Trainees undertaking psychoanalytic training undergo their own personal analytic experience to think about the impact of the work with severe psychiatric disturbance, and in particular the emotional challenges of working across different settings with potentially very different ways of thinking about patients.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is required throughout the training period with a psychoanalyst or a psychoanalytic psychotherapist registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council and agreed with the Medical Psychotherapy Training Programme Director. The trainee may begin in a once weekly therapy and increase the frequency as they develop through the training. It is expected that personal therapy would continue throughout the duration of training.

Funding for personal therapy is provided by the Deanery for Medical Psychotherapy Trainees in for one session of personal psychotherapy or psychoanalysis