Biddy Arnott learned her analytical skills at Halliwick Hospital in North London during the 1960s and 70s. This was a psychodynamic therapeutic community where group therapy was the main method of treatment. It fired a long intellectual and emotional curiosity of what happens at the interface between individuals, the group and the therapist. This curiosity led to a BSc (Hons) in Sociology specialising in Medical Sociology.
In the 1980s Biddy worked at Hackney hospital as Head of the psychiatric Day Hospital for 13 years. Hackney was attractive because of the challenge of its lively, diverse and sometimes conflicting groups and where psychotherapy was not traditionally the first method of treatment. This meant that the treatment had to be flexible. Here she learned to work with individuals, groups, families and couples - sometimes at the same time. She also set up courses on counselling for hospital staff, set up drop in centres, consulted to the GP practices, managed staff teams both on the wards and in the community.
At this time the Society of Analytical Psychology seemed an obvious individual analytic training as it offered a flexible, creative and yet rigorous Jungian framework and also incorporated the Freudian model of development. She is now a Jungian analyst and a professional member of the Society of Analytical Psychology. She also trained with the Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) and now works as a training analyst and is a core member of staff on the Glasgow diploma course of the IGA. She has supervised and taught on many psychotherapy and counselling courses.
In the 1990s Biddy began a private practice and trained as a group analyst with the Institute of Group Analysis and is now a Training Analyst with the Institute.
She has worked as a clinical manager in the NHS managing teams of workers both on hospital site and in the community. She set up courses, workshops and consultancies helping disciplines to work together. She is still interested in groups working together and has worked with the Royal Free Day Hospital staff group and is currently working with Core Trust addiction unit staff group
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