Advanced Psychoanalytic Training

Admission

Admission is by application and interviews, on a rolling basis. Applicants must be licensed in NY or CT and have current professional liability insurance.

Applicants must be from one of the following professions:

Social Work: MSW or PhD in Social Work from an accredited university. State license is required and LCSW is required by the third year of program.

Psychology: PhD or PsyD in Psychology from an accredited university. State license is required.

Nurse Practioner: NP from an accredited university. State license is required.

Psychiatry: MD from an accredited medical school and psychiatric residency. State license is required.

Course Work

The multi-year academic program is organized as a trimester system with two courses per trimester. The courses meet via Zoom for 11 weeks on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 7:20 pm and from 7:30 to 8:50 pm. Two hundred and forty credits are required to graduate and be granted a Certificate in Psychoanalysis. Each 11-week course is 10 credits, and candidates obtain 60 credits if they have completed the two year Foundations Program. On the twelfth Tuesday of the Fall and Spring trimesters candidates attend a Town Meeting where WCSPP candidates, graduates, and faculty assemble for discussion. NYS Continuing Education credits are granted for coursework, provided attendance requirements are met. 

Coursework can be completed over three years, but may take longer for those who want to go through the program at a slower pace. The program offers as much flexibility as possible for candidates to work with faculty to facilitate self-pacing of requirements when needed and with their cohort to meet group needs. The Advanced Analytic class typically collaborates with faculty to choose a topic of interest to be taught in the third year to supplement the array of required courses already taken. In addition, in order to provide individualized guidance and support, each candidate will be assigned a Mentor, who will help that candidate steer a path that meets their professional development. 

A feature of the Advanced Psychoanalytic training program is the required Clinical Case Seminar which is offered each year and provides an opportunity to address central clinical issues in psychoanalytic treatment. 

Supervision

Supervision of 200 hours must be distributed among at least four faculty supervisors. Candidates are required to treat at least two training patients and have at least 40 hours with each supervisor during these 5 units of supervision. Supervision can take place in person or virtually.

One 40 session block of supervision is required to be completed with a current supervisor-in-training or graduate of the Supervisory Training Program. There is no cost for this consultation/supervision. Additional supervision may be required for some candidates to address their individual training needs.

Clinical Requirement

Candidates are required to provide psychoanalytic treatment to at least two training patients at a minimum of two times per week throughout their training. Training patients are assigned through the Psychotherapy Service. For each 40 week block of supervision, training patients must be seen at least twice a week for at least 32 of the 40 supervisory sessions.

While serving as a training case, patient fees are paid to WCSPP. After training concludes, there is the possibility of converting the patient to the candidate’s private practice.

Personal Psychoanalysis

Personal psychoanalysis, the foundation of a psychoanalytic education, must be concurrent with training and begin by January of the first year in the program. The minimum requirement is 400 hours with 200 hours of at least three sessions per week and 200 hours of at least two sessions per week.

A training analyst at WCSPP must be a graduate of a recognized institute program in psychoanalysis and have at least five years of experience beyond certification. Analysts trained outside WCSPP must be approved by the Training Committee. Training analysts do not participate in administrative decisions about the candidate, nor do they report on the candidate’s progress.

Program Courses

Candidates take two courses per trimester, and a typical three year schedule of courses is as follows:

First Year

Fall

1. History of Psychoanalytic Theory 1
2. Transference and Its Relationship to Therapeutic Action

Winter

1. Reading Freud
2. Continuous Clinical Seminar

Spring

1. The Lost Art of Character Analysis
2. Clinical Seminar: Survey on Countertransference

Second Year

Fall

1. Object Relations Theory
2. Introduction to Interpersonal Psychoanalysis

Winter

1. Introduction to Self Psychology Theory
2. Continuous Clinical Seminar

Spring

1. Advanced Relational Theories
2. Engaging Dreams

Third Year

Fall

1. Development of the Sense of Self
2. Exploration of Contemporary Classical Thought and Technique

Winter

1. Gender, Sexuality and the Body
2. Continuous Clinical Seminar

Spring

1. Affect Development and Regulation: A Contemporary Relational View
2. Toward Appreciating the Other in Clinical Work: Racial Dynamics in the Consulting Room

Fees

Tuition: $575 per course per trimester, to be paid prior to the start of each trimester, plus a $75 administrative fee per trimester

Individual supervision of training case: $50 per session, paid directly to the supervisor by the candidate

Financial assistance may be available on a need documented basis, and individual payment plans may be arranged with prior approval.