Validated by The University of Northampton

Key information 2026

Duration	Two years taught, part-time, 30 weeks per year, lecture day Fridays from 1pm-5.30pm with occasional days starting at 10am. Dissertation written in third year.
Cost* Year 1 - 2026	£5762
Cost* Year 2 - 2027	£5798
Additional Fees	University fees (2026 & 2027)*  £1037  Deposit (non-refundable)             £500  Exam fee (2027)                          £550 Dissertation fee (2028)                £850  DSM-5 seminars (x 4)                  £85 CCPE library fee (optional)           £10
Award	M.A. accredited by UKCP and validated by University of Northampton.
Term dates Year 1	Term 1: 23rd January - 27th March Term 2: 24th April - 26th June Term 3: 11th September - 20th November
Term dates Year 2	TBC - 2026 dates can be used as a guide
Weekends	Twelve weekend seminars spread over two years, 10am-5pm each day unless advised otherwise.
Interviews	To apply for this course, you will need to email the MA Course Administrator with your CV, detailing your previous counselling/psychotherapy training, education history, any work or placements with children/young people, and any experience of personal therapy.  If you meet the requirements for the course, you will then be invited for an interview.  The interview lasts one hour max and there is a fee of £60 (you will be informed of how to pay this, before the interview.)
Application form	Application Form will be provided at the interview or emailed to you after the interview.
Further information	Please email Tony, the MA Course Administrator, on tony@ccpe.org.uk

Supplementary costs

Whilst on the course students are required to have 90 hours of one-to-one personal psychotherapy (a total of 160 hours is required for UKCP registration). These fees are not included in the above costs.
Students may also require additional supervision to meet supervision ratios for UKCP registration which will be at your own expense. 
If students miss any supervision, observation sessions and/or weekend seminars then you may incur additional fees making up these sessions.
We encourage (though do not require) students to purchase their own sandtray (approx. £95) and you will incur costs in building your sandplay symbol collection.
Students also need to ensure they have budgeted for any technology needed, books required for course reading, accommodation and/or travel expenses to attend the course and placements. There may also be additional costs for academic tutorial support (if required), proofreading, printing etc.
CCPE reserves the right to change course content and requirements.

“Thus the process that ultimately leads to the realisation of the Personal Essence begins with self-realisation in childhood; i.e., with the Essential Self, and ends with the Personal Essence, the essential person. Between these essential poles, ego development makes up the rest of the process. In this way, Being acquires the wisdom of the world. It can now live in the world, although it is fundamentally not ‘of’ it.” (Almaas, 1988, p. 283).

“In each baby is a vital spark, and this urge towards life and growth and development is a part of the baby, something the child is born with and which is carried forward in a way that we do not have to understand” (Winnicott, 1949, as cited in Davis & Wallbridge, 1981, p. 177).

“.. we are in fact connected with one another as human beings and within nature as members of a broader belonging, an identity that is integrated with more of the world than the body alone, a self that is a part of a synergy of systems much bigger than the individual” (Siegel, 2023, p. 4).

Almaas, A.H. (1988). The pearl beyond price. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Davis, M. & Wallbridge, D. (1981). Boundary and space: An introduction to the work of D. W. Winnicott. London, England: Karnac Books.
Siegel, D. (2023). IntraConnected: Mwe (Me + We) as the integration of self, identity and belonging. W.W. Norton & Co.

MA in TRANSPERSONAL CHILD, ADOLESCENT & FAMILY THERAPY

The MA in Transpersonal Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy (MATCAFT) course combines the breadth of knowledge required to become an integrative child psychotherapist together with the depth and richness of the transpersonal perspective. Undertaking this training is a truly transformative journey for the trainee Child Psychotherapist.

The course offers a comprehensive academic and professional programme of study validated at Masters’ Level by the University of Northampton (UON) and accredited by the College for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapies (CCAP) within the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). The MATCAFT leads towards registration as a UKCP Child Psychotherapist.

The course is suited to therapists who are already working therapeutically with children and young people and wish to gain a formal UKCP registration as a Child Psychotherapist. It is also suitable for candidates already qualified or qualifying as adult psychotherapists and who wish to broaden the scope of their practice to work with children and young people.

The MATCAFT course is challenging intellectually and personally, combining both the integration of theory and practice, with the demands of self-reflection and openness to personal growth. It promotes high professional standards in the field of child psychotherapy, sound ethical practice, and appreciation of difference and sensitivity to others.  Applicants should be committed to learning about themselves, have an openness to the transpersonal, and be striving for fuller integration in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS

Graduates from the MATCAFT have found employment in a variety of settings including schools, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), young persons’ counselling services, specialist bereavement services, social services as well as independent private practice.

THE TRANSPERSONAL INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY

CCPE brings a creative and innovative contribution to the field of child psychotherapy with its holistic approach to child development and child psychotherapy. The CCPE transpersonal integrative model recognises that no one theory of development can explain the complexities of an individual client. Each theory describes a dimension of the psyche and can illuminate our understanding of that facet. Theoretical and practical perspectives are integrated from the transpersonal, humanistic, archetypal, psychodynamic, systemic and cognitive orientations.

CCPE adopts a fundamentally relational approach, with the therapeutic relationship seen as the primary vehicle facilitating change. The trainee child psychotherapist is encouraged to develop qualities of presence, openness and authenticity and a respect for the client’s innate capacity for self-healing. The training helps build the therapist’s capacity to see beyond the dysfunctional symptoms to the client’s true potential.  Emphasis is also placed on understanding the unconscious and symbolic communication of the child or young person, and the trainee is introduced to a variety of creative interventions including play therapy, sandplay, art and other creative media. The training is in-person and has a strong experiential emphasis. The course leads to both positive transformation for the trainee, as well as guiding them how to bring about positive transformation for their clients.

CCPE and MATCAFT HISTORY

CCPE’s adult Diploma in counselling and psychotherapy course was accredited in 1991 by both the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and UKCP. In 1997, a research MA in Transpersonal Counselling and Psychotherapy was introduced followed by the MATCAFT in 1998.  The MATCAFT was first accredited by UKCP in 2004 and has undergone successful re-accreditations in 2008, 2013 and 2021 by UKCP and CCAP.  Both MA courses are validated by the UON.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is a taught two-year part-time Masters, with the written final dissertation submitted in the third year. The teaching is divided into six modules, totalling 180 Masters-level credits. The course runs every other year, and from January – December. The next intake is for January 2026.

YEAR ONE

1. Child Development and Child Therapy (40 credits)
2. Infant Observation (20 credits)
3. Clinical Practice (20 credits)

YEAR TWO

1. Adolescence and the Family (20 credits)
2. Child Observation (20 credits)
3. Dissertation (60 credits)

YEAR ONE

MODULE PSYM041 Child Development and Child Therapy

Students study how the infant develops a sense of self, from the different perspectives of object relations/self psychology, attachment theory, archetypal theory, transpersonal theory, as well as contemporary neuroscience. Students are encouraged to integrate the different theories into a holistic understanding of child development. This module will also help the student develop an understanding of the significance of emotional and symbolic communication in children. The student is introduced to a range of verbal and non-verbal methods of therapeutic work with children including play therapy, sandplay, art and other creative media. Students are challenged to explore their unconscious biases, reflect on the impact of intersectionality, and understand the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues that are relevant to working with children and young people. The students are introduced to the DSM-5 and understanding diagnoses of the medical model when working with children and young people. Essential writing and research skills are also given to students to help them develop their skills at Masters level.

Topics covered include:

• Transpersonal perspectives of ego development
• Alchemy as a model for therapeutic transformation
• Archetypal perspectives of ego development
• Object relations and self-psychology perspectives of ego development
• Attachment theory
• Interpersonal neurobiology and the right/left brain divide
• Pre and perinatal psychology
• Play therapy skills and creative techniques
• Sandplay, symbols and imagery
• Therapeutic art and working with children’s drawings
• Working creatively with trauma
• Unconscious bias and intersectionality considerations
• Ethical, legal and safeguarding issues
• DMS-5 and child mental health
• Writing at Masters-level
• Research skills and critical evaluation of research

MODULE PSYM043 Clinical Practice

Individual and group training supervision throughout the year provides the student with guidance, tutoring, and feedback from the clinical supervisor on their clinical casework and therapeutic practice. In small supervision groups students are asked to present their client work. Students are invited to discuss and consider the rationale for their therapeutic interventions with clients and consider alternative options. Through supervision, students develop an understanding of how theory applies in practice and how practice relates to theory. In addition, supervision provides the appropriate setting for full discussion of the ethical and professional issues that arise from clinical practice. A termly equality, diversity and inclusion group session provides students the space to reflect on their own experiences and biases, and to share clinical practice questions on topics such as race and neurodiversity. This module provides the student with a vital opportunity to integrate the theoretical and subjective aspects of their clinical practice work.

Topics covered include:

• Presentations of client work to supervision group
• Applying child development theory to clinical practice
• Ethical, legal and safeguarding issues related to clinical practice
• Exploring bias and intersectionality
• Exploring therapeutic interventions with clients
• Unconscious and symbolic communication of clients
• Spontaneous drawings as a tool to reveal unconscious communication
• Exploration of personal responses through the countertransference, including embodied countertransference

 MODULE PSYM045 Infant Observation

This module begins in the first year and is assessed in the second year. It provides the opportunity to integrate observational research of an infant with theoretical developmental perspectives. By observing the development of an infant from birth in the child's natural setting, the student begins to understand how human relationships impact the developing sense of self and how early patterns of relating can persist into later life. The module also helps support students develop their observational skills and reflect on how they, as observers, are impacted by the observational material leading to greater awareness of self and personal development.

Topics covered include:

• Setting up an infant observation
• The relevance of infant observation to child psychotherapy
• Exploring infant development in the context of the observations
• Reflecting on observations from a personal perspective

 WEEKEND SEMINARS - YEAR ONE

• Play therapy skills
• Archetypes, symbols & imagery in sandplay
• Therapeutic art and the application of children’s drawings
• Archetypal (Jungian) perspectives of childhood
• Working creatively with trauma
• Archetypal and symbolic perspectives of adolescence
• Child mental health I – Understanding the DSM-5
• Developmental stages in sandplay and family dynamics

YEAR TWO

MODULE PSYM044 Child Observation

This module progresses on from the infant observation study and enables the student to further understand how the child’s sense of self continues to develop in the context of human relationship and the wider world. The student will observe a young child, of 2-3 years of age, in a nursery school setting for a period of a school year. The student is encouraged to notice the child’s developing cognitive, motor, language and social skills, as well as how the child expresses themselves through play and their relationships with peers. The student is also invited to make links with the theories presented in the first year, as well as reflect on how they, as observers, are impacted by the observational material leading to a greater awareness of self and personal development.

Topics covered include:

• Setting up a child observation
• The relevance of child observation to child psychotherapy
• Exploring child development in the context of the observations
• Reflecting on observations from a personal perspective

 MODULE PSYM042 Adolescence and the Family

This module looks at adolescence as a discrete developmental stage from transpersonal, Winnicottian, existential, archetypal and contemporary neurophysiological perspectives. Students will be provided with creative and cognitive approaches to help them understand and respond to the needs of adolescent clients from a transpersonal integrative perspective. In addition, this module introduces the relevance of systemic thinking when working with individual child and adolescent clients.

Topics covered include:

• Transpersonal perspectives of adolescence
• Archetypal and symbolic perspectives of adolescence
• Existential perspectives of adolescence
• The adolescent brain
• Cognitive approaches to working with adolescents
• Working with risk – suicide and self harm
• Working with risk – the social system
• Working with gender sexuality relationship diversity
• Introduction to systemic thinking and ideas from systemic family therapy
• Developing cultural competence in working in understanding family systems
• Intergenerational patterns
• Working with systems around the child – parents, school, MDT
• Application of systemic thinking to child psychotherapy

MODULE PSYM046 Dissertation

This module provides an integration of theory, clinical practice and self-reflexivity as students come to the end of their taught training. Individual and group training supervision continue throughout the year providing the student with guidance, tutoring, and feedback on their clinical casework and therapeutic practice. The medical and transpersonal models of mental health are critically explored together with in depth theoretical and practical sessions on a range of specialist topics including neurodiversity, grief and loss, eating disorders. The student is provided with Dissertation preparation sessions to help them prepare to write their dissertation in the third year. Research methodology and the importance of research in child psychotherapy are included. In the dissertation the student crystallises their professional identity through the articulation of their Clinical Philosophy and demonstration of this through their clinical work with a child and adolescent client.

Topics covered include:

• Presentations of client work to supervision group
• Applying child and adolescent development theory to clinical practice
• Discussion of ethical, legal, safeguarding, EDI issues related to clinical practice
• Exploration of personal responses to clinical practice through the countertransference
• Child Mental Health and a critical review of the medical model
• Meditation and embodiment practices for children, young people and parents
• Working with specialist topics eg. Shame, Child sexual abuse and exploitation, neurodiversity, eating disorders & body dysmorphia, grief and loss, nature and environment
• Research methodologies
• Formulating a clinical philosophy and professional identity
• Critical thinking and writing
• Preparing for independent practice
• Legal, ethical, safeguarding and intersectionality considerations
• Preparing for UKCP Registration

WEEKEND SEMINARS – YEAR TWO

• Introduction to Systemic Family Therapy
• Further child development and therapeutic development in sandtray work
• Child mental health II – DSM-5
• Sandplay review and Sandplay oral preparation

ADDITIONAL COURSE TEACHING AND PRACTICUM

DSM-5 SEMINARS

Students are required to attend at CCPE four one-day seminars on the DSM-5 and adult mental health (additional fees for these seminars apply – £85 per seminar in 2026).

OBSERVATIONS

Students are required to find observation placements for:

• 50 weekly one-hour observations of an infant from birth in the home
• 30 weekly one-hour observations of a child (age 2½ - 3 years) in a nursery school setting

Observation essays form an important part of the written requirements and an observation study group supports the students’ learning.

CLINICAL PRACTICE

A total of 200 supervised therapy hours with children and adolescents (from 4 years up to 18 years old) and families is required. This must be made up from:

• 140 hours of 1:1 psychotherapy with children and adolescents
• 50 hours of 1:1 psychotherapy with children and adolescents in a multidisciplinary context working as part of a team
• 10 hours of therapeutic work with parents/carers/families

All therapy hours must be in person / face to face and not online. Case studies form an important part of the written requirements and final dissertation.

All clinical practice must be supervised, and if applying for UKCP registration must meet the CCAP requirements of one hour of supervision for every six client hours (or one hour of supervision for every four client hours for those new to working with children and young people for the first 100 hours of clinical practice).

CLINICAL SUPERVISION

The course offers nine sessions of group training supervision and 17 sessions of individual training supervision over the first two years. Supervisors are UKCP registered child psychotherapists with a supervision qualification. This supervision is included in the course fees. Any additional supervision needed to meet UKCP registration ratios or for personal support will be at the student’s own expense.

WORKING WITH DIFFERENCE

Students meet termly in a facilitated group to explore group process and topics of difference such as racism, neurodiversity, sexuality and gender and ethical issues in clinical practice. The group reflect and share their own experience of these issues as well as bringing any questions that have arisen in clinical practice.

INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

Students are required to have a minimum of 90 hours of individual psychotherapy with a recognised and approved psychotherapist

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is intended that at the end of the MA Programme the student will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

• Critically understand a broad synthesis of transpersonal integrative theoretical knowledge and apply this to child and adolescent psychotherapy within a systemic context.
• Demonstrate a critical understanding and use of research at the forefront of child and adolescent psychotherapy.
• Critically evaluate and judiciously use a variety of psychotherapeutic interventions for helping children, adolescents and families.
• Have a thorough critical working knowledge of child mental health including clinical diagnoses, treatment and referral options, and use this to inform assessment.
• Have a rigorous and systematic understanding of Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct relevant to children and adolescents, and demonstrate autonomy and measured judgement in complex ethical, legal and safeguarding situations.
• Demonstrate critical self-reflection and sensitivity to diversity, equality and intersectionality considerations.
• Articulate and substantiate their unique, creative, and holistic approach to child and adolescent transpersonal integrative psychotherapy.
• Demonstrate qualities of presence, genuineness of Being, compassion for and insight into themselves, their clients, the families and other professionals with whom they work
• Critically work with uncertainty to create a facilitative space for change and movement towards greater mental health and wellbeing for clients.
• Have highly developed skills of critical self-reflection including the capacity to identify further learning through continuous professional development and meet the evolving demands of the profession.
• Have a critical understanding of their own role, and respect for the different roles and responsibilities of other professionals in the field and be able to collaborate appropriately and effectively.

AWARDS

Successful completion of the MATCAFT course will lead to the award from the University of Northampton of:

MA in Transpersonal Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy
The award of Master of Arts is based on the student gaining 180 credits through successful completion of all six modules.

If a student does not complete the training in full there is the possibility of receiving one of the following awards:

Postgraduate Diploma in Transpersonal Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy
The award of Postgraduate Diploma is given to students who gain 120 credits from the MATCAFT course modules (not including the Dissertation module).

Postgraduate Certificate in Transpersonal Integrative Studies of Early Child Development
The award of Postgraduate Certificate is given to students who gain 60 credits from the first-year modules PSYM041 and PSYM043.

CCPE Diploma in Sandplay Studies
The CCPE Diploma in Sandplay Studies is awarded to students who complete all first year modules successfully, plus all sandplay weekends and pass the Sandplay Oral examination.

UKCP REGISTRATION

Students who are awarded the MATCAFT and fulfil additional criteria outlined below can also apply for registration as a UKCP Child Psychotherapist. These criteria include:

1. Child mental health familiarisation

To complement the taught theoretical learning on child mental health on the MATCAFT, students are additionally required to accumulate 60 hours of practical or observational experience of child mental health and complete a child mental health oral examination.

• Child mental health experience

60 hours of child mental health familiarisation can be gained through:

Either an observation placement such as CAMHS, mental health units, residential schools for children with special needs.

And/or students can acquire these hours through multidisciplinary working and systemic practice in their existing clinical placement/workplace. This involves taking part in discussions with mental health professionals, care experienced child reviews, case conferences, team around the child/family meetings etc.

• Child mental health oral

Student’s understanding of assessment, DSM-5 diagnosis and treatment will be evaluated in an oral examination based on an unseen client vignette. Students will be expected to make an assessment of the client, based on the information provided, offer a provisional DSM-5 diagnosis, and outline the treatment plan for how they would work with this client. The child mental health oral does not form part of the requirements for the award of the MATCAFT. It does form part of the requirements for UKCP registration.

2. Clinical practice

A total of 450 hours of supervised clinical practice is required for UKCP registration. Students will have obtained 200 hours of clinical practice during the MATCAFT, meaning a further 250 hours of clinical practice is required for UKCP registration. At the time of application, you must have a minimum of 4 clients per week and a minimum of 100 hours of clinical practice in the preceding 12 months.

3. Individual psychotherapy

A total of 160 hours of individual psychotherapy is required for UKCP registration, 90 hours of which must have been completed during the MATCAFT.

4. Sandplay oral examination

Student’s understanding of sandplay therapy will be assessed in a two-part oral examination including (a) a presentation of a client with whom they have worked with sandplay and (b) an evaluation of an unseen sand tray. The Sandplay oral does not form part of the requirements for the award of the MA. It does form part of CCPE’s requirements for UKCP registration.

Entry Requirements

The MATCAFT is suited to therapists who are already working therapeutically with children and young people and wish to gain a formal UKCP registration as a Child Psychotherapist as well as for individuals who are either qualified or completing their training as an adult psychotherapist and who wish to additionally achieve registration as a Child Psychotherapist.

Applicants will be considered who can demonstrate:

• Either a minimum of three years of a counselling or psychotherapy training and a minimum of 150 supervised hours of clinical practice
• Or a portfolio of extensive engagement in a professional career working with children and young people in a therapeutic capacity and evidencing a minimum of 5 years of experience. Applicants must evidence Continuing Professional Development (CPD) experience and training in areas relevant to psychotherapeutic work with children and young people.
• Substantial experience of personal psychotherapy
• Capacity to work at postgraduate academic level
• Personal maturity and a willingness to reflect deeply
• Interest in personal spiritual development
• Personal qualities and aptitude to work with vulnerable children and adolescents
• Clear Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check

Application and Interview Procedure

An initial interview with the MA Programme Director allows for candidates to find out more information about the training, as well as for them to be assessed for their suitability for the training. This interview can be arranged by contacting the MA Programme Administrator. It lasts 55 minutes and there is a fee of £60 for the interview.

Candidates considered suitable following the interview will be invited to apply by formally completing the application form.

Course Management

MA Course Director – Rebecca Hickman

MA Course Administrator – Tony McKeown

Teaching Staff

Elena Adams MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn.

Sara Anton             BSc, MPhil (Cantab), MA Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych, Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn.

Louise Bartel          BSc (Psychol), Dip. Couns. (Adolescents), MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Sand.

Dr Amit Biswas      MBBS, MRCPsych (Royal College of Psychiatrists), MDCH.

Tracey Brittain        BA, MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Sand., EMDR accredited.

Shaun Goodwin     BA, MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn.

Dawn Grantham    BA, MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Adv. Psych., Dip. Sand., Adv. Dip. Integrative Art., Dip. Supvn., EMDR accredited.

Rebecca Hickman  MA (Oxon.), MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn.

Dr Rabia Malik       MSc (Systemic Therapy), PhD (Psychology), Dip. Adv Psych.

Helen Randall        MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn.

Maria Storey Walker MA (Cantab.), MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Psych., Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn., Dip. Adv. Psych.

Fiona Walkingshaw  BA, MA (Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy), Dip. Sand., Dip. Supvn., Dip. (Somatic and Depth-psychology Psychotherapy), PG Dip. (Psychosynthesis Counselling)

Teaching staff are generally registered UKCP psychotherapists. Additional staff from CCPE and outside specialist trainers experienced in Child, Adolescent and Family Therapy are included when appropriate.

Please note: All content may be subject to change.

CCPE equal opportunities policy

CCPE promotes equal opportunities for students, clients and staff. CCPE is committed to a policy and practice where students' admission and assessment on the course will be determined only by personal merit and performance. No applicant as a student or for a staff appointment will be treated less favourably than another. CCPE does not discriminate on the grounds of nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, social class, disability, political, religious or spiritual persuasion or practice. CCPE promotes an Equal Opportunities and a Diversity Policy where students, staff and graduates recognise, respect and value the dignity and diversity of others. This statement also applies to all client practice.