Course Professional Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling & Insight-Oriented Therapy

The Professional Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling & Insight-Oriented Therapy is designed for practitioners who wish to deepen their understanding of the unconscious mind, relational patterns, and the emotional roots of psychological distress. The course offers a thorough grounding in the core principles of psychodynamic theory, including the impact of early experiences, internal conflicts, defence mechanisms, and transference–countertransference dynamics in the therapeutic relationship.

You will explore how past relationships shape current ways of thinking, feeling, and relating, often outside conscious awareness. The programme examines key concepts such as attachment, object relations, the inner world of fantasy and symbols, and the role of loss, guilt, shame, and aggression in human experience. Emphasis is placed on understanding how these processes emerge in the therapeutic encounter and how they can be used to foster insight and change.

A central focus of the course is the therapeutic relationship itself. You will learn to listen at depth, work with silence, attend to non-verbal communication, and reflect on your own emotional responses as valuable sources of information. The diploma supports you in developing a stance that is curious, reflective, and containing, creating a safe space where clients can begin to explore and make sense of their inner worlds.

Teaching methods typically include lectures, close reading of clinical and theoretical texts, case discussions, skills practice, and personal and professional reflection. You will be encouraged to link theory to your own practice context and to develop your capacity for ongoing self-awareness and supervision.

This diploma is particularly suitable for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, and other helping professionals who wish to work at a deeper, insight-oriented level with clients. By completion, you will have a richer understanding of psychodynamic perspectives, enhanced confidence in working with complex emotional material, and a more nuanced appreciation of how long-term, insight-based work can support meaningful and lasting psychological change.