The NWRPA is a not-for-profit association run by volunteers.
The Association was founded in 1982 by psychoanalytic psychotherapists working in the fledgling psychotherapy services of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
The main aims of the Association were to encourage the development of psychotherapy services and training within the North West Region of the NHS.
By the mid-1990’s the original aims of the NWRPA were achieved after the establishment of several organisations which had grown out of, or were related to, our Association.
The rapid development of psychotherapy in the North West Region of the NHS over the last thirty years now means the Association can devote itself to being an interest group, independent of clinical organisations and training bodies.
By constitution, tradition and consensus our identity as an interest group has remained constant over the past decade. What has changed is the professional affiliation and orientation of our members.
For many years most of our members were psychoanalytic psychotherapists. Now we are joined by Art Therapists, Counsellors, Music Therapists, NLP Therapists, Existential and Experiential Constructivist Psychotherapists.
This allows for a complex and creative dialogue around a shared fascination with the rich tradition of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and counselling.
For many years we have held annual symposia with noted psychoanalysts and psychotherapists. Previous speakers have included Patrick Casement, the Kleinian Donald Meltzer, the group analysts Malcolm and Dinorah Pines, and the Feminist analyst Juliet Mitchell.
Our monthly seminars moved from Manchester city centre to Chorlton, south Manchester, in 2013. Following the Covid pandemic we moved our meetings online in September 2020.
Each Zoom meeting is organised around a presentation that flows out of our shared interest in the theory and technique of counselling, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.
Our members’ interest in music, art, literature, politics and wider social issues are supported by these seminars.
You can see our programme on our events page.