Bachelor of Arts - Psychodynamic Practice (Including Year Abroad) (C849)

Laying the foundations for a career in a caring profession, whether education, health or social care this University of Essex course will give students a solid basis in psychodynamic thinking, child and adult development, and the dynamics of therapeutic interventions in organizations. Whether students want to work with troubled infants in the nursery, children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in schools or children’s homes, adults in social care and mental health settings, the elderly or those with learning difficulties this degree leaves students fully prepared to make a difference. Essex equips students with what they need to take up a post in a range of education, health and social care settings. Includes a Placement in each year of study. There are no exams in this course.

Topics in this course include: child, adolescent, and adult development, attachment theory, working with groups, psychodynamic counselling, trauma and violence, psychosis, eating disorders, therapeutic communities, and psychodynamic interventions in non-clinical settings.

Education extends beyond the university campus. Essex supports students in expanding their education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of their partner universities. The four-year version of the degree allows students to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows students to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden their degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that they are mature, adaptable, and organized.

Through the inclusion of an observational and work placement, giving students invaluable experience within their chosen sector, this course enables them to put theory and practice together as well as a gradual entry into the world of employment. Essex helps students to explore and understand the kind of role they are preparing for, so they graduate with a valuable balance of theoretical understanding and useful practical experience – rare qualities giving students the edge needed to successfully gain employment upon graduation.

In undertaking this course students study a range of psychoanalytic concepts - applying them to individuals, relationships and organizations, which will provide them with a unique perspective of why humans are the way they are, on understanding others and knowing how to relate to them, which will make students suited for further clinical training, postgraduate study in different fields, or employment.

Future graduates may go to work in a wide range of careers, including: therapeutic services, psychoanalytic therapy, education, social care, therapeutic consultancy, and management consultancy.