Physis Scotland

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Physis Scotland

Providing excellence in counselling & psychotherapy training. Nationally recognised qualifications.

We provide fun, fascinating and individually focused training in counselling and psychotherapy. We will enable you to become the best counsellor or psychotherapist that you can be.

28/05/2026

This evening we finished our Cathexis workshop series delivered by Hanna Konoplianyk PTSTA-P.

Thank you to Hanna and to everyone who participated so thoughtfully along the way. Here is Hanna’s beautiful reflection as the series came to a close:

“As the Cathexis series comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on what an important and challenging journey this has been for me personally and professionally.

Preparing for this series was not straightforward. I was very aware of the controversy, trauma, and ethical concerns connected to the development of the Cathexis school and its history within Transactional Analysis. At different points, I found myself asking difficult questions: Is it better to leave these theories in the past and quietly bury them? Or is there value in examining what went wrong, acknowledging harm, and learning from it?

It feels to me that only relatively recently the TA community has begun to more courageously engage with these questions and to acknowledge parts of our collective shadow. Many Cathexis concepts have continued to be widely used and influential, often without much recognition of the historical and ethical context surrounding their development.

What I appreciated most throughout this series was the opportunity to co-create something thoughtful together with participants. I deeply valued the openness, curiosity, and willingness to explore ethics, power dynamics, and responsibility alongside the theory itself. For me, an important part of this process was asking how we can engage with concepts critically and ethically, while holding TA ethical principles and our shared values in mind.

I leave this series feeling grateful for the conversations, reflections, and collective thinking that emerged along the way.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the process.”

You can find out more about our upcoming CPD workshops and training on our website. Link in the comments ⬇️

27/05/2026

There is still time to book your place at Hanna's workshop tomorrow on working with self-reparenting and spot reparenting.

Link to book in the comments.

26/05/2026

Another rich and thoughtful weekend with our Foundation Year students at Physis Scotland as they gathered for their penultimate weekend. Together with their trainers Fiona Firman PTSTA-P, Fiona Cook PTSTA-P and Kate Simpson CTA-P, the group explored contracting, escape hatch closure, and endings in therapy. 🌞

These are topics that ask for both courage and care. Throughout the weekend students reflected on the importance of clarity in therapeutic relationships, the meaning behind commitment and safety, and the emotional complexity that endings can hold for both client and therapist.

Alongside the teaching there was space for discussion, reflection, and shared learning as the group continued to deepen their understanding of relational work. ❤️

25/05/2026

What do people think about the training at Physis Scotland? This is what Anna, one of the current students has to say:

"From the outset I felt a strong sense of community there. It doesn't feel like you're just attending a course, but that you're part of something where you are known and supported as both a student and a person."

It's not something we could promise in a prospectus. It's something that has to be experienced, and it's something we work hard to create.

The Foundation Certificate in Transactional Analysis is delivered in person in Edinburgh over weekends (roughly 1 per month). The small group you train with becomes, over the course of the year, one of the most significant parts of the experience.

Now taking applications for September 2026 - link in first comment for more details on the course and how to book. You can also sign up for one of our online TA Tasters - a short session where you can ask questions and meet the team.

24/05/2026

Some of the most powerful work in therapy happens at the level of the story a client carries about themselves, the one that formed early, that feels like fact, and that shapes everything that comes after.

Self-Reparenting and Spot Reparenting are two approaches in Cathexis TA for working with this material. They offer a way of understanding how developmental gaps form, what they need, and how, carefully, ethically, and with attention to the client's own process, the therapeutic relationship can become part of the repair.

Thursday's online workshop is part of the Cathexis TA series, facilitated by Hanna Konoplianyk PTSTA(P).

Through teaching, clinical examples and group discussion, participants will explore the theoretical foundations of both approaches, their practical applications in contemporary practice, and the ethical and intersectional considerations that should guide their use.

Workshop 4/4: Rewriting the Inner Story: Self-Reparenting and Spot Reparenting in Therapy. Thursday 28 May, 6–8pm, Online, £25 Link to book in comments.

22/05/2026

If you've been thinking about training as a psychotherapist, the question most people arrive at is the same one: where do I actually start, and what does the whole journey look like?

It's not always easy to find a clear, honest answer to that. Most information about psychotherapy training tells you about the qualification. We've written a blog that explains the shape of the journey from beginning to end, and what each stage looks like; what the psychotherapy route at Physis Scotland involves, what you're working toward at each stage, and what kind of commitment it takes.

Its written for people who are considering this seriously and want a clear picture before they decide. Link in comments.

21/05/2026

What changes when we allow mortality into the conversation?

It’s an uncomfortable question for many people. We are often encouraged to keep death at a distance, like something belonging somewhere else, somewhere later. Yet in therapy rooms, care settings, and ordinary life, conversations about dying and endings are already quietly present beneath the surface.

Sometimes speaking about death brings fear, other times grief, and in some moments relief.

And sometimes, unexpectedly, it brings clarity.

The kind of clarity that reshapes priorities and people begin speaking more honestly about relationships, regrets, love, time, and what truly matters to them. Small irritations lose their grip. Long avoided truths suddenly feel harder to ignore. Mortality can sharpen our sense of what is precious, unfinished, or deeply alive.

It does not necessarily make life easier, but it can make it more real.

As practitioners, how prepared are we to stay present in these conversations?

At Physis Scotland, we will be exploring these themes more deeply in our upcoming course, Exploring Death, Dying, and the End of Life Client, led by Sharon Baker CTA-P, on Saturday 30th May, 10am to 5pm. Link in the comments 👇🏻

20/05/2026

Are you at the point in your counselling or psychotherapy career where you are thinking about moving into supervision?

Whether you're already supervising informally and want a rigorous theoretical framework, or you're an experienced practitioner ready to add supervision to your practice, our Advanced Diploma in Counselling Supervision is designed for exactly this stage of your career.

The programme is integrative - drawing on TA philosophy alongside a wide range of supervisory models, developmental and task-focused, and aligned with the BACP Supervision Core Competencies. Delivered in-person over 10 days, it covers everything from contracting and ethics to group supervision, creative supervision, diversity and inclusion, and also the development of your own philosophy and identity as a supervisor. You'll leave with a real sense of who you are in the supervisory role as well as the skills to supervise.
It's COSCA Validated, with Advanced Specialist recognition from the NCPS.

To apply you'll need a minimum of two years post-Diploma experience, at least 450 hours of counselling or psychotherapy practice, and the opportunity to supervise at least two supervisees during the course. A knowledge of TA is advantageous but not required. The course starts October 2026. Applications now open.
Link in first comment

19/05/2026

Our Advanced Year 3 students gathered for their penultimate training weekend at Physis Scotland, spending two rich days exploring neuroscience alongside the wonderful Andy Williams TSTA-P.

Together they explored the brain, the autonomic nervous system, memory, Polyvagal Theory, and the many ways neuroscience can deepen our understanding of human experience and therapeutic relationship.

The weekend was filled with thoughtful discussion, creative exercises, reflection, and even some outdoor exploration, allowing learning to move beyond the classroom walls and into lived experience.

Thank you to all for a weekend full of curiosity, connection, creativity, and meaningful learning together.❤️

18/05/2026

Growth is not always what we expect it to be.

We tend to picture it as a clear line forward: learning something, adding it to what we know, moving on. But in practice, and particularly in therapy training, it often doesn't feel that way.

Growth can arrive sideways. It turns up in a conversation you weren't prepared for, or in a moment of sitting with something uncomfortable, or in the realisation that you understand yourself a little differently than you did before.

At Physis Scotland, we don't try to smooth that over. We think the uncertainty is part of it. The stretch, the not-knowing, the willingness to stay with the process even when it isn't tidy - these aren't obstacles to development. They are the development.

We work with small groups. We create space for reflection alongside rigorous theory. And we trust that when people are genuinely held in their learning, something real happens - even if it doesn't look the way they expected.

Growth beyond imagination. That's our strapline, and we mean it. The kind of development that happens often surprises people: in what they discover about themselves, and in how far that reaches.

17/05/2026

If you've been thinking about counselling or psychotherapy training - but haven't quite taken the step - our free TA Taster is designed for you.

It's a 2.5 hour online evening session where you'll get a genuine introduction to Transactional Analysis, meet the Physis team and current students, and get a real sense of what training at Physis Scotland looks and feels like.

People come with all kinds of questions. What is TA and how does it differ from other approaches? What does the training pathway look like? Is this the right direction for me? You'll leave with a much clearer sense of the answers.

Whether you're considering TA101, the Foundation Certificate, or the full Diploma - this is the natural place to start.

Our next Taster is on Tuesday 2 June, 6pm - 8.30pm, Online via Zoom, Free to register.
Link in first comment

Address

22 Drumsheugh Gardens
Edinburgh
EH37RN

Website

https://www.physisscotland.co.uk/, https://www.physisscotland.co.uk/ta-101-understanding-you-me-us, https://www.physissc

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