The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

For over 100 years, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been at the forefront of exploring mental health and wellbeing – from pioneering the development of new clinical interventions, to establishing a reputation as an international centre of excellence for education.

Today, we treat hundreds of patients every year, and offer a wide range of education and training opportunities – each integrating a rich variety of theoretical perspectives, the latest clinical insights and research, and space for reflection and experiential learning.

Training that makes a difference

Our programmes of study support practitioners from a wide range of sectors, including mental health, healthcare, education, social work and social care, consultancy and criminal justice.

Many of our pathways are based on an escalator model – from introductory Trust Certificates and Postgraduate Diplomas through to more specialist Master’s degrees and Doctorate level programmes – supporting the development of expertise across multiple specialisms.

Whether you’re starting out on your career, changing direction, or looking to enhance your practice in mental health and wellbeing, we have a course that will get you where you want to be.

Our distinctive approach

All our courses are developed and delivered by our faculty of expert clinician-tutors, so you know that the education you receive is highly relevant, up-to-date and applicable. There are very few places where students can study in a working NHS clinic – allowing learning to be immediately brought to life through the discussion of current and real-time clinical practice.

Our validated courses are awarded by the University of Essex and University of East London, while our clinical courses are recognised and accredited by a range of leading professional bodies in the mental health sector, including:

• Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP)
• Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT)
• British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC)
• British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Social Work England

Plus, as the only NHS Trust registered with the Office for Students, we are regulated to ensure that every student has a fulfilling and enriching experience of Higher Education.

So, whether you’re studying in London at the Tavistock Centre, across the UK and Europe with our like-minded educational partners, or remotely via an online or blended course, you can be sure that the education you receive will be highly relevant, stimulating and transformative.

We offer postgraduate training in a number of areas, including:

• Psychodynamic psychotherapy

• Psychoanalytic psychotherapy

• Psychoanalytic studies
• Systemic psychotherapy
• Educational psychology
• Child development
• Social work and social care
• Leadership and management
• Organisational consultancy
• Executive coaching

Our graduates go on to work in a wide range of sectors, including the NHS, state and private education providers, prisons and youth offending services, social work and social care, the judicial system and private practice. Many also use our training as a means to enhance their existing skillset and advance their career within their current role or sector.

Explore all our courses.

Student support

We want you to feel welcome, valued and supported throughout your time with us, and we offer a range of services to ensure that your learning experience is as rich, informative and enjoyable as possible.

We understand that the content of our courses can be emotionally challenging, and many of the features of our pedagogy – including work discussion, supervision and personal tutorials – have been developed with this in mind. We also offer free meetings with our student advice and consultation service, which allow you to raise any personal or professional issues in confidence.

We are committed to being inclusive and accessible to all students in every aspect of student life. If you have a condition, impairment or difference that may impact on your application or studies, we will do all we can to support you. We respond to your requirements to ensure that you have equitable and fair access to our courses wherever possible. We design our curriculum and assessment with all students in mind.

We are proud of the diversity of our student community, and we encourage everyone to join our student and trainee groups. Providing an opportunity to meet and share experiences in a safe and facilitated environment, these include our LGBTQIA+ student and trainee group, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic / Global Majority student and trainee group, Disabled student and trainee group and International student and trainee group.

We value our students’ feedback and welcome their input into many aspects of life at the Tavistock and Portman. We run a popular Dean’s Forum throughout the year, where students have the chance to link directly with our executive team. All our courses also have course committees, which are attended by student representatives. We have a student governor on the Trust’s Board of Governors, and student representatives are also invited to attend the three major committees within Education and Training, and so the student voice is truly embedded throughout our work.

Facilities

We are based in north-west London, in the Tavistock Centre, which is easily accessible by underground, overground, bus or car.

In addition to our teaching rooms and lecture theatre, the Tavistock Centre offers a suite of student spaces, including a common room, communal work spaces and quiet pods. Our fifth-floor café provides fresh, home-made food every day at very reasonable prices. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are available, as well as coffees, teas and soft drinks.

Our library has an extensive digital collection of e-books and journals, as well as databases and video resources, tailored to the requirements of our students, tutors and clinicians. It provides access to our print collection of books and journals, as well as a variety of study spaces and access to computers and printing facilities. Our librarians provide support and guidance, whatever your level of professional or academic experience, including providing training on topics such as literature searching and referencing.

Finding out more

We host online and in-person open days and open events throughout the year. These are a great opportunity for you to learn more about our courses and approach, meet our course teams and current students, and ask any questions you may have. You can browse upcoming events and sign up via our website. All our open events are free to attend but booking is essential.

Register for our next open event.