Study trauma-informed psychotherapy at Sydney
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Find out moreWe are ranked 18th in the world for medicine in the QS Subject Rankings 2020.
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This course is available to be studied in several different study modes, including online or face-to-face. Check study modes offered in the 'course details’ section below.
In response to COVID-19, the University of Sydney has also reviewed the availability of the face-to-face version of this course, and this will be available for students to study remotely whilst the Australian border remains closed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
About this course
The Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy) teaches an approach that helps people with personality or anxiety disorders, dysthymia, chronic depression, somatisation and other conditions in which trauma is a contributing factor.
The program is designed to train clinicians to treat people for whom chronic, complex trauma has played a contributing role in the development of psychological disorders or stress, or where conventional psychotherapies have failed. It uses an evidence-based approach to psychodynamic psychotherapy and offers supervised training across the different lengths of treatment, from acute to brief and longer term, suitable for public and private settings.
This course is suitable for psychiatry registrars, CMOs and psychiatrists, general practitioners or other medical practitioners who wish to develop a career in psychotherapy or as psychotherapists. It has been designed to meet the needs of clinicians for training in both shorter and longer forms of psychotherapy and for trauma-informed care in relation to all mental health services.
The program is delivered in close liaison with the Western Sydney Local Health District and practising clinicians to ensure that the skills taught are practical and relevant to real-world psychotherapy practice settings. Clinical content includes short and longer-term interventions and the integration of psychotherapy with other treatment modalities.
Designed for busy working doctors, the structure of this degree is flexible and allows you to pace your study and tailor your learning to your needs and interests.
For academic requirements check the ‘Admission requirements’ section on this page.
You can apply online via the application portal. When you are ready to apply, select the ‘Apply’ button on this course page. Visit the How to apply page for other important information.
Applications are made directly to the University and assessed by the Faculty and include an interview.
Closing dates
Semester 1 - 31 January of the commencing year
We strongly encourage applicants to apply as early as possible, offers are made on a rolling basis and places are limited. Separate scholarship deadlines apply - check the scholarships website for details.
Semester 1 (February)
You can apply online via the application portal. When you are ready to apply, select the ‘Apply’ button on this course page. Visit the How to apply page for other important information.
Not available to student visa holders or to offshore international students. International students in Australia on other visas with study rights may apply.
Applications are made directly to the University and assessed by the Faculty and include an interview.
Closing dates
Semester 1 - 15 January of the commencing year
We strongly encourage international applicants to apply as early as possible to allow time for visa and travel arrangements. Separate scholarship deadlines may apply - check the scholarships website for details.
Semester 1 (February)
The graduate diploma program requires the completion of 36 credit points of units of study including:
You will complete this course part-time, usually over two years, and the course structure allows for a slower progression and longer time completion if necessary.
Explore the Medicine and Health Postgraduate Handbook to learn more about what you will study as part of this degree:
Admission to the Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy) requires a medical degree from the University of Sydney or equivalent qualification; and
The academic requirements that are displayed are applicable to currently available courses only, and are updated annually and may be changed without notice.
For more information about the University’s credit policy, please see the Credit for Previous Studies page.
The trauma-informed psychotherapy program is available through two pathways - the Master of Medicine (for medical graduates), and the Master of Science in Medicine (for non-medical graduates). The programs are embedded, allowing you to step from one to the next at your own pace.
Available to medical graduates:
Available to non-medical graduates:
Year one of the program will equip clinicians with fundamental knowledge and skills in providing psychodynamic psychotherapy, focussing on ultra-brief psychotherapy, and short-term interventions and Trauma-Informed Care (TIC). Students who have enrolled in the graduate certificate will exit at this point.
Students who enrol in the graduate diploma will complete another year of coursework that includes an introduction to research methods as well as training and supervision in the longer form of psychotherapy.
Masters students will complete a third and final year of coursework, that includes the capstone units, culminating in a scholarly paper while completing a final year of training and supervision in longer-term psychotherapy.
On completion of the requirements for the graduate diploma, students may be eligible to transfer to the master's degree.
Upon successful completion of the Master of Medicine (Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy) graduates will have achieved proficiency as psychotherapists to the point of gaining professional recognition with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy (ANZAP). Please note that concurrent personal psychotherapy during training and further supervision post qualification is necessary for full membership of ANZAP.
Outstanding graduates may be eligible to pursue a higher degree by research in the following courses:
A research degree provides students with the opportunity to prepare a substantial piece of work which represents a significant contribution in a particular field of study and to gain transferable skills in general research methodology.
Learn more about our research degrees and research capability.
We offer a wide range of short professional development courses for health professionals. Many of the courses offered are pre-accredited for Continuing Medical Education (CME) points, and other courses may be awarded CME points on request to your relevant association or professional body.
Learn more about short courses in medicine
The Graduate Diploma of Medicine (Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy) aims to train clinicians to deal effectively in a trauma-informed and specific way with people presenting for psychotherapy, including those suffering from psychological disorders not aided by the more traditional psychotherapies.
Contemporary psychotherapy teaches techniques that aim to improve mental health and well-being for those with personality disorders, traumatic and dissociative disorders, anxiety disorders, dysthymia, chronic depression, somatisation and conditions in which chronic complex trauma is a contributing factor. It also offers a broad person-centred and trauma-informed approach in many other acute, brief and ongoing conditions and treatment settings where psychological factors are important and a good therapeutic alliance is crucial.
The therapeutic approach is based on the Conversational Model, but also incorporates concepts from other schools and theories including self-psychology, intersubjectivity, development, attachment, trauma and memory systems and neuroscience. These ideas are all centred on concepts of the self, notions of boundary formation, the empathic mode of listening, a focus on subjective experience, and unconscious traumatic memory systems. All are informed by practice and emerging neuroscience.
Our graduates and affiliates have become leaders and change champions in this area.
