisory practice in the East Midlands. She is Visiting Professor for the Northern Programme for Art Psychotherapy and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Analytical Psychology.  She has published extensively on topics related to art and analytical psychology and her recent books include: The Dying Patient in Psychotherapy  (which is soon to be republished by Routledge) and Boarding School Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the ‘Privileged” Child, (June 2015) which was a Routledge and Amazon bestseller.

Target Audience
This workshop is open to qualified and training psychotherapists and counsellors. The theoretical orientation of the workshop will be psychodynamic but practitioners of other modalities are welcome to attend.

Applications must be received by Thursday, 5^th March 2020. Booking will be final after receipt of payment.

If you experience any problems during the application process then please call or e-mail Training Administration on 020 7378 2050/events@wpf.org.uk in order to be sent an application form.