Connexus Institute

It's a penultimate weekend here at Connexus Institute - the penultimate one of the year for our Stage Two (b) 3rd-year students before they move into the 4th year in September, and the penultimate weekend of the current Diploma in Supervision course. Huge thanks to all the tutors this weekend and skills assessors: Liz Bingham, Patrick Brook, Alana Burton Kieran Mac Feely, Carol Pearson, Carole Stilwell & Anita Webster

Anita and Patrick's next supervision course starts in October 2026.

Check out all we have to offer on our website.

A quick snapshot of some of our weekday foundation year students, caught just before they headed back into class.

It's easy to forget that training doesn't only happen in evenings and weekends. Our Foundation weekday option suits a lot of people, and it's always good to see that group building something together over the course of the year.

If you've been wondering whether foundation year training might fit around your life, you can find out more at https://www.connexusinstitute.com/our-courses/psychotherapy-counselling-training/course/stage-one-foundation-in-transactional-analysis-theory-13/

Are you thinking about training? We'd love to hear where you're at.

There's a friendship most of us have had at some point: the one where you're always on duty. Listening, steadying, propping things up. And you keep showing up, because that's what you do, because it feels kind, because walking away feels worse.

Transactional Analysis has a name for the pattern underneath it. The Drama Triangle maps three roles we slide between, Rescuer, Persecutor and Victim, and none of them are quite as they appear on the surface. The Rescuer position feels generous, and often genuinely is. But it carries a quiet assumption about the other person's helplessness. And it has a payoff for the person doing the rescuing too: feeling needed, feeling good, having somewhere to put your attention that isn't your own life.

The seat is comfortable, until it isn't. At some point the unthanked helper tips into resentment or martyrdom, and the roles rotate. That weary, faintly used feeling is the tell. Not a sign the friendship is failing, but a sign that a triangle has been turning.

The move isn't to cut someone off in a flush of self-protection. It's quieter than that: noticing which corner you keep landing in, recognising the pull to rescue as something that belongs to you, and wondering what a more level, honest exchange might actually look like. That's usually where the real friendship starts.

Find out more about the ideas we work with at connexusinstitute.com

Has this pattern ever shown up in your own friendships or your work with clients? We'd love to hear what you notice.

There's a moment in a conversation where something shifts, and you can't quite put your finger on why. Someone withdraws. A small comment lands harder than it should. A pattern you've seen a hundred times plays out again, almost as if it was scripted.

Transactional Analysis gives you a way of understanding those moments. Not as abstract theory, but as something you can actually see happening, in real time, in ordinary life.

The TA 101 is a two-day introduction to TA, running most months here in Brighton and Hove. It's an internationally recognised course in its own right, and it's also the starting point for anyone thinking about further training in counselling or psychotherapy. But plenty of people come simply because they want to understand themselves and the people around them a little better. That's more than enough reason.

It's the kind of course that tends to make people look back at their relationships, their working life, even their childhood, and think: oh. That makes sense now.

If you're curious, you can find out more and register at connexusinstitute.com/ta101.

We'd love to hear from you, too. Is there a pattern in your own conversations or relationships that you've always wondered about? Share it in the comments.

We're pleased to share that Bridging into Organisational Work Using TA is now open for expressions of interest.

This is a twelve-day professional diploma, running across six two-day modules in Hove from January to July 2027, led by Vanessa Williams, MBA, CTA (O), TSTA (O).

It's designed for experienced therapeutic practitioners with a grounding in TA who are drawn to organisational work but aren't sure how to make the move. Coaching, consultancy, facilitation, leadership development, training. There's a wide field out there, and this programme offers a structured, supported way in.

Vanessa brings her own extensive background in executive coaching, OD and leadership development to the teaching, alongside her experience as a TSTA (O).

If this has been on your mind, it might be worth a look.

Find out more at https://www.connexusinstitute.com/our-courses/professional-development-courses/course/bridging-into-organisational-work-using-ta/

We are so proud at Connexus of having such an inspirational tutor team - educators with significant clinical specialism. Many thanks to Justine James and .burgess.56 for your holding of our weekend Foundation Year groups - the penultimate weekend for them for this year. Huge thanks to Helena Hargaden for being the guest tutor for one of our 4th year groups this weekend and THEIR penultimate weekend.

We are loving being part of Pride Month at Connexus Institute.

Every month, but this June particularly feels like a time to say openly: inclusion matters. Not just as a value written somewhere, but in how we try to show up, in our training, our community, and the work we do together.

Psychotherapy has a complicated history with LGBTQ+ people. The field has caused real harm. It's also changed, slowly and unevenly, and there's still more to do, in training, in theory, in how we think about identity and experience in the therapy room.

We're glad to be part of a profession that keeps asking those questions.

Find out more about who we are and what we stand for at connexusinstitute.com.

We'd love to hear from you: how does Pride Month land for you in your practice or training? Is it something that comes up with clients, or in supervision? Share your thoughts below.

Lovely to welcome Kerryn Bell as an honorary guest in Patrick's Advanced CPD group today. As Managing Director of UKATA - UK Association for Transactional Analysis , Kerryn is creating time and space to visit all the Registered Training Establishments in the UKATA network and we were very thankful for her insightful presence and thoughtful curiosity. We managed to grab a quick pic at the end with Hulya and Patrick.

A lot of therapists feel uneasy about marketing, and understandably so. It can feel at odds with the kind of work we do.

Charlotte Alikhani's latest piece on the Connexus blog looks at why Google Ads are becoming a more common choice for practitioners, and how they can be a straightforward, ethical way to help the right clients find you, without needing to become a marketing expert to do it.

Worth a read if you've ever wondered whether there's a way to grow your practice that doesn't feel like selling yourself.

Read the article: connexusinstitute.com

Has marketing your practice ever felt like an uncomfortable subject? We'd love to hear how others have approached it.

Read more: https://www.connexusinstitute.com/about-us/blog/article/why-more-therapists-are-turning-towards-google-ads/

We're so pleased to share that our colleague Nicki Wisbey has recently become a Provisional Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst in the psychotherapy field, PTSTA (P). It's a significant achievement and one we're genuinely delighted to celebrate with her.

Nicki is now available to offer TA supervision, and describes her approach as a reflective, supportive and collaborative space to explore the many facets of being a therapist. That includes clinical practice, professional development, relational dynamics, and the richness and complexity of therapeutic work itself. If you're looking for supervision with someone who has trained deeply in transactional analysis, Nicki can be contacted at [email protected].

Please join us in congratulating her. Moments like this remind us how much goes into reaching this kind of milestone, years of study, practice, and personal reflection.