Skip over navigation
Current training courses in family therapy include the Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy and the MSc in Family Therapy.
Both courses are accredited by the Association for Family Therapy and Systematic Practice (AFT) and the UK Council for Psychotherapy. The Graduate Certificate and MSc courses lead to a professional qualification and are available either full or part-time, though the part-time option is for employees of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) (both courses) and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust (Graduate Certificate).
The Programme Leader for the family therapy training courses is Judith Lask, an experienced trainer and systemic family therapist. She is a past Chair of AFT and is currently the organisation’s Chair of Registration and representative to the European Family Therapy Association.
Students undertake all their supervised clinical training in NHS services, including the Adolescent Eating Disorders Service, which is run by Dr Ivan Eisler, who heads the Section of Family Therapy. The Adolescent Eating Disorders Service is well known for its evaluation of family therapy for eating disorders, and for the development of an intensive multiple family therapy treatment programme which receives referrals from across the country. Regular training programmes in multiple family therapy are organised jointly by the Section and the Adolescent Eating Disorders Service.
The main research focus of the Section has been the evaluation of psychological treatments for eating disorders, drug addiction, depression, chronic pain and adolescent self-harm. The Section works in close collaboration with the Section of Eating Disorders in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry on the development of treatments for adolescents. The emphasis is on family therapy but some projects evaluate other psychological treatments – web-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for adolescents with bulimia nervosa, for example.
The Health Foundation is funding the Section’s current main study – a multi centre evaluation of multiple family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa. Other funders of research have included the Medical Research Council, the Leverhulme Foundation, the European Union and the Department of Health (DoH).
A new study being led by Section is funded by the DoH’s National Institute for Health Research and is one of seven projects to be undertaken as part of a £2 million programme grant award made to the Section of Eating Disorders for work to understand more about anorexia and translate that understanding into treatment. The Section of Family Therapy will carry out a service evaluation to find out whether the provision of specialist adolescent eating disorders outpatient clinics lead to an earlier identification of problems, fewer hospital admissions and better long term outcomes.
Dr Eisler, a Reader in Family Psychology and Family Therapy, holds a joint appointment within both the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry and the Department of Psychology. He is editor of the Journal of Family Therapy and a member of the Academic and Research Committee of AFT.
Potential PhD students interested in carrying out research in the Section should contact him, i.eisler@iop.kcl.ac.uk.
Within the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, the Section of Family Therapy is part of the Department of Psychological Medicine.
Section of Family Therapy
Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, PO73
Institute of Psychiatry
De Crespigny Park
London SE5 8AF
Contact: Vaithehy Shanmugam
Email: Vaithehy.Shanmugam@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 020 7848 0926
Fax: 020 7848 0205
For more information about training courses in family therapy
Email: Familytherapy.admin@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 020 7848 0693
For more information about training in multiple family therapy
Contact: Pennie Faibairn
Email: pennie.fairbairn@slam.nhs.uk
Phone: 020 3228 2545
Section of Family Therapy
- Research group overview
- Back to search results
DESCRIPTION
In the Section of Family Therapy, teaching is closely interwoven with research and clinical work. The IoP is the only centre in the UK that offers family therapy training on a full-time basis and students enrol from across the world.Current training courses in family therapy include the Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy and the MSc in Family Therapy.
Both courses are accredited by the Association for Family Therapy and Systematic Practice (AFT) and the UK Council for Psychotherapy. The Graduate Certificate and MSc courses lead to a professional qualification and are available either full or part-time, though the part-time option is for employees of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) (both courses) and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust (Graduate Certificate).
The Programme Leader for the family therapy training courses is Judith Lask, an experienced trainer and systemic family therapist. She is a past Chair of AFT and is currently the organisation’s Chair of Registration and representative to the European Family Therapy Association.
Students undertake all their supervised clinical training in NHS services, including the Adolescent Eating Disorders Service, which is run by Dr Ivan Eisler, who heads the Section of Family Therapy. The Adolescent Eating Disorders Service is well known for its evaluation of family therapy for eating disorders, and for the development of an intensive multiple family therapy treatment programme which receives referrals from across the country. Regular training programmes in multiple family therapy are organised jointly by the Section and the Adolescent Eating Disorders Service.
The main research focus of the Section has been the evaluation of psychological treatments for eating disorders, drug addiction, depression, chronic pain and adolescent self-harm. The Section works in close collaboration with the Section of Eating Disorders in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry on the development of treatments for adolescents. The emphasis is on family therapy but some projects evaluate other psychological treatments – web-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for adolescents with bulimia nervosa, for example.
The Health Foundation is funding the Section’s current main study – a multi centre evaluation of multiple family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa. Other funders of research have included the Medical Research Council, the Leverhulme Foundation, the European Union and the Department of Health (DoH).
A new study being led by Section is funded by the DoH’s National Institute for Health Research and is one of seven projects to be undertaken as part of a £2 million programme grant award made to the Section of Eating Disorders for work to understand more about anorexia and translate that understanding into treatment. The Section of Family Therapy will carry out a service evaluation to find out whether the provision of specialist adolescent eating disorders outpatient clinics lead to an earlier identification of problems, fewer hospital admissions and better long term outcomes.
Dr Eisler, a Reader in Family Psychology and Family Therapy, holds a joint appointment within both the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry and the Department of Psychology. He is editor of the Journal of Family Therapy and a member of the Academic and Research Committee of AFT.
Potential PhD students interested in carrying out research in the Section should contact him, i.eisler@iop.kcl.ac.uk.
Within the Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, the Section of Family Therapy is part of the Department of Psychological Medicine.
Section of Family Therapy
Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, PO73
Institute of Psychiatry
De Crespigny Park
London SE5 8AF
Contact: Vaithehy Shanmugam
Email: Vaithehy.Shanmugam@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 020 7848 0926
Fax: 020 7848 0205
For more information about training courses in family therapy
Email: Familytherapy.admin@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 020 7848 0693
For more information about training in multiple family therapy
Contact: Pennie Faibairn
Email: pennie.fairbairn@slam.nhs.uk
Phone: 020 3228 2545
Associated research programmes
CONTACTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Judith Lask, tel 020 7848 0693
Email
Website