Child Psychoanalytic Training

The Fall of 2008 will see both the traditional Child Analytic Training offered, as well as for the first time Child (only) Analytic Training.
Child Analytic Training is offered to four categories of applicants.

Category 1. A graduate or student in active training at an accredited institute of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Those having this requisite background but without additional clinical experience with children (e.g., a residency in child psychiatry) may consult with the chair of the Division of Child and Adolescent Analysis regarding sufficient and suitable comparable experience or preparatory work to acquire the necessary experience in working with children. 

Category 2. Physicians whose background includes graduation from an accredited medical school and completion of at least one year of psychiatric residency. Physicians are required to have completed three years of psychiatric residency before graduation from the Institute.

Category 3. Clinical psychologists with Ph.D., D.Ed. or Psy.D. degrees; Social workers with Clinical Doctoral degree; Doctors of Mental Health

Category 4. Mental health professionals, other than those designated in categories one and two, who have earned at least a Masters Degree in their fields and who have established their excellence as clinicians. These applicants may require a waiver from the American Psychoanalytic Association of the educational prerequisites stipulated in categories two and three.

The observation and understanding of child development is basic to all study in psychoanalysis. For this reason, all involved in clinical psychoanalytic training may benefit by participation in child psychoanalytic training and may participate in various opportunities within the program by special arrangement with the chair of the Division of Child Analysis. The child division encourages core curriculum clinical associates to treat a child or adolescent as one of their required three analytic control cases. The core curriculum includes child analytic concepts in human development, process and psychopathology. Child faculty teaches the integration of developmental theory and technique in these classes.

PROGRAM FOR CHILD ANALYTIC TRAINING

The number of clinical associates in the program for Child Analytic Training allows for a high ratio of faculty to child clinical associates. In order that a clinical associate might be fully apprised of the training program and of the standards set by the American Psychoanalytic Association, we recommend that those interested in child training obtain the booklet on Standards for Training on Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis published by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

The Child and Adolescent Training Program is organized as a post-graduate educational experience. Clinical associates accepted into the Child Analytic Division must complete each of the courses in the four year curriculum. These courses are as follows: First Year: Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysis. This course includes the evaluation of children and adolescents for analysis; evaluation of parents; conversion of psychotherapy to psychoanalysis; issues in the opening phase of analysis; transference considerations in the opening phase; countertransference issues in the opening phase; the transference- countertransference dynamics in the opening phase; and working with parents.

Second Year: Prelatency- technique, theory, developmental issues and psychopathology. Third Year: Latency – technique, theory, developmental issues and psychopathology Fourth Year: Adolescence- technique, theory, developmental issues and psychopathology Child clinical associates need to complete this four year curriculum prior to graduation and are encouraged to continue in didactic and clinical courses after the completion of this sequence until graduation.

In addition, Child Clinical Associates who are enrolled in the Child Analytic (only) Training Program will be required to complete additional courses in the Core Curriculum.

Advanced child clinical associates may also be invited to attend the Child Analysis Faculty Seminar, a forum for inquiry into various clinical issues relevant to psychoanalytic treatment of children and adolescents.

Child curriculum clinical associates participate in child-adult integrated continuous case conference for one trimester of each academic year. These case conferences include core curriculum and child curriculum clinical associates.

SUPERVISED CHILD PSYCHOANALYTIC CASEWORK

In conformance with standards of the American Psychoanalytic Association for certification in child and adolescent psychoanalysis, child analytic clinical associates must analyze under supervision three child analytic cases of both sexes before graduation, and must treat one case until a successful completion. One case is to be a latency-aged child; another an adolescent; and another a prelatency child if possible (but permissibly a latency or adolescent case). To conform with the requirements of the American Psychoanalytic Association we suggest that the terminated case be either a latency or an adolescent case. The clinical associate needs to establish an analytic process in each case.

Supervision is available from those designated as supervising child analysts or geographic rule supervising child analysts by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Core curriculum clinical associates who are not in child analytic training may take a supervised child or adolescent case into analysis. Such a case may be counted as one of the three cases required for graduation if the case is supervised by a supervising child analyst.

THE CHILD PSYCHOANALYTIC CLINIC

The Child Psychoanalytic Clinic assists child analytic clinical associates in locating and selecting child and adolescent cases for whom psychoanalysis is the treatment of choice. The clinic offers reduced fee psychoanalysis to applicants accepted for referral to clinical associates in the child analytic division and to core curriculum clinical associates seeking to treat a child or adolescent.

PROGRESSION AND GRADUATION IN CHILD PSYCHOANALYSIS

The child analytic faculty regularly reviews the progress of child psychoanalytic clinical associates and provides counsel and assistance toward meeting the requirements for graduation. Further details regarding child analytic training progression and graduation may be found in the child clinical associate handbook.

ADMISSION PROCEDURE

It is possible as of the academic year beginning in September, 2008 to be admitted to Child (only) Analytic Training, as well as to be a clinical associate in both the Core Analytic Training and in the Child Analytic Division.

Individuals considering making an application for child psychoanalytic training while enrolled in core psychoanalytic training should consult with the chair of the Child Division regarding the timing of undertaking child analytic training.

Countertransference pressures are typically intense in the conduct of child and adolescent analyses and it is therefore required that child clinical associates be in his or her training analysis during child and adolescent analytic training.

The Child Analytic Faculty serves as the admissions committee for those applying for child analytic training.

For additional information and application materials, please click here or the Documents link on the home page.