Foundation Course in Transactional Analysis
The major focus of this one-year part-time course (twenty days of training) is on providing an in-depth awareness of TA and its applications in counselling and other interpersonal fields within the helping professions. As well as considering the major theories of TA and their applications, it also includes practical, experiential and skills-development work.
The Foundation course incorporates all the topics in the “Official TA 101”, the international standard syllabus laid down by EATA/ITAA to cover the core concepts of TA.
While the Foundation Year is an essential first step into further TA training (if that’s what you plan to do), you can also take the year as a free-standing module. For many people, their experience of the Foundation Year helps them to make a decision on whether to go further in TA training. For others, the Foundation course is a source of TA “tools” to enhance their work in whatever job they are already doing. And for all, the Foundation course provides an experience of personal development.
Participants who attended the course this year said:
“I have learned more about myself and my family in this year than I thought possible.”
“I have enjoyed this safe supportive environment for learning and felt welcome here from the first day. I have made many new friends.”
“I have made significant changes in my life since coming on this course and feel very differently about myself.”
“I had a fun year and a challenging year and learned an enormous amount. I’m coming back for more.”
“It was not what I expected – I have laughed, cried, learned, listened, shared, understood and met such a variety of different open people. It has been my best year of learning!”
Eligibility for entry
No previous academic qualification is required for entry to the Foundation course*. If you would like to apply for a place on the course, your first step is to complete and return the Application Form (available by email or post from the “Berne” office, contact details below). We will then contact you to fix a mutually convenient date and time for an admission interview, sometimes by telephone.
(*Please note: if you are intending to follow the Foundation Year by continuing in training for the Diploma or PGCD, CTA or MSc awards, please note the eligibility requirements for these options – please see the Overview page).
Assessment and progression
If you do decide to progress to further training in TA, you will need to pass the assessment for the Foundation Certificate in TA, which you take at the end of Foundation Year. The assessment includes three parts:
- Completion of the EATA/ITAA standard 10-question “TA 101 Written Exam” (about one A4 page per question).
- A short case study (about 2000 words) on how you have applied the ideas of the course in a personal or a work situation.
- A Personal Journal of Learning (about one A4 page for each of the 10 training weekends), which you are encouraged to compile in whatever creative way you wish.
Upon successful completion of the Foundation course:
- you will receive the Berne Foundation Certificate and are eligible for the UKATA Transaction Analysis Award.
- you will also be eligible for the “TA 101” certificate of the European Association for Transactional Analysis.
You can download a flyer here.
The dates and topics can be downloaded here.
Here are the Foundation sessions happening this academic year.