Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) Supervisor Training - Part 1

This training is for those qualifying as DIT supervisors as well as any existing DIT supervisors who want to top up their skills and meet their ongoing CPD requirements as DIT supervisors.

Newly-qualifying DIT supervisors must attend all three days unless they have demonstrable psychodynamic supervision experience; existing DIT supervisors must attend at least one day a year.

Download 'Becoming a dynamic interpersonal therapy supervisor' for more information.

Experienced Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) practitioners have a unique opportunity with Anna Freud Centre to enhance your professional development by becoming a qualified DIT supervisor.

Candidates receive specialist teaching and supervision in providing both individual and group DIT supervision as well as conveying the requisite knowledge and skills needed to facilitate supervision of DIT trainees and qualified DIT practitioners.

Please note that the course does not have a set start date. Once you been approved to train as a DIT supervisor, you then move to close supervision of two cases at your own pace. There are training days for supervisors that run through the year with more information about this below.

Successful completion of the supervision course will result in being awarded a certificate by Anna Freud and become a recognised DIT supervisor. Furthermore, qualified DIT supervisors will have access to ongoing CPD supervisor events and will join a network of DIT supervisors in providing a high standard of supervisory practice to a growing global community of DIT clinicians.

There is a requirement for all DIT supervisors to attend at least one CPD event in supervision through the year to maintain your qualifications. This can be achieved by attending a supervisor’s course at Anna Freud, teaching a DIT course or shadowing one of the DIT training days.

Becoming a supervisor requires a good working knowledge of the DIT approach and we recommend that you allow at least a year after qualifying as a DIT practitioner to consolidate your knowledge of the DIT model.

Applicants must have at least one year’s experience providing general supervision in high intensity NHS Talking Therapies work (or equivalent for those not working in an NHS primary care setting) that demonstrates your ability to apply generic and specific supervision competences (see more information here).

If you have not had a chance to acquire supervision experience to date, please detail your related and equivalent experience in your service and elsewhere, for example, leadership, management and mentoring experience, peer supervision. This will be considered together with the supporting letters detailed below, on a case-by-case basis

To apply, please submit the following to us via email:

1. A letter of support from an accredited DIT supervisor who has experience of your clinical work towards qualifying as a DIT therapist; and

2. A letter of support from your line manager who is familiar with your supervision experience.

Once you are given the go-ahead, you may be able to secure NHS funding for supervisor training, or you can privately fund your accreditation. You will then need to secure a supervisor for these additional training requirements.

We recommend where possible that supervisors-in-training work with a new supervisor for this stage.

There is a list of accredited supervisors on our website. Where there has been a change in supervisor, we recommend that supervisors make contact by way of handover to obtain some feedback and identify focal areas for further training.

If disagreements occur with decisions made in supervision regarding a supervisor-in-training’s progress, a consultation procedure is accessible at any stage of the accreditation process.

1. Successful completion of two further supervised cases, including two recordings rated from each case to demonstrate a secure working knowledge of the model. In each case, an IPAF session will be watched and rated, with a middle and ending phase from alternate cases. Your supervisor will select which recordings to rate, and you are expected to record all sessions of these training cases. At least one of these two cases must be seen in person. We strongly recommend that your recordings are audio-visual video recordings, particularly if you have come through the 20-Day DIT training route.

You are expected to demonstrate a more advanced level of competence than when first training as a DIT practitioner. Both clinical cases need to demonstrate your ability to work independently as a DIT practitioner. Any major difficulties in working with the model at this stage would usually suggest that more input is required before completing the supervisor stage of training. This could be a further period of supervised practice, additional reading, more training and so on.

2. Close supervision of at least two DIT supervisees, one of whom must be training to be a DIT practitioner through either the 20-Day or 5-Day routes. The other supervisee can be someone who is already qualified and requires CPD supervision. Preferably, one of the supervisions is of a small group and the other of an individual. In order to become a fully accredited DIT supervisor, you need to meet both of these criteria. If you are unable to do so and are concerned about delays in your DIT supervisor training, please get in touch with us at so that we can explore ways of supporting your training requirements. You are expected to find your own supervisees through your NHS service, and/or by advertising on our website as a supervisor-in-training (typically at a reduced rate while qualifying). If you need further support to source trainee DIT practitioners, please contact us to discuss this further.

3. At the end of this process, the supervisor who oversaw the supervisor-intraining’s work is required to write to us to advise that all supervisory requirements are complete.

4. During the first six months of working as a DIT supervisor-in-training, you should arrange six hourly consultations of your supervision work from your agreed DIT supervisor. This could be spread out as six hours across the six months, or half an hour a fortnight. The consultations are a chance to bring a) any issues that have arisen in the supervision, and b) your feedback sent to supervisees regarding assessed sessions that include using (i) the competence rating scale and (ii) feedback around the goodbye letter. There is no requirement to record supervision sessions and present these to your supervisor. The consultations need to cover the key areas of evaluating sessions and providing feedback as a required competence of the process. If your supervisee drops out of the training before reaching this stage, you will need to get another supervisee in training to meet this component.

5. Attendance at the required DIT Supervisor workshops across the year that teaches particular aspects of DIT supervision including using the competence framework, refining aspects of the DIT model in supervision, offering group supervision and contracting for supervision.

a) The first workshop is intended to prepare you for taking on supervisees including contracting with supervisees and rating sessions using the revised competence framework. You should aim to do this in advance of taking on supervisees (while coming to the end of supervision of your own second case). b.

b) The second workshop should be undertaken once you have begun taking on supervisees of your own. Alongside this are the six one-hourly consultations of your supervision with your DIT supervisor.

c. The third required workshop is a general workshop open to all DIT supervisors which should be attended at any point once you have begun supervising clinicians. Supervisors-in-training are expected to attend all three days unless they can demonstrate substantial previous psychodynamic supervision experience, in which case they are required to attend one of the three days on offer. Please note the timing of these days so that you can plan ahead when best to attend these in relation to your supervision training.

If you are interested in becoming a DIT trainer, please discuss this with your supervisor and then register your interest with Anna Freud once you have some experience as a DIT supervisor.

There is a protocol of shadowing a DIT training before becoming a DIT trainer that involves covering the 5-Day DIT training in full or a set number of days on the 20-Day DIT training.

This training is run in person and online (check the specific dates to understand the format the training will be delivered in.)

The online platform, Zoom will be used to deliver online training. Prior to booking, please ensure you meet the system requirements so you can join this training session, to test your equipment visit Zoom.us/test and follow the instructions.

Upon booking, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept our terms and conditions and our privacy notice. Please read these documents before booking:

• Terms and conditions

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