The Division of Adult Psychoanalysis offers a program for those who wish to specialize in the practice of adult psychoanalysis. The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis offers a program for psychoanalytic candidates who wish an additional education in the practice of psychoanalysis of children and adolescents. The Center also has a Department of Psychotherapy Education which offers programs in the psychodynamic psychotherapy of adults and children. There are separate brochures for these areas of study.
The curriculum for training in psychoanalysis is tripartite, including: the personal analysis, supervised clinical work, and didactic seminars. The personal analysis is designed to enable the candidate to understand himself/herself better and to experience directly the uncovering of unconscious processes. Supervision is concerned with the learning of technical aspects of analysis and with helping the candidate recognize problems in relation to patients. The didactic portion of the curriculum is primarily aimed at conveying the fundamental ideas and principles of psychoanalysis.
The didactic portion of the curriculum consists of a series of seminars, given weekly over a four year period, which are designed to impart a thorough knowledge of psychoanalytic theory beginning with Freud’s early discovery of the unconscious mind and encompassing conflict theory, ego psychology, object relations theory, including British and North American contributions, self-psychology, perspectives on narcissism and an understanding of the relational perspective. The curriculum keeps abreast of contemporary issues such as developments in female psychology, trauma theory, current research in child development, and current findings in neuroscience. Candidates are encouraged to obtain the Standard Edition of Freud's works; a set is also available for use in the Institute's library. Other readings are provided by the Center’s library.
The seminars are presented in four tracks: Theory, Development, Pathology and Technique. Technique is taught in seminars as well as in Continuous Case Conferences, in which a single case is followed over the duration of the course. A full description of the curriculum is given in the next section of this bulletin.
An active Curriculum Committee carefully reviews courses and explores ways in which new areas of knowledge (for instance, neuroscience) may be incorporated into the training. Candidate representatives sit as voting members on the Curriculum Committee as well as on other committees of the Institute.
The personal psychoanalysis is the foundation for all subsequent professional training in psychoanalysis. Its objectives include gaining an awareness of unconscious processes and developing the skills and capacities for empathy, insight, and object relatedness necessary for personal development as a psychoanalyst. Inherent in these objectives is the goal of addressing conflictual matters which might interfere with the practice of psychoanalysis. It is indistinguishable from a therapeutic analysis and thus offers the candidate and opportunity to understand the process from the patient’s vantage point, as well as the chance to work through one’s own personal difficulties, conflicts, and blind spots. The duration of the personal analysis depends on the needs of the individual and shall be determined by the candidate and training analyst. It is the experience of the majority of training analysts that five analytic sessions a week constitute the preferred conditions for the continuity of the analysis, with four analytic sessions a week as the minimum.
The Institute expects training analysts to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality with regard to the candidates they treat; thus a training analyst does not participate in educational decisions concerning his or her candidate/analysand. Absence from or participation in a course taught by a candidate’s training analyst may be decided mutually. The Institute can arrange for substitute tutorial courses as needed.
Following admission to the institute, candidates must begin their own analysis before starting classes and, preferably, several months beforehand. This offers an opportunity to engage in the process fully and free of outside interferences from the training. The candidate’s analysis should continue well into the period of supervised clinical work.
Candidates should plan to select an analyst from the list of approved training analysts. The Training Analysts of the Center have agreed to provide reduced fee arrangements where this is indicated. Prospective candidates may discuss fee requirements with any of the training analysts directly or, if they prefer, they may request a free preliminary meeting with a member of the TA staff, to first discuss and evaluate financial needs, an appropriate fee range, the availability of TAs and other matters related to the training program. This preliminary meeting can be set up by contacting the Center’s office.
The policy of admitting candidates in analysis with non-training analyst members of the Center faculty has been temporarily suspended, pending potential revisions of the educational requirements of the Board of Professional Standards of the American Psychoanalyic Association. For more information, please contact the Director of the Institute or the Chair of the Admissions Committee.
The Institute recognizes that some applicants may already be in ongoing and established psychoanalytic relationships with non-TA members of the Center’s faculty. Applicants may decide to switch to a TA or they may choose to continue in their current treatment. To accommodate this situation, the following policies have been established. These are in accord with the regulations of the American Psychoanalytic Association:
Candidates are required to conduct at least three psychoanalyses under supervision. It is expected that most candidates will be ready to begin their supervised clinical work after the Introductory Technique course in the first year and after a personal analysis is underway. Five analytic sessions a week are optimal and four sessions per week are the minimum required for these supervised cases. While the frequency of supervision will be worked out between the candidate and the supervisor, it is strongly recommended that supervisory experiences for each case be on a weekly basis. In general, it is expected that one case be supervised into or through the termination period.
Candidates may not represent themselves as psychoanalysts until they have graduated from the Institute. A candidate who has begun supervised clinical work may designate him or herself as a "Clinical Associate in Psychoanalysis." Prior to enrollment each academic year, all clinical candidates must present satisfactory evidence of current licensure and malpractice insurance.
Fee arrangements are made privately between the candidate and the supervising analyst. Two hundred hours of supervision are available at a reduced fee through a low fee supervision program. During the second through the fifth year of training, a $1500 fee is added to the tuition charge to pay for this supervision.
The capacity to write about one's work is an important component in the preparation for post-graduate development, which may include the certification process offered by the Board on Professional Standards of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Case reports are required every six months on each of the training cases, and a full case write-up is required on one case. Courses on writing clinical material are part of the curriculum.
When the candidate has demonstrated a basic grasp of psychoanalytic principles and the ability to utilize them effectively in the treatment of the first analytic patient, he or she will be encouraged to seek additional cases. Candidates also enrolled in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis may generally begin their first child case after adult work has provided them with the necessary background.
The Consultation and Referral Service of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia acts as a community resource and a source of psychoanalytic case referrals for candidates and graduates. The Institute also offers an informal seminar for candidates on the development of an analytic practice.
Psychoanalytic experience with a child or adolescent case will enhance the learning of analysis and can augment the adult candidate’s analytic training. For candidates also enrolled in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis, one of the required three adult cases may be a child or adolescent.
For child and adolescent candidates working with an appropriate adult case can enhance a psychoanalytic understanding of parenting and the developmental step of becoming a parent. Child candidates are encouraged to consider taking an appropriate adult psychoanalytic case.
The Progression Committee, a subcommittee of the Education Committee, is responsible for the ongoing evaluation of a candidate's progress in training. Each candidate will he assigned a faculty Advisor as a liaison between the candidate and the Progression Committee. He or she is also available to the candidate to discuss other issues related to courses or clinical work. Candidates will also he paired with a faculty Mentor from whom advice and support may he sought throughout their training. The mentor relationship is fully confidential and free from reporting to the organization.
The Education Committee reserves the right to interrupt or terminate a candidate's training at any stage if, in its opinion, the candidate's work is not of satisfactory caliber.
The Institute requires that at least 300 hours of supervision be satisfactorily completed, or a minimum of 7 case years, with a minimum of three adult cases, at least one of each sex. One case must be supervised into the termination phase of analysis, or for at least four years. (These are also the requirements for certification by the American Psychoanalytic Association). Generally, it is expected that a candidate will be in his/her personal analysis for a significant period of time during the course of his/her clinical work.
Shortly after the candidate begins the third case, the Progression Committee will make a thorough review of the candidate’s record and give the candidate an opinion about further requirements for graduation. The Education Committee may require that further supervised work be undertaken. The ultimate decision regarding graduation from the Division of Adult Psychoanalysis rests on an evaluation of the candidate's clinical work by the Progression Committee and approval by the Education Committee . While theoretical understanding of basic psychoanalytic principles and satisfactory completion of all coursework are necessary prerequisites, the Education Committee will also asses the candidate’s personal and professional maturity. Through supervised clinical work and performance in seminars, the candidate should demonstrate the development of an analytic perspective toward him or herself and toward patients.
Candidates are also Affiliate Members in the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia and are encouraged to become active participants in the many programs of the Center. Upon graduation, candidates then become full members of the Center. Candidates are also invited to apply for Affiliate Membership in the American Psychoanalytic Association. Upon graduation they become members of the American and are eligible to apply for certification in psychoanalysis by the American’s Board on Professional standards.
Graduates are generally invited to apply to join the Faculty of the Institute following graduation. Graduates who wish to become Training Analysts are invited to seek consultation with the Training Analyst Committee, which will provide guidelines about the process and requirements for an appointment.
Print Psychoanalytic Training Application (Center application psa training4-05.pdf)
Print Non-Doctoral Psychoanalytic Training Application (Center application psa training non-doctoral 4-05.pdf)
The Child Program of the Institute of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia offers training to candidates and graduates of adult psychoanalytic training. The Child Program invites applications from individuals in child mental health and related fields as well as from scholars and others interested in child psychoanalysis. Requirements for admission at both the local and the national levels are undergoing changes. Child psychoanalytic training consists of a personal analysis, 4 years of course work and supervised clinical work. Inquiries and consultation with the Chair of the Child Program are welcome. The Committee adheres to an anti discrimination policy in its consideration of all candidates. Applications may be submitted at any time during the year, but the process will he facilitated if all materials are received prior to March.
A personal analysis is required for the candidate while in the Child Psychoanalytic Program. If a personal analysis has been started with a non-training psychoanalyst, then this analysis should proceed as the analyst and candidate feel is appropriate. At some point in the training, however, the candidate should be in analysis with a training analyst. Consultation with the advisor is recommended if there is any question about this process.
The four year curriculum consists of courses in basic development which are taken along with adult candidates, courses in advanced development and technique (which includes theory, pathology, technique and clinical application) observation in various settings, young child and adolescent continuous clinical case conferences, and a project which demonstrated the ability to think analytically about the psychoanalytic process.
Child cases can be started at any time with the approval of the Child Faculty. With each case, the candidate must select an approved Child Supervisor. It is recommended that the candidate meet weekly with the supervisor to review the ongoing clinical process. To qualify for graduation, the candidate is required to have demonstrated an analytic process in at least three children: at least one of latency age and one adolescent and including patients of each sex. At least one case must have been carried through a termination experience under supervision. A pre latency child experience is highly recommended. This is in addition to the three child/adolescent cases. Consultation with the advisor should be obtained if this is being considered. The Child Program Faculty will review the progression of the candidate's child analytic cases yearly while ongoing assessment should be made with the case supervisor.
A candidate will be assigned an advisor whom they will meet with from time to time. For any questions a candidate may have, the advisor is the first person with whom to consult. The advisor is responsible for gathering the information needed for the Child Program Faculty to review the progress of the candidate at least yearly and at any other time when indicated.
Graduation can be considered with 4 years of course work have been completed, the case requirements as specified above are met and the candidate has demonstrated proficiently in child analytic process as judged by the faculty.
The Child Psychoanalytic Program values the intensity and immersion of experience for candidates when personal analysis, course work, and control cases with supervision occurs concurrently during their analytic training. Because of the disruptions in this experience when training is interrupted, Leave of Absence might considerably compromise a candidate's educational experience. We do understand that circumstances can temporarily make training difficult. The policy for seeking a Leave of Absence needs to be considered flexibly and receptive to the individual circumstances of the candidate, Within this philosophical position there are procedures that need to be followed to negotiate a Leave.
A letter requesting LOA has to be presented to the chair of the Child Psychoanalytic Program explaining the reasons for leave, what the candidate would like to accomplish from the leave, what courses will be missed, what other aspects of the training will be suspended and the circumstances under which the candidate plans to return from leave, including the proposed length of the leave and how missed aspects of the training will be made up. Leave will be reviewed on a yearly basis to keep contact and encourage coherence with the candidate, A single semester leave can be granted.
Responsibility to control cases will require an assessment every six months by the candidate and supervisor, to be provided to the candidate's advisor, who will inform the Child Program faculty. Control cases may need to be discontinued during LOA without regular (1-2x/mo,) supervision. Therapeutic efforts with the patient certainly can continue at the judgment of the therapist, hopefully in consultation with a supervisor.