Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
This can be delivered within the therapeutic frame and in residential contexts. Sometimes children can be seen more than once a week according to the complexity of need, presenting issues and context. Depending on the child and setting, this work can include in depth, developmental and relational repair, working with intersubjective and unconscious processes. It may also include arts materials to enable age-appropriate communication with children and young people, research and development in infant observation of parent-infant interactions. Aims vary according to need. Clinical work is adapted and applied within different settings to address a range of mental health issues. Child Psychotherapists will regularly consult with parents, carers and other professionals to increase understanding of the child’s needs in context.
This includes in depth research and analysis through reflection over time, researching the lived experience of children and young people, as well as extensive self-inquiry to manage intensity and complexity of the child need.
Length of Training
This is post-graduate level training and academic requirements include an undergraduate degree or equivalent. Professional training is a minimum of four years and must include a minimum of 600 hours of tutor contact time and include independent study, reading, written work and research presentation.
Personal Therapy and Supervision
Students are required to do a minimum of 160 hours of personal therapy and a minimum of 50 hours of professional supervision.
Placements
Students are required to complete 450 hours of placement organised in accordance with needs in professional settings including a minimum of 450 hours across age ranges including 3-6 years, 6-9 years, 9-12 years, 13-18 years. This will take place in at least two different placement settings in health, education, social care, statutory, charity and voluntary sectors.
Mental Health Familiarisation Placement
This includes a minimum of 60 hours of observational placement in the context of child mental health settings. These may be any context where child mental health and wellbeing is a priority within health, education and / or social care. Trainees are required to understand how mental health diagnostic categories work within each country and how they are implemented in systemic practice.
Infant Observation
Students are required to engage in infant observation studies and the rationale for the approach taken can be articulated by each specific training course.
Following a minimum of four years of education, training, research and practice including final examinations the graduate can be awarded the title of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist.
Post Qualifying Specialism for work with Children and Young People
If an adult psychotherapist, whose standards already meet with the European Psychotherapy Association EAP, wishes to develop a specialist approach to working with children, following their graduation as an adult psychotherapist, they can select different training routes and pathways. Students who wish to further specialise, can build on their initial training to develop the core competencies for work with children in different ways towards different titles.
In each case students are required to satisfy the criteria of the training organisation for the different titles and would normally be expected to have completed a minimum of two years of further study, in specialist placements and supervision in accordance with their registration title. As well as a psychotherapist with competencies for working with children this can also include contextual therapeutic practitioner, child therapeutic counsellor, child psychotherapeutic counsellor or child and adolescent psychotherapist. Students would be expected to complete training in accordance with the title and must meet with all the competencies for children and young people.