Supporting medical students in medical psychotherapy
Below are some helpful resources for medical students with information about psychotherapy and what it is like to train as a Medical Psychotherapist.
There are many different kinds of psychotherapy, but Medical Psychotherapists usually train in the following main modalities:
- psychodynamic psychotherapy
- cognitive behavioural therapy
- systemic therapy.
Find out more about these modalities and psychotherapy in general
View our patient mental health information research on psychotherapies and psychological treatments
See a list of other organisations which provide training for different kinds of psychotherapy
Our 'Become a psychiatrist' section contains more information about what it's like to work in medical psychotherapy, including a video interview with a psychiatrist working in the specialty.
The College's Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy supports and promotes medical psychotherapy for medical students, trainees and consultants. Find out more about the medical psychotherapy faculty
To train as a Medical Psychotherapist you would complete your foundation training years and three years of core psychiatry training. Following this you can apply for specialty training in Medical Psychotherapy.
You'll find detailed information about the various training pathways in psychiatry in our 'Your training' section.
- Become a Student Associate – If you are a UK-based medical student interested in a career in psychiatry, your first step should be to become a Student Associate member of the College – it's free and there are lots of benefits.
- View the faculty newsletter – The Medical Psychotherapy Faculty newsletter contains all the latest goings-on from the Faculty and its members.
- Apply for the Psych Star Scheme – The College's Psych Star Scheme offers mentoring and financial support medical students to help further develop their interest in psychiatry and raise awareness of the specialty. The Medical Psychotherapy faculty has previously sponsored the Psych Star scheme, offering one place per year.
- Join a PsychSoc – Most medical schools have a Psychiatry Society ('PsychSoc') which can be a useful resource and networking opportunity for those interested in psychiatry. The College maintains a list of PsychSocs, or you may be able to make local enquiries at your university.
- Win the Essay Prize – The medical psychotherapy faculty offers an annual Medical Student Essay Prize.
- Chat with a Medical Psychotherapist – All hospital trusts will have designated Consultant Psychiatrists in Medical Psychotherapy who will likely be willing to discuss the training pathway with you. If you are unsure who these individuals are, please contact your university Psychiatry Lead for further information.
- Join a medical student Balint group – You may have opportunity to join a medical student Balint group at university. The Balint Society offers a group for medical students who have had some experience of being in a Balint group.
