Applications
Applications are considered by the IPSS Accreditation Committee which is comprised of a number of experienced and qualified IPSS Members. If you are interested in applying for membership and accreditation with IPSS, the process has a number of stages:
Stage One - The Initial Application
Complete the application form in full, and return to the IPSS Administrator.
Please do not send CV’s at the outset (though these can be ‘cut and pasted’ as appropriate) as it is important that we straightforwardly gather in one place all the information we need.
If anything remains unclear or incomplete, then the administrator will seek to resolve this with you, before passing the application to the Chair of Accreditation.
Please supply two recent professional references, one of which should be a Supervisor that knows your psychoanalytic work well.
Please also send a professional development statement of around 3,000 words. This should also make substantial reference to your clinical work in its social context and demonstrate what it is about IPSS that attracts you.
The fee for stage 1 is £100 (not refundable).
At the end of stage one the candidate will have an interview with two IPSS psychotherapists. The cost for the interview is £150.
Depending on the outcome of Stage 1, and what might subsequently be agreed between IPSS and the applicant as the most appropriate way forward, applicants may move to Stage 2 (see below), or direct to Stage 3.
Beyond Stage 1, applicants will be invited to take up the IPSS membership category of Accreditation Candidate Member and comply with the following conditions:
- To attend IPSS Members Forums (currently four times a year) where possible.
- To continue your clinical work and remain in supervision with an IPSS supervisor or a psychoanalytic psychotherapist supervisor agreed by IPSS. A report may be requested from your supervisor.
- To adhere to the IPSS Code of Ethics and Code of Practice and be familiar with all the documents applying to membership of the organisation. (See Members Manual I and Members Manual II)
- To also comply with the policies and procedures of UKCP and CPJA
- To maintain professional indemnity insurance of up to £1 million
If the applicant takes up the Accreditation Candidate Membership and wishes to continue to Stage 2 or Stage 3 they may apply for UKCP Trainee Membership.
Stage Two
Stage 2 may involve one or more of the following:
- A period of further personal twice a week individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy*.
- A period of further supervised practice of a twice a week (or more) client/patient*.
- Further specified external CPD training or study
*Professional fees for further psychotherapy and/or supervision are a private matter between the applicant and psychotherapist/supervisor.
Stage Three - Accreditation Stage, Formal Submissions
Formal Submissions of:
- Written training case study (demonstrating effective use of theory in clinical work and of supervision) of work with a twice (or more) a week client/patient over a period of twelve months or more. This will be 8-10,000 words and may have been drafted or submitted previously in another context.
- Two short accounts of work with patients from the last three years, around 2,000 words each.
- The fee for Stage 3 is £150 (not refundable), and includes reading and commenting on papers.
This stage is to be completed within one year of payment of the fee, after which time the Accreditation Committee will review the application and depending on circumstances may agree an extension or charge a further fee to cover the Accreditation Membership.
If the IPSS Accreditation Committee subsequently recommend the applicant for membership of IPSS and registration with CPJA/UKCP, this decision will need to be ratified by IPSS Council, and the training ‘case study’ will be required to be presented at the IPSS Members Forums (currently February, April, July and October each year) before IPSS membership is confirmed.
