Conversion Course
Training requirements
Clinical work
Students on the Conversion Course are required to conduct a minimum of 200 hours of clinical work with children and adolescents. Overall each student must have experience in working with all age groups as a learning outcome of the conversion course.
If the student has not had any previous clinical experience with children or adolescents the age requirements are as follows:
- A minimum of 20 hours with children under 5 years of age
- A minimum of 50 hours with children aged 6 – 12
- A minimum of 50 hours with children aged 13 -18
- A minimum of 50 hours of all clinical hours to be conducted as a part of a multidisciplinary placement.
It is understood that majority of students on the Conversion Course will have considerable previous experience in clinical work with children and adolescents. Evidence of this experience will be required and the Terapia requirements for the clinical work will supplement the student’s to date work i.e. if the previous clinical work was conducted with adolescents, a considerable part of 200 Terapia’s therapeutic hours will need be conducted with children under 5 and under 12 years of age.
Clinical Supervision
For the duration of the Conversion Course the overall ratio for all the clients seen by students must be 1:6.
Terapia provides students with 1¼ hour of group supervision twice a month. The remaining requirement for the 1: 6 ratio can be met by the student’s external supervisor at student’s placement or employment. In such case Terapia will contact the supervisor with a request for confirmation of supervision arrangements.
If no additional supervision is available to the students outside Terapia’s training additional supervision will need to be sought with Terapia’s group supervisor.
Mother and Baby Observation Requirements
It is required that each students undertakes 40 hours of Mother & Baby and 25 hours of Toddler observation studies which will be spread over the duration of the course to allow students to experience changes in the process of baby’s development and the formation of the relationship between the baby and the primary carer.
Observation Seminars are an integral part of the Core Training. Students will have the opportunity to share their experience of observation and explore the transference and countertransference taking place and all the issues arising form their observation. This takes place twice a month in the small core group.
Child Mental Health Observation Placement
It is required that all students must have experience of observation of children within a multidisciplinary setting where psychiatric or clinical psychologists’ assessments and case discussions take place.
This will be in an institutional, organisational or community setting with the following professionals working with children and adolescents: child psychiatrists, educational psychologists, clinical psychologists and paediatricians. This could be in NHS setting, CAFCC, Therapeutic Communities, Children Homes, Young Offenders Units or Family Assessments Centres.
Terapia recognised that majority of Conversion Course students will have a considerable experience in working or observing such settings. We have a procedure to recognise student’s previous experience in a Child Mental Health Placement and students can apply for recognition of that placement.
If a student does not have such experience he/she is required to undergo 100 hours of observation before completion of the Conversion Course.
Personal Therapy
It is required that candidates should engage with their own psychotherapeutic process and self-development with an experienced psychotherapist in a way that supports the training. Terapia requires that students undergo a minimum of 40 hours of personal therapy during the course.
Written Assignments and Students’ Assessments
There will be written work required for submission during the conversion course. The details of the written work and modes of assessments will be provided to students admitted on the course.
