This article is about the specialist institute route to train as a counsellor or psychotherapist If you have been thinking about training as a counsellor and want to understand what this route actually involves, here is what it looks like at Physis Scotland.

If you're curious about counselling training but not sure where to start, or what the full journey looks like, this post is for you. At Physis Scotland we offer a clear, step-by-step COSCA counselling training pathway - from your very first introduction to counselling skills all the way through to becoming a fully qualified and registered practitioner.

I have never experienced training like this. Physis welcomes you carefully, thoughtfully, and profoundly into the fold. You will grow, you will confront parts of yourself, and you will form deep and lasting connections. Your life may change in ways you never imagined possible.

When Sharon Baker began working with clients at end of life, she quickly realised something important: this was work she loved — and work for which there was very little specific training.

Rooted in the Cathexis approach to Transactional Analysis, these seminars focus on how early relational experiences shape adult patterns of relating, coping, and organising the self. Themes such as passivity, symbiosis, and defensive relational patterns are explored not as problems to be fixed, but as meaningful adaptations that continue to influence therapeutic relationships and clinical process.

Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychotherapy and counselling approach that helps us understand how people relate, communicate, and change - both with others and with themselves. One of TA’s strengths is that it’s clear and practical. The ideas are accessible early on, yet deep enough to support a lifetime of learning and clinical work. Many people find it immediately useful - in their work, relationships, and personal development.

The TA101 is designed as an introduction. Not a commitment to training as a therapist. Not a leap into a new profession. But a brief insight into how we relate as human beings – and why we do what we do.

TA Deep Dive seminar series offers space to slow down and think more deeply about clinical work.

Rebecca Elston CTA P, currently facilitating a fascinating ECO TA series of workshops at Physis Scotland reflects on the learnings....

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Personal Reflection of Foundation Year Vicki McLellan has just completed her Foundation Year in Transactional Analysis. Here Vicki...

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Describing the Room Foundation Year Student Gayle Rice has written a beautiful poem and first outlines her inspiration. As part of our...

Foundation Year Student Vicki McLellan shares the story of her journey into therapy and recovery, ultimately leading to her joining the Foundation Year with Physis Scotland. From the outside I looked like I had this thing we call life sorted … mum of three, wife and teacher. I was desperately hanging onto the façade covering my reality… I built walls around myself – barriers to keep me in check and very definite strategies driving me on and just about keeping me on the righ

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As we begin a New Year, Fiona Cook, Director of Training shares her reflections with us, acknowledging how tricky ‘putting a positive...