Training in Psychoanalysis: Admission

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Admission Requirements

 

The Institute welcomes applications from psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and other qualified mental health clinicians. We encourage inquiries about training early in professional career development.  Such inquiries may be directed to the Executive Director of the Institute, who will be able to arrange contact with a faculty mentor.

 

A Mentorship Program is available for individuals to help define whether application for analytic training would be useful for their professional goals.  Various aspects of the application process may be discussed.

 

Clinical training obtained prior to psychoanalytic training, including intensive outpatient psychotherapy and some experience in psychotherapeutic work with children, is desirable.  Psychiatric residents may apply at any point after completion of one year of an accredited psychiatric residency.  Doctoral level mental health clinicians may apply at any point after completion of the clinical, didactic, and research requirements for the doctoral degree.  Masters level clinical applicants should have two years of post-graduate clinical and didactic training.  They should also demonstrate significant involvement in clinical practice. 

 

The Baltimore Washington Institute, as an affiliate of the American Psychoanalytic Association, adheres to that association's policy regarding waiver requirements for certain masters level applicants.  Contact the administrative office for current information.

 

Individuals who do not fully meet the above eligibility criteria may also be considered. APsaA requires institutes to obtain waivers of the standard eligibility requirements for such applicants. Please contact the

 administrative office for current information.

 

 

Have Questions about Psychoanalytic Training?    Mentorship Program    The Institute provides mental health professionals with information and assistance concerning the Institute’s  educational programs.  For those considering the possibility of analytic training, we would be pleased to arrange  for a mentor. The Mentorship Program goal is to clarify and enhance an individual’s interest in the field of  psychoanalysis. The mentor offers information and suggests resources that will augment the mentee’s  understanding of what defines psychoanalysis, what kind of work psychoanalysts do, and in what activities  psychoanalysts are involved. The mentor also informs the mentee of current activities, programs, and services  offered by the Institute and Society. The mentor may help clarify the mentee’s career goals and the extent of  their interest in psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic ideas. The Mentorship Program is not a recruitment or  advocacy program. The mentor-mentee relationship is confidential and the mentor does not inform or influence  the admission process should the mentee apply to the Institute for training. Further information about the  program is available upon request.

 

Personal Suitability

 

The Institute accepts applicants for training on the basis of their education, scientific interest, psychological aptitude, cultural sensitivity and characterological suitability for the practice of psychoanalysis.  In particular, the applicant should demonstrate personal integrity and maturity, a broad interest in human motivation and in the vicissitudes of human life and psychological growth.  A person planning to train for psychoanalysis should have an abiding interest in the sciences including biology and psychology and in the arts and humanities.

 

The review of applicants includes an assessment of their inner struggles with problems and challenges along with their efforts at mastery over them.  Important characteristics of individuals interested in doing psychoanalytic work include psychological understanding and sensitivity, a capacity for identification with others, and an ability for objective observation.  The psychoanalytic training program aims to foster and integrate these characteristics in the developing psychoanalyst.  The applicant may use the required autobiographical statement to demonstrate such qualities.

Admission Procedures

 

 Application forms may be obtained from the Institute’s administrative office.  Applications will be accepted

 throughout the year but must be submitted by May 1 to be assured consideration for analytic classes

 starting the following September.

 

Following submission of the written application, which includes an autobiography, each applicant is interviewed to determine suitability.  Evaluation of aptitude for psychoanalytic work is a process which continues throughout training.

 

Professional licenses when appropriate and malpractice insurance are required for matriculation.

Academic Candidacy

 

The Academic Candidacy Program offers a course of psychoanalytic studies to scholars, researchers and academics who wish to enhance the work they do in their respective disciplines.  Academic Candidates enroll with Clinical Candidates in the core didactic psychoanalytic training program which is two years of study of human development, contemporary psychoanalytic theories of gender and sexual identity, symptom formation, character, psychopathology, the impact of culture and other courses.  The program also includes clinical seminars in which theory and practice are related. 

Additional course work beyond the core two-year curriculum is not required, but may be elected in order to complete the scholarly project that is required of Academic Candidates. This program does not require mental health education or personal therapy or analysis. 

Our community is enriched in many ways by the interdisciplinary discourse generated by the Academic Candidacy Program. Upon graduation, academic candidates may join the Baltimore Washington Psychoanalytic Society as Academic Associates. Applications for this program may be obtained from the administrative office. 

  

Faculty Advisor

 

The Education Committee appoints a Training and Supervising analyst as Faculty Advisor at the time of the Candidate's acceptance in order to assist the accepted applicant with all aspects of training until graduation.  The Candidate may choose to discuss any matter with the Faculty Advisor, including training and supervisory fees. The Advisor facilitates communication between the Candidate and the Faculty.  The Candidate may request for a change of Faculty Advisor from the Education Committee.  The Education Committee will consider the request and make a new appointment whenever feasible. 

 

A meaningful and constructive Advisor/Advisee relationship will allow latitude for individual styles and needs of both individuals while providing the Candidate a consistently high level of assistance and guidance in the development of her/his psychoanalytic training.

 

The Advisor should be knowledgeable about the Candidate’s progress in course work and supervision. The main roles of the Advisor are to guide the progression of the Candidate’s training and to keep the Education Committee apprised of the Candidate’s progression in training throughout the academic year. The Candidate-Advisor relationship is primarily an educational one, and confidentiality cannot in general be assured.  Any aspects of discussion between Candidate and Advisor may, at the discretion of the Advisor, be reported to the Education Committee.

 

At an initial meeting, the Advisor will explain her/his role and discuss individual matters of progression. The Advisor will meet with the Candidate in conjunction with each of the twice-yearly Student Reviews. Reporting changes in the Candidate’s academic status, conveying recommendations, and offering advice and guidance to the Candidate, among other things, can be accomplished during these meetings. At this time, the Advisor will also discuss any problem areas raised by the Candidate, such as difficulty getting cases or issues pertaining to class participation, and assist the Candidate in considering ways to address such problems.  General areas of professional development, including participation in Society activities and in the American Psychoanalytic Association, also can be discussed. The Advisor will welcome additional contact via phone or in person, as needed.