The Supervisory Training Program is a one-year course of study for experienced psychoanalysts who seek to enrich their skills and theoretical background, consistent with the supervisory responsibilities within their private practices, agencies, and training institutes. Gathering together one evening a week, students enjoy a quiet, thoughtful setting. Typically, each cohort becomes a closely knit peer group–one that is enjoyed long after the formal training.
WCSPP’s unique quality of being a warm and intellectually stimulating professional community draws former WCSPP psychoanalytic graduates back to this Supervisory Training and, as much, becomes a welcoming way for analysts trained elsewhere to find a professional home just north of New York City. Participants enjoy enduring personal connections and professional opportunities long after completion of the training. Many become future faculty and supervisors of WCSPP.
“WCSPP is a non-profit organization, chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.”
ADMISSION
Applicants must have four years of clinical experience after having completed psychoanalytic training.
Admission is by application and interview. Applicants are encouraged to apply prior to May 15. Each applicant must have current professional liability insurance, a copy of which will be retained in the WCSPP office.
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
• COURSE WORK: The one year academic program is organized as a trimester system with one course per trimester. The course meets for one hour and twenty minutes for eleven weeks. Classes are held in the instructors’ office.
• SUPERVISION: Supervisors in training will supervise candidates or graduates from within WCSPP or other institutes, or therapists from the community. Each trainee will be supervised individually on a weekly basis by a senior faculty supervisor.
• FEES: There is an annual $75 registration fee to cover administrative costs. Course tuition is $450 per course and the tuition is to be paid prior to the start of each trimester. If needed, individual payment plans can be arranged.
COURSES
• FALL: Review of Historic and Contemporary Literature on Supervision – This course examines current and historical thinking about the nature and practice of supervision through an overview of the literature. Topics covered include transference, countertransference and parallel process, use of authority, dangers of collusion, supervisor and supervisee’s narcissism and unanticipated negative effects of supervision. Responsibility and accountability to the supervisee and to the patient will be considered.
• WINTER: Who We Are and What We Do as Supervisors – This course considers the tasks and processes of supervision and who we are as supervisors. Topics include methodology, supervision of the therapist vs. supervision of the case, boundaries of supervision and analysis, subjective elements in analytic technique, collaborative and conflictual aspects of the supervisory relationship and one’s motivation for doing the work.
• SPRING: Synthesis of Theory and Clinical Experience – With the use of formal case presentations, the candidates have the opportunity to integrate their thinking on supervision. A cohesive group allows for discussion and exploration of what approaches best resonate and fit ones personality and how our values and belief systems play central roles in our supervisory work. Candidates will develop a clearer and more formulated understanding of supervision and their own clinical process.
“The Supervisory Training Program is a wonderful way to stay engaged…The faculty are dedicated, and the group was very intimate and forthcoming. Such a delight.” – Margot Rubenstein, M.D.
“Given that one’s analytic identity is never static, the WCSPP’s one year Supervisory Training Program – which consisted of well selected readings, well selected class mates, and well selected teachers – granted me the luxury and ultimate necessity to think more deeply about the complexities of the psychoanalytic experience, be it supervision or treatment.” – Ann Crane, Psy.D.