The Berne Institute recognises the uniqueness of each person and the strategy of training includes all approaches in Transactional Analysis (TA) so students can integrate them into their own practice.

Our fundamental principle is to honour the autonomy and uniqueness of each trainee and facilitate them to achieve their full potential. We respect diversity and create a culture where differences are celebrated and all contributions are valued and respected.

All training is Quality Assured by Middlesex University, the European and International Transactional Analysis Associations and meets the UKCP requirements for registration. Training is in multilevel enabling individual competency and experience to be accounted for in progression. We see TA psychotherapy as entailing the creation of a structured setting in which the client pursues outcomes in the areas of personal change, growth and insight, with the facilitation of the therapist.

The central objective of TA training is to facilitate the trainee therapist to acquire the TA knowledge, skills, attitudes and experience that will allow them to invite personal change in others ethically and competently. For the TA psychotherapist, the moment-by-moment practice of psychotherapy is a multi-faceted skill, entailing reference to philosophy, theory and practice; the use of both scientific and intuitive knowledge; the ability to experience in the moment of the therapeutic encounter and at the same time to observe this experience. The effective TA therapist will be curative through their relationship with the client, and fluent in the use of theory, directed therapeutic techniques and treatment planning.

Courses offered

TA101 – An Introduction to Transactional Analysis

This 2/3-day course is the introduction to Transactional Analysis and is recognised by International Transactional Analysis Association (ITAA) and the European Association for Transactional Analysis (EATA) as their standard approved introduction to TA. Completion of the course affords the “TA 101” certificate, a necessary requirement to enter accredited training as a TA practitioner.

Foundation Course in Transactional Analysis

The major focus of this one-year part-time course (twenty days of training) is on enabling an in-depth awareness and understanding of TA theory and its applications in counselling, organisational and educational work and other interpersonal fields within the helping professions. As well as considering the major theories of TA and their applications, it also includes practical, experiential and personal development work.

The Berne Institute Diploma in TA

The Berne Institute’s Diploma course provides a thorough in-depth clinical training for those wishing to take up a career in Transactional Analysis. The in-house Diploma course typically requires a minimum of two years’ post-Foundation study, with twenty days of training in each year (360 hours of TA training in total). In addition, the trainee will need 200 client practice hours and supervision at a ratio of one supervision to every 6 counselling sessions (34) and 40 hours therapy per year. The trainee will need to have submitted 6 assignments of which 2 are case studies and pass an oral exam. It provides a balance of theory, skills training, personal development and practical experience and is designed to integrate all these elements to provide a firm basis for development as a TA professional.

Advanced Clinical Training: Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA) in Transactional Analysis
Psychotherapy

The Berne Institute’s course in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy is intended for trainees who plan to pursue a professional career as psychotherapists. The training is accredited by the Humanistic and Integrative College (HIPC) of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) for the purpose of registration. The Berne Institute is an Organisational Member of the UKCP within HIPC, and is also a Registered Training Establishment of the United Kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis (UKATA). CTA and the accredited training are validated by Middlesex University as an MSc in TA Psychotherapy. It would normally take place over a period of four years although there is flexibility based on the experience and competency of the trainee.

MSc by Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

Certified Transactional Analysts are eligible to apply for the award of MSc (either at The Berne Institute or at another EATA-accredited centre) via Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL). Holders of the CTA qualification, are automatically granted 120 credits toward the total of 180 credits required for the Masters’ degree. Admissions to the APL route take place throughout the year, and there are currently places available.

Postgraduate Clinical Diploma in Transactional Analysis Counselling

We also offer a Postgraduate Diploma in TA Counselling, validated by Middlesex University. This programme is quality assured by Middlesex University and the Middlesex University award is made on successful completion. Diploma students, like those for the MSc, follow the CTA training course and complete written assignments. Diploma students are assessed on two short case studies and a sample of their taped work.

The core theoretical approach in training at The Berne Institute is Transactional Analysis (TA). Our MSc and Diploma trainings in the practice of TA will therefore include:

• understanding of the philosophical principles underpinning TA, and the ethical and professional considerations necessary in the application of this philosophy to practice
• studying TA theory in depth and developing the ability to research, debate, critique, compare, and contrast the theories of different schools and approaches within TA
• the application of TA theory to ethical, effective clinical/professional practice in order to support practice with soundly-based theoretical rationale
• developing the ability to describe practice in theoretical terms the development of a spirit of curiosity, enquiry and creativeness, and the capacity to critique and update TA theory in the light of experiences in practice
  emphasis on self-reflection and self-awareness and an increasing sensitivity to one’s own processes, the processes of the client, and the processes between oneself and the client
• developing and critiquing the skills and techniques of research in psychotherapy, education and organisational change (according to field of study), including the critical study of methods for evaluating outcomes
• learning how to articulate and demonstrate all the above through written projects, participation in group discussions and group interactions, supervised practice and tutor-peer interactions.

Our assessment and accreditation procedures are based on criteria for competence to practise. Equal weight is given to:
(a) the capacity to deal fluently with theory, philosophy and ethical/professional principles;
(b) the learning and demonstration, both in training and supervision, of the skills which are derived from the relevant philosophical and theoretical base; and
(c) the capacity to use the experience of personal change work, such as personal psychotherapy and the training process in order to understand the dynamics of a transformative relationship.