Tavistock Relationships Reviews 7

The Mentalization-Based Couple Therapy training has been one of the most enriching training experiences I have had and has enhanced both my psychoanalytic couple work as well as the more focused short term couple interventions. The supervisory training couple who teaches the group, are kind and respectful, as well as clear and direct about process and technique. The application of Mentalization-Based CT in the context of a Psychoanalytic Couple framework is extremely useful and I recommend this training for couple psychotherapists who want to expand their practice to include brief and more focused interventions for highly dysregulated couples who are not able to work in a longer term psychoanalytic therapeutic process.

I am really appreciating the TR CPD lectures, relevant, refreshing, useful for my clinical work and enjoyable also.

I attended the Tavistock Relationships Foundation training course and found it to exceptionally well organised and chaired. The readings provided between classes were world class and the tutors were brilliant at maximising the contributions and therefore group learning from the student cohort.

I enquired about one of their courses, they were really helpful and friendly. I am actually trying to contact R.E.A. London who wrote a previous review "I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TRAINING AT THIS INSTITUTION" title, as you mentioned you went to another organization in the end which was amazing. Can I ask which one you went to? I am currently considering CCPE or PSYCHOSYNTHESIS and need to make some decisions. Thanks so much

I am a current student, the training is challenging and confronting, but this is how we grow and develop. I would recommend the clinical training, the supervision is excellent as is the teaching and admin support.

My partner and I found the therapist to have an air of Incredible coldness and eventually rather judgemental and unhelpful. We are not sure if they were a student or recently graduated. Rather surprising for a therapeutic school and practice. Sadly, speaking with others who have experienced sessions with Tavistock Relationships, it seems like it is coming from the director/management level. This is so unfortunate considering they are sought out to assist with relationship issues; travesty.

I would not recommend training at this institution. In my experience the overall environment was cold, unsupportive, controlling, old-fashioned, patronising, sterile and the students are walking around on egg shells. They seem to dislike any individuality in students and try to force it out. They demonstrated some of the worst stereotypes from the traditional psychoanalytic style of therapist, they often look down on students, seem oblivious to external factors which effect students, and do not appear to know how to run a course in a fair way. If anything goes wrong, blame is placed at the feet of the students entirely (and I suspect they felt the same of clients also) and they are not open to feedback about how they operate. Students see Tavistocks own clients from the second year, yet they often charge full fees to these clients for seeing a trainee, they bury this in the paperwork though without telling clients up front.

In particular, the female heads of the training have created what can only be described as an intimidating environment, one head of the training would quite often put down students and even other staff members with thinly veiled sarcasm (she would even roll her eyes quite obviously). Rather than giving constructive criticism they will go the character assassination route, and the air of fear this creates makes it very difficult for students to have breathing space to develop their own therapeutic style. I would also point out that the couple & individual course is 95% focused on couples, with hardly any individual focus, and most of the clients you work with being couples it is a wonder they still try to advertise it as a combined course.

Assessments are not fairly designed and the requirements of passing the course are designed in such a way that the heads of the course can get you out, with minimal explanation.

They also gave misleading financial information about gov loans etc and even when being repeatedly told it was wrong did not appear bothered to correct anything, even though for some students this will be a key factor in whether they choose to study here.

There are a few good teachers but they were drowned out by the bad ones. Luckily I was able to continue my training at an amazing organisation that had none of these bad qualities of Tavistock, but I know people that have been put of the profession for good after coming here.