Master of Arts - Psychoanalytic Studies

This Essex course provides students with a thorough grounding in psychoanalytic theory through which to explore its application both to the clinical setting and to culture and society. Starting with the cultural milieu from which psychoanalysis emerged, students begin with Freud and follow on through the development of object relations, focusing on the ‘British School’, including theorists such as Klein, Winnicott, Bion and others.

By encouraging students' critical attitude, Essex fosters an engagement with psychoanalysis - both historically and comparatively - always keeping in mind its methodological link to the clinical experiences from which psychoanalysis itself was developed. Whether students work in the mental health field or have an interest in the application of psychoanalysis to groups, to literature, or to wider social and cultural issues, this programme offers a fantastic and lively opportunity for personal, academic and professional development.

Topics covered in the course include: reading Freud, psychoanalytic theory, psychoanalysis in contexts, psychoanalysis and the psychosocial, psychoanalytic epistemology, the psychic life of gender.

Students will develop key employability skills including thinking analytically, evaluation, essay-writing, research methods in psychoanalysis and an understanding of psychoanalytic thinking, applicable to clinical and academic work. Essex's course could lead students to study for a PhD in psychoanalytic studies or to work in a clinical or non-clinical setting.

Essex's Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies is internationally recognized as one of the leading departments for work that focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in mental health, as well as in culture and society generally. Their research and teaching is deeply grounded in knowledge deriving from clinical practice, to which the highest standards of academic thinking are then applied.

Essex's graduates go on to a number of different destinations, including further study and training in psychoanalysis, Jungian analysis, or psychoanalytic psychotherapy.