Timetable and programme

To download the conference timetable, click here
Please note: for an explanation of the definitions used in the spreadsheet please see definitions list (below)

This year’s event has a new format that combines the Association’s Annual Conference, AGM and Counselling and Psychotherapy Awards, and Fellowship Presentations.

As well as a line-up of first-class keynote speakers, delegates will benefit from an innovative programme of more than 40 sessions presented by experts from leading organisations and academic institutions throughout the UK. These sessions have been divided into 12 strands (subjects) and each strand will comprise a combination of guest lectures, masterclass sessions, workshops and seminars.

The strands are as follows:

(Please click on the strand titles to see full details of the sessions within that strand and biographies for the presenters)

Friday 6 October

Psychotherapy and politics – this strand will focus on therapy's relationship with the outside world and how increasingly therapists are asking themselves and each other what role politics has to play in the consulting room.

Sexual minority therapy – this strand will broadly explore the psychological effects of growing up in this minority group and the particular needs of this client group as far as therapeutic practitioners are concerned. The strand will also contain an element which looks at the training needs of therapists across the board for working with LGBT communities.

Client's voice – this strand will look at the experience of the relationship in therapy from the client's point of view. This could include the experience of different modalities, brief and longer term therapy. From a socioanthropological perspective, what is the role of therapy for the client in western culture in the 21st century?

Ethical issues – It is the depth of therapeutic relating which is at the heart of therapeutic transformation but this therapeutic relationship is of course subject to ethical constraints. How do practitioners balance being real, taking risks and ensuring the emotional safety of themselves and their clients.

Supervision – How is supervision affected by the quality of the relationship? This strand will look at the importance of the three-way relationship in supervision.

New modalities – This strand will look at new modalities that are emerging as a result of our understanding of the importance of the relationship in counselling and psychotherapy. For example we will look at the development of relational CBT and relational transactional analysis. Another possibility would be to look at developments in the person-centred approach in the light of Mearns' and Coopers' book Working at relational depth in counselling and psychotherapy.

Saturday 6 October

Body psychotherapy – 'Current developments such as the integration of therapeutic approaches, the growth of the relational perspective across the whole therapeutic spectrum, and the impact of neuroscience research have helped body psychotherapy move to a 21st century body/mind approach to psyche and psychology which puts the therapeutic relationship at the heart of the work.' (Michael Soth, Therapy Today November 2005). This strand will look more closely at these developments in body therapy which is body therapy 'only in so far as it does not exclude the body'.

Spirituality – this strand will explore the many ways in which religion plays a part in the relationship between client and therapist; the role that faith and spirituality play in the lives of many clients and the need for practitioners to embrace the language of spirituality to help them develop services for, for example, diverse Muslim communities.

Children and young people – this strand will look at the particular importance of the relationship in child development and the role of the therapist in working in different and innovative ways with these client groups.

Groupwork – Our theoretical frameworks in counselling and psychotherapy are dominated by the individual and the intra-psychic – this strand will look at the growing awareness that there are other ways to conceptualise human experience in which the human mind – the sense of self – is an interactive experience rather than a single bounded entity.

Technology and therapy – Given that the relationship is the crucial factor in any therapeutic change, this strand will look at how the relationship evolves and what is its quality in online counselling and psychotherapy. Are there advantages for the relationship in this relatively anonymous form of therapy? Given what we know about the neuroscience of relationship, and the fact that only a small percentage of human beings' interaction is verbal, how does the online relationship compensate for this?

Couples work – recent government statistics on social trends show a further increase in the number of marriage breakdowns. In a society with increasing numbers of single households and in which internet relationships are considered normal, this strand will look at new developments in couples work and rethinking marriage.

In addition to the core strands, this year’s conference includes a programme of fringe events on each day called conference extra. This will offer delegates the opportunity to attend alternative sessions not directly related to the above strands. Please click on the link to find out more.

Delegates can be as busy or relaxed as they choose, with the opportunity to attend a maximum of six or seven sessions per day (subject to session availability) and can choose to follow one strand or create their own programme by mixing sessions from different strands. Please refer to the conference timetable to assist you in your planning.

Refreshments can be taken in the Gallery Hall throughout the day to fit in with individual requirements along with a hot fork buffet lunch which will be served on a rolling basis over a 2 hour period each day. Delegates also have the opportunity to dip in and out of the Therapy Today exhibition, which is running in parallel to conference. This exhibition is brought to you by BACP Enterprises and will bring together leaders in training, recruitment, careers, professional issues and wellbeing which for the first time will unite the profession under one roof.

Session allocation

When planning your conference programme please be aware that some sessions require pre-booking.

All workshops and seminar sessions must be pre-booked. These sessions are highlighted by a 'pre booking' icon. All other sessions do not require booking and are available on a first-come, first-seated basis on the day itself. Please arrive in good time for these sessions; for health and safety reasons, once sessions are full they will be closed and additional delegates will be asked to choose an alternative.

Sessions requiring pre-booking are detailed on the conference booking form and should be requested at the time of booking. You will be informed if your choice is full and given the opportunity to book alternative sessions if required.

To download the conference timetable, click here
Please note: for an explanation of the definitions used in the spreadsheet please see definitions list (below)

Definitions:

Guest lecture: a formal 60 minute talk given on a particular subject area

Masterclass: a formal 45 minute session of tuition given by an expert (max no 50)

Workshop: an informal 1 hour 30 minute session of interactive study in a particular subject with hands on experience (max no 30)

Seminar: an informal 60 minute interactive session facilitated by an expert for discussion, debate and information exchange on a given topic (max no 40)

Topical update: a formal session communicating the latest information on a given subject

Panel debate: a discussion/exchange of views initiated by delegate questions in which response is sought from an expert panel

Keynote speech: a formal talk of major significance delivered by a highly acclaimed speaker

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