About
Founded in 1990, the Institute is a member organisation of both the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP) and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). As such, it is one of the professional bodies responsible for the accreditation and ongoing professional development of psychoanalytic psychotherapists across Northern Ireland. The Institute provides a dynamic and engaging, well-established forum for the discussion and advancement of psychoanalytic approaches to the understanding of personal and social difficulties. Lord Alderdice is the esteemed Patron of the Institute, whilst honorary members include leading psychoanalyst and author Susie Orbach.
Institute members work in both public and private settings, offering the highest standards of individual, couple, and group psychotherapy, clinical supervision and consultation. Full members are registered to practice with the Psychoanalytic Section of the ICP and the Council for Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis of the UKCP. The Institute also publishes an online register of clinical supervisors, accredited by the Psychoanalytic Section of the ICP. The Institute acts as a focus of interest and commitment for those whose primary professional concern lies in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and related fields. It also offers public events for those who wish to explore the relevance and potential application of psychodynamic thinking across a variety of different contexts.
Over the course of the academic year, the Institute runs a full and varied programme of events, engaging with a diverse range of clinical, societal, and cultural issues - consisting of clinical seminars, public lectures and conferences, a Group Analytic Section, a Clinical and Theoretical Reading Group, a Psychoanalytic Film Club, an Art Project, a Social Concern Group, and a Psychoanalytic Book Club. The Institute also provides a regular, facilitated Reflective Group, offering a supportive space for clinical members to process the ongoing impact of living and working through the pandemic.
Continuing Professional Development
The NIIHR is a member organisation of both the Psychoanalytic Section of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy and the Council for Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis College of the UK Council for Psychotherapy. Full clinical members of the Institute are deeply committed to their continuing professional development, and the Institute provides its members with a diverse range of CPD opportunities throughout the academic year. This is in correspondence with the CPD guidelines set out by the European Association for Psychotherapy, and is carefully monitored by the Institute's Committee on an ongoing basis.
Clinical and Theoretical Reading Group
The Reading Group meets monthly, over the full course of the academic year, for close collective readings of a diverse range of psychoanalytic writings relating to a wide variety of clinical and theoretical issues.
Clinical seminars
Our clinical seminars (which are held three times a year) offer members opportunities to think together about the practice, art and craft of psychotherapy, and to share experience from the wide variety of contexts in which our members are practising.
Psychoanalytic Film Club
The Institute’s Psychoanalytic Film Club meets regularly throughout the year to view and discuss films from psychoanalytic perspectives. Films are presented as part of a thematic series, and recent themes have included Passion, Obsession, and Perversion, and The Other: So What Are We So Afraid Of? An annual Film Club event, featuring Lacanian analyst Eve Watson, is held at the Strand Arts Centre. Details of forthcoming screenings are included on the Events page. For a small selection of features, check out the Film Club Blog.
Psychoanalytic Book Club
Now into its fifth year, the Institute’s Psychoanalytic Book Club meets once every academic term to discuss a work of literature from psychoanalytic perspectives. A diverse range of literary forms, including novels, short stories, graphic novels, and poetry has been explored - including the work of Alison Bechdel, James Joyce, Louis MacNeice, and Carson McCullers.
Social Concern Group
The Institute’s Social Concern Group meets on an occasional basis to discuss topical issues from various psychoanalytic perspectives. Past meetings have considered the psychological fallout of Brexit, social media, the Trump presidency, and climate change.
Reflective Group
Group analyst John Slane facilitates a supportive group space, in which clinicians meet to process the ongoing experience of both living and working therapeutically through the pandemic. Meeting (on a Monday evening) on a fortnightly basis, the group has been running since April 2020, and new members are very welcome to join.
Psychoanalytic Art Group
This creative, playful space, facilitated by artist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist Cheryl Bleakley, was established in 2016. Group members have explored different artistic forms, including screen printing, painting, dance movement, and film-making. In 2019 the project produced a short film, The Clearing, which has been screened at a number of conferences and art festivals. The New Psychotherapist did a feature on the Psychoanalytic Art Group, which you can read here.
Group Analytic Section
The Group Analytic Section of the NIIHR meets monthly between September and June. It is a forum for members of the NIIHR, who are qualified or training in Group Analysis, to meet and reflect on issues relating to their work or training. Each meeting has 2 components. Firstly, a 90 minute Group Analytic supervision section, where members have the opportunity to discuss their work or training in a group context. Secondly, a business meeting to discuss issues relating to Group Analysis and to plan a calendar of CPD activities e.g. seminars, process groups etc.