Admission Policies & Procedures for the Psychoanalytic Training Programs

Selection for psychoanalytic education and clinical training is based on an applicant’s suitability, eligibility, and readiness.

A requirement for psychoanalytic education and clinical training is an established identity as a professional whose prior experience and conduct assures a firm and enduring commitment to responsible and ethical patient care. The assessment of suitability is based on an applicant’s possession of character traits and ethical values necessary for every psychoanalyst.

Applicants should demonstrate a capacity for self-observation, self-monitoring, and the ability to maintain appropriate interpersonal boundaries.

Applications for the 2022-2026 cohort will be accepted starting in the Spring of 2022 through early summer. Earlier application is appreciated, to allow more time for interviews and preparation for the upcoming academic year.

The application form for 2022 may vary slightly, but this is the current form:
Psychoanalytic Training Application Form (rev. 2019-10-15)

SPSI Psychoanalytic Training Programs are offered to:

1. A graduate or student in active training at an accredited institute of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
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 psychiatry residency before graduation from the Institute.
3. Clinical psychologists with Ph.D., D.Ed., or Psych. degrees; social workers with Clinical Doctoral degree; Doctors of Mental Health
4. Mental health professionals, other than those designated in categories above, who have earned at least a Masters Degree in their fields and who have established their excellence as clinicians.

Non-mental health professionals

Non-mental health professionals from related fields of the Arts or Sciences may apply for Academic Associate status.

Under certain circumstances, applicants who do not meet the above formal criteria will be considered for admission based on their particular qualifications and experience, as follows:

1. Individuals whose mental health graduate degree is not at the highest educational level generally obtained to practice clinically within their profession but who nevertheless have satisfactorily completed the prerequisites as well as sufficient additional didactic and clinical education.
2. Individuals who possess the highest clinical degree obtained within their profession, but whose didactic and clinical education is marginal.
3. Individuals who have satisfactorily completed the degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, but who are not planning to complete a residency training program in psychiatry.
4. Individuals who do not possess the highest recognized clinical degree but who are in the later stages of completing the expected educational and clinical prerequisites such as a medical student or Ph.D. candidate.
5. Individuals who for some other reason appear to the Institute to be suitable but are not automatically eligible by the formal criteria.

It is the official position of SPSI that an applicant is never excluded on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, race, ethnic background, or disability status.