Grant Funding
In order to increase the provision of therapy to refugee communities, the Refugee Therapy Centre (RTC) has created a fund to offer financial support to trainees who are accepted for training to become psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychodynamic therapeutic counsellors in the UK, and who could go on to serve the refugee and asylum seekers communities. Applicants should either be refugees themselves or should speak languages that would allow them to serve refugee and asylum seeker communities. Members of other marginalised communities may also be considered for funding. The aim of the fund is to support students and trainees from these groups in the workforce, enabling them to contribute to the future of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic counselling, and to serve the communities which they represent.
Applications will reopen between in June 2025.
Grants are available for CPJA-UKCP and BPC-accredited training courses taking place between September 2025 and April 2026. Recipients of grants this year may be able to apply for the following year/s of their training.
Eligibility and requirements
To be eligible, you must:
EITHER be a refugee, providing your Leave to Remain document.
OR speak a language that would be used by refugees or asylum seekers, for example, French, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Turkish. This could be evidenced either by qualifications in that language or at interview.
(If fewer applications are made from refugees in these communities than are available in any given year, the RTC Trustees may also consider applications from other under-represented groups including people who have Black and ethnic, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with a disability or those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, non-binary and/or transgender.)
AND be a registered student or trainee member and enrolled in a accredited course. Applicants must ensure that their training organisation provides a statement of support and that two professional references are obtained. These could be from a supervisor, an academic tutor, a personal therapist or mentor, a previous employer or anyone knowing the applicant in a professional capacity.
Applicants will be expected to provide a covering letter that shows evidence of a genuine commitment to the psychoanalytic psychotherapy or psychodynamic counselling or psychotherapeutic counselling profession.
The award of funds towards training fees will be considered on a case by case basis and will be paid directly to the training organisation. Those who have completed all parts of their training are not eligible to apply.
How to apply
If you meet the eligibility criteria above and would like to apply for an RTC Bursary, you need to:
send your covering letter, references, statement of support and proof of your ability to meet the eligibility requirements to officeadmin@refugeetherapy.org.uk before the deadline.
How applications will be assessed
Applications will be considered and assessed by the Trustees of the RTC. All applicants will be notified by email of the outcome of their application and, if successful, the amount the RTC has awarded in August 2025.
If your application is successful, the award will be paid directly to your training organisation via bank transfer and will go towards the fee for your training. No payments will be made directly to applicants.
Key dates
June 2025 - applications reopen
July 2025 - applications close
August 2025 - applicants notified of the outcome