Resources

A collection of resources to aid with studying at the NSPC. Please get in touch with the Librarian ([email protected]) if you have any questions or comments about using these resources, or if you have any suggestions that you feel would be useful to add here.

Other Libraries, Catalogues and Resource Portals

PLUG     

The NSPC is part of the Psychotherapy Librarians Umbrella Group (PLUG) which connects librarians from London-based psychotherapy training institutes together. The benefit of which allows students from participating institutes to use the resources of other participating institutes for reference, reading and photocopying/scanning. Access is arranged by appointment via your institute's librarian so please contact your librarian if you wish to make use of this service.

The other participating institutes are:

  • The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families library  - A small, specialised collection housing over 3,000 classic and current books, and providing access to historical and current journal titles, in child and adolescent psychotherapy, parent-infant and family psychotherapy, and child development. It is situated in Maresfield Gardens, NW3.  
  • The British Psychoanalytical Society (incorporating the Institute of Psychoanalysis) Library  - Houses one of the largest collections of psychoanalytic material in the world. It has approximately 18,000 books and 100 journal titles (15 active), and is situated on the top floor of the Institute of Psychoanalysis in Maida Vale, W9.  
  • The British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF) Library  - Located in Kilburn, lists over 100 journals (12 current) and houses over 4,000 books covering psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, and psychoanalytic psychodynamic psychotherapy.  
  • The Library of the Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) and the Group Analytic Society International (GASi)  - Housed in the IGA premises in Daleham Gardens, NW3. It contains over 5,000 items including books and student and member papers, and holdings from some 50 journal titles. The main disciplines covered are group and individual psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis, psychiatry and the study of organizations.  
  • The Metanoia Institute  - Has a small library with a specialist collection of over 3,000 key and current books, journals and doctoral theses. It is situated in the North Common Road campus in Ealing, W5.  
  • The Minster Centre  - Situated in Lonsdale Road, NW6: it has 3,000 books and subscribes to 8 journals. More information is available on request.  
  • The Library of the Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP)  - Situated in Daleham Gardens, NW3: it has 6,000 books, subscribes to 6 journals and produces the Journal of Analytical Psychology. The main disciplines covered are analytical psychology and psychoanalysis with a wide variety of texts on psychotherapy, child analysis, neuroscience etc. The library was set up in 1946.  
  • The WPF Therapy Library  - Evolved from previous libraries at Maria Assumpta Convent and Heythrop College, Kensington, becoming an independent entity on WPF’s move to London Bridge in 2008. It is primarily intended to serve students and tutors on WPF training courses. The main disciplines covered by the library collections are psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, counselling, group analytic psychotherapy, analytical psychology (Jungian studies), CBT, and short term therapy. Access to Athens resources, notably PEP, is enabled through affiliation with Roehampton University.  

The British Library     

The British Library website is a fantastic resource for many areas of study, including:

  • EThOS - Search over 380,000 doctoral theses. Some universities will pay the costs of digitisation and scanning so their theses will be free to download; others will require payment. 
  • Reader access - If you satisfy the criteria you can register as a reader which will give you reference-only access to the library. Be aware that you will need to demonstrate a valid reason for using the collections (i.e. that the British Library is the only place to obtain that resource). You will also be required to show proof of identity and address.
  • Library catalogue - The BL's catalogue lets you search through 56 million records. Readers can request items online which will save time when visiting in person. 
  • BLDSS - British Library Document Supply Service. If you know the specific chapter / article of the book or journal you require, you can order it from the BL. It can be expensive to use however depending on how quickly you need the material and whether you require a print or digital copy. 

Senate House Library / BPS Library 

The BPS collections merged with Senate House in 2014 to create one of the largest psychology collections nationally. BPS chartered and graduate members can join with reference-only access for free; BPS student members are eligible for the discounted rate which includes a borrowing allowance of 10 items. 

Institute of Psychoanalysis 

By arrangement through Middlesex, NSPC doctoral students are eligible to use the Institute of Psychoanalysis Library for reference-only access. Contact the Middlesex psychology subject librarian to arrange an appointment. 

Wellcome Library 

A world-leading library in the history of health and medicine. It’s free to register as a member (upon showing proof of identity and address) for a 5-year library card. Not only does membership give you access to the Wellcome Library collections, including their vast archives and manuscripts, but you can use subscription journal databases (including Web of Science, JSTOR, SCOPUS, Zetoc and more).

The library’s collections are extensive and include psychology, psychiatry, therapy and all kinds of related areas. A huge amount of material is currently being digitised and can be browsed online.

Swiss Cottage Library  

The Swiss Cottage public library (free to use) prides itself in its special philosophy and psychology collection, most of which is available to borrow. It states that “subjects covered in the special collection include aesthetics, ethics, psychoanalysis, including standard editions of Freud and Jung, psychology, continental philosophy and works of Wittgenstein. Reference works include the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 

Copac   

Search across 90 libraries in the UK and Ireland, including national, subject-specialist and academic libraries. Copac is also useful to check bibliographic information for items. 

Google Scholar  

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature, including: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
Note that many of the journals will not be Open Access, and you may only be able to access an abstract without paying for the enitire article. However, it can be useful in helping you locate material that you may be able to access elsewhere, as many book records link to public and university library catalogues. 

Academia.edu  

A platform for academics to share research papers. A great way to follow scholars in your field, find downloadable material, bookmark research papers and request copies direct from the author.

Blogging.com  

A useful guide on how to start a psychology blog and how this can help students and practitioners get noticed in their field and further their careers.