About the Institute

We are a child psychotherapeutic training and research Institute, attached to Childhood First, that is unique in its approach and facilities. We are known for pioneering best practice in specialist clinical psychotherapeutic care, in order to nurture and rehabilitate acutely disturbed children and young people. We offer a fully immersive clinical training.

iST Institute objectives:

  1. To promote the needs of seriously disturbed children and young people, and the role of applied psychotherapies such as Integrated Systemic Therapy in meeting those needs.
  2. To offer the highest quality of in-depth psychotherapeutic education and training to meet the complex needs of seriously disturbed children and their families.
  3. To promote and undertake research into iST and other psychotherapeutic treatments for seriously disturbed children and their families.
  4. To continually develop and improve the effectiveness of iST as a method and its application in practice.

iST Institute History

  • The iST Institute was established to recognise the potential of Integrated Systemic Therapy to meet increasing levels of psychological need amongst children and young people.
  • The charity is over 100 years old, having originally been established to look after and rehabilitate East London’s troubled adolescents. 
  • Since 1998, our psychotherapeutic training programs have been formalized and accredited with Middlesex University, offering work-based training with a pathway from foundation to postgraduate and MA levels.   
  • Our iST training is professionally and clinically accredited by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, so that we can offer trainees career qualifications as Child Psychotherapists or Child Psychotherapeutic Counsellors.   

Academic and Clinical Accreditation

iST Institute training is accredited academically by Middlesex University.

iST Institute training is accredited clinically by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).