In this section
History of the Programmes
The Child Psychoanalytic Training
This has its origins far back in the Hampstead Child Therapy Course and Clinic (HCTCC) which Anna Freud founded in 1947. It started off as a four year full-time course in child psychoanalysis aimed to train “child experts”. Initially, there were eight students in the first cohort, seven of whom were former Hampstead War Nursery workers.. Lectures, seminars (and five sessions per week) personal analyses were provided by a group of psychoanalysts who were members of the BPS. Lectures and seminars back then were given in the teachers’homes. Treatments cases were provided by Kate Friedlander who was in charge in the West Sussex Child Guidance Service and by Dr Augusta Bonnard, director of the East London Child Guidance Clinic (Sandler, Novick and Yorke, nd).
The student numbers and scope of the course grew, and with the generosity of the Field Foundation in New York, Anna Freud purchased a house at 12 Maresfield Gardens in November 1951. The Hampstead Child Therapy Course and Clinic opened to patients in February 1952. Since the beginning of the child psychoanalytic training course, a new group of 2 to 8 students enrolled annually or every alternate year (Pretorius, 2010). In 1993 the MSc course in psychoanalytic DP was established together with the UCL and the one year full time course became the pre clinical year for the child psychoanalytic training. During the 1990s, the course was changed from full time to part time to allow student to take up NHS training posts. The training conformed to the regulation of the BACP and students were eligible for membership on qualification. In collaboration with UCL, an optional professional doctorate was added to the curriculum in 1999 so they could carry out independent research to obtain a Doctorate in PDP (D Psych). With the 2001 intake, the requirement of personal analysis decreased from 5 to a minimum of 4 sessions per week.
According to Clifford Yorke, the clinic was “a psychoanalytic centre offering the most comprehensive child therapy training, services, and reseach facilities to be found anawhere in the world.” Yorke, 1983, p16). For financial reasons a decision was made to close the training and the last two students graduated in July 2009. In total, 170 students had become child experts.
The Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology MSc
This course has been running for 18 years since 1993 and has over 400 graduates. It is offered within the Research department of Clinical, educational and health psychology at UCL. The programme is modular, allowing students maximum flexibility. Students may now undertake an MSc or Post Graduate diploma in one year of full-time study, or in two-years of part-time study, or by flexible study where modules can be taken over up to a maximum of five years.
The MSc still consists of
- Theoretical Modules - two lecture courses on Psychoanalytic Concepts and Child Development
- Observation Modules - based on the observation of in infant and his/her family within the home, and a second observation of young children within a toddler group or nursery school, reported and explored confidentially in small seminar groups,.
- Research Modules on qualitative and quantitative research methodology developing students' ability to critically evaluate claims, theories and evidence in the human sciences, culminating in a research dissertation.
For further testimonials for the course you can read more and hear some thoughts from former alumni, please click here.
The Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology (DNP) MSc
This course has been running since 2006 and has 40 graduates and is in its fifth year. The two year MSc has been developed against the backdrop of an historical and productive collaboration between the Yale Child Study Centre in New Haven, Connecticut and the Anna Freud Centre in London.
The programme has a greater emphasis on developmental psychopathology from multiple theoretical perspectives including a primary focus on the biological basis of brain development and psychopathology.
In the first year in London, there are modules in:
- The foundations of psychoanalytic thought
- Psychoanalytic perspectives on child development
- Neuroscience
- Introduction to research methods.
In the second year in New Haven, modules include
- Advanced Neuro Imaging methods
- Clinical applications of neuroscience methods
- Research dissertation
- Behavioural geneticism.
For further testimonials for the course you can read more and hear some thoughts from former alumni, please click here.
MSc Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice (DPCP)
This new two year, full-time programme draws together theory, research and therapeutic thinking from a range of perspectivess, including clinical and cognitive psychology, psychoanalysis and neuroscience. Students develop the competencies in practical skills necessary for therapeutic work with children and families, alongside a theoretical understanding of child development and developmental disorders, as well as skills and knowledge related to research and the evaluation of clinical practice. The first year's teaching is at the Anna Freud Centre whilst in the second year students will be on a clinical placement.
For further testimonials for the course you can read more and hear some thoughts from former alumni, please click here.
