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APSAA - Standards For Education and Training
APSAA - Standards For Education and Training
STANDARDS
FOR
EDUCATION and TRAINING IN PSYCHOANALYSIS
Table of Contents
The American Psychoanalytic Association first established national standards for professional
psychoanalytic education and training for its constituent institutes in 1938. The current
Educational Standards apply only to psychoanalytic education and training (adult, combined
adult and child/adolescent, and child focused training) in the Association’s approved institutes.
Throughout these Educational Standards, the term “institutes” refers to the psychoanalytic
education and training component of approved psychoanalytic institutes and centers. These
Standards do not refer to other education or training components of approved institutes or
centers, such as psychotherapy training.
The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) recognizes two applications of the tripartite
Eitingon model of psychoanalytic training. They are sufficiently similar in goals and approach
to the training process, and are sufficiently coherent, evolved, and integrated. The APsaA
Board on Professional Standards deems as acceptable both models for our approved
institutes: (a) the “Original APsaA model,” which has two pathways to TA/SA appointment, (1)
the Traditional Pathway and (2) the Developmental Pathway; (see Section VIII. “Selection and
Development of Training and Supervising Analysts, below) and (b) the “William Alanson White
Institute (WAWI) model.” Approved institutes may organize their training programs around
either of these two models, providing that the “model” is adopted in its entirety; APsaA-
approved institutes cannot pick and choose from among features of each model. Reference
herein to the “WAWI training model” shall mean and incorporate the approach to policy and
procedures in congruence with these Educational Standards. [The Bulletin of the William
Alanson White Institute, published periodically by the White Institute and available on the
Institute’s website <www.wawhite.org>, includes the detailed procedures employed by the
William Alanson White Institute that are essential to implementing the WAWI training model].
APsaA recognizes that the “tripartite model” of psychoanalytic education can be implemented
through each of the approved training models. The three required components of the tripartite
model of psychoanalytic education and training include:
1. A non-reporting analysis with a training analyst. In the “Original APsaA
Model,” this analysis should be conducted with the analysand on the couch
at a frequency of at least four and preferably five sessions per week on
separate days in person. In the “William Alanson White Institute (WAWI)
model” the analysis may be conducted either with the use of the couch or
face-to-face at a frequency of at least three times per week.
2. A didactic curriculum described in detail in Section IV, below.
3. The supervision of a minimum number of psychoanalytic treatments: In the
original APsaA model, the supervision of at least three psychoanalytic
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
Approved Institutes are responsible for ensuring that the training analysis, didactic curriculum,
and supervision of psychoanalytic work of all candidates are consistent with these standards.
Participating approved institutes and new training facilities of the American Psychoanalytic
Association will participate in periodic site visits from the Committee on Institutes (COI), the
Committee on New Training Facilities (CNTF) and the Committee on Child and Adolescent
Analysis (COCAA). These site visits are designed to review the institute’s educational and
training programs and to assess the institute’s compliance with the BOPS standards. When
institutes are not in full compliance with standards, the COI consults with the institute to assist
in strengthening its programs to return to full compliance. If these collaborative efforts fail to
result in full compliance with these standards, the Bylaws of the American Psychoanalytic
Association outline the relevant processes and procedures (see. Article XI, Section 5).
A. Eligibility
Applicants who hold the following degrees and post-graduate clinical training are
eligible for training.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
2. Mental health professionals who have completed a doctoral level degree from
an accredited mental health program and a minimum of 3000 hours or two
years full time mental health clinical experience post-graduation, including in-
patient and/ or emergency care experience.
4. In the “William Alanson White Institute model," mental health professionals who
have a doctoral level degree as defined in (III. A. 2) or a masters level degree
as defined in (III A. 3) above but have not yet accrued postgraduate clinical
experience as defined in (III. A. 2 or III. A. 3), provided such trainees are eligible
to obtain a “limited permit” from the NYS Education Department and are
documented to have achieved postgraduate experience as defined in (III. A. 2.
Or III A. 3) by the end of their psychoanalytic training.
5. Other persons who qualify under applicable law for admission to an approved
institute that is authorized within its jurisdiction to offer a training program
leading to licensure in psychoanalysis. (In New York State, such programs are
formally designated as “Licensure Qualifying Programs” under the regulatory
oversight of the State Education Department.)
B. Readiness
1. Eligible applicants must fulfill the prerequisite criteria of didactic education and
clinical experience specified in A, above, prior to matriculation.
C. Suitability
Applicants must demonstrate a level of maturity, as well as the personal, professional,
and ethical integrity necessary for full psychoanalytic training.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
The Board on Professional Standards has developed procedures and criteria for the
modification of the usual eligibility standards for psychoanalytic education and clinical
training for Institutes wishing to accept candidates who do not fully meet the above
eligibility criteria:
The Board on Professional Standards recognizes that the “original APsaA” training
model may permit occasional modifications of the frame, including changes in
frequency and the use of the couch. A portion of a training analysis conducted in part
via the telephone or other electronic means or a condensed personal analysis (a
personal analysis with more than one session per day on a regular basis) requires a
waiver. Waiver requests are evaluated by the Committee on Institutes (COI) or the
Committee on New Training Facilities (CNTF) based on guidelines developed by the
Board on Professional Standards (BOPS). If recommended by COI or CNTF, the
waiver request is presented to the BOPS for approval. A waiver is also required if the
candidate’s analysis will be conducted by an analyst who is not a Training Analyst.
(See VIII, C). The “WAWI model” provides that waiver requests are under the purview
of the Institute’s Training Committee, and permits the Institute’s Training Committee,
after due consideration, to grant waivers of the approved Training Analyst requirement.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
2. Psychoanalytic Curriculum
An integrated curriculum of psychoanalytic study must provide a comprehensive
understanding of the fundamentals of and interrelationship between psychoanalytic
theory and clinical practice. It should teach critical thinking about the historical and
conceptual structure and developments of psychoanalytic theory and practice.
b. Psychoanalytic Theory
The basic concepts of psychoanalysis and the major models of the mind are
studied from a historical and critical perspective. This includes the critical
exploration of the basic writings of Freud and subsequent major psychoanalytic
theorists.
c. Psychopathology
A psychoanalyst must develop a dynamic understanding of a broad range of
psychopathology. Seminars on psychopathology typically consider historical
and contemporary psychoanalytic theories of the neuroses, character disorders,
borderline and narcissistic disorders, affective disorders, psychosomatic
disorders, and the psychoses. Clinical examples illustrate the multiplicity of
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
d. Development
Understanding the ways in which psychic functions and structures originate,
evolve, and progress throughout the life cycle is essential to a psychoanalytic
understanding of the human mind, and essential to an understanding of the
psychoanalytic clinical situation. The curriculum should include study of
psychoanalytic theories of psychological development beginning with the
parents' experience of the pregnancy and extending through adulthood. Many
Institutes integrate clinical material from child analyses with theoretical study.
f. Research Courses
Courses should be designed to cover basic knowledge and developments in
empirical research studies of psychoanalytic theory and practice, research
studies of psychoanalytic education, and interdisciplinary or applied
psychoanalytic studies and methods.
In the “original APsaA model,” the supervision of clinical work should occur weekly with
a supervising analyst to review and discuss the case the candidate is learning to
analyze. Candidates should have a separate supervisor for each case and should meet
weekly with each one. As the supervised psychoanalytic treatment progresses, and as
the candidate progresses in the educational program, the supervisor and candidate
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
may change the frequency of supervision. In the “WAWI model,” supervision of each
case is required to be weekly until graduation and requires that candidates work with at
least one SA of an opposite gender. In neither model should the candidate’s training
analyst serve as one of the candidate’s supervisors.
Candidates should be encouraged to begin a first case by the middle of their first year
of training upon evaluation of the candidate's readiness to begin supervised
psychoanalytic work by the Progression Committee in the original APsaA model, or the
Training Committee in the WAWI model, or its functional equivalent. Once a first case
is established, capable candidates should be encouraged to pursue additional cases
early in their training.
In the “original APsaA model,” candidates are required to have at least three adult non-
psychotic cases, including patients of different genders; in the “WAWI model,” the
decision to conduct psychoanalytic treatment with psychotic states is regarded as a
learning experience, jointly discussed and decided between candidate and supervising
analyst. In both models, the supervision of cases should occur over a length of time
that allows the candidate to develop sufficient knowledge and skill to conduct
psychoanalysis independently and competently. Demonstration of this competency is
a component of graduation.
Institutes following the “original APsaA model” may allow a candidate to substitute one
child or adolescent psychoanalytic case supervised by a Child Supervising Analyst for
one of the required adult supervised cases, provided that the candidate also has
supervised psychoanalytic treatment experience with cases of different genders. If the
candidate is not already trained as a child mental health clinician it is expected that the
supervision of this case would continue through termination even if termination occurs
beyond graduation. Institutes should be clear with candidates who are not trained as
child or adolescent mental health clinicians but who choose to have a child or
adolescent analysis as a part of their training, that they should continue in supervision
through the termination phase of this treatment. The “WAWI model” does not provide
for child (pre-adolescent) psychoanalytic cases to substitute for the training
requirement of four separate adult or adolescent cases.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
c) All Institutes are encouraged to use academic colloquia to assess competency and
progression. Developmental Pathway Institutes are required to conduct two
colloquia; one during the third year or prior to beginning a third case and a second
pre-graduation colloquia. Colloquia should consist of two elements: submission of
case write-ups and a formal meeting or series of meetings with several faculty
preceptors to discuss the candidate’s clinical work and mastery of psychoanalytic
theory and technique. The preceptors recommend to the Progression Committee or
its functional equivalent any remedial educational measures that should be
undertaken.
d) The “WAWI model” requires that the candidate make at least one case presentation
to the Institute community prior to graduation, providing one additional source of
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
1. Graduation Criteria
Graduation depends on the candidate’s demonstration of an adequate command of
clinical and theoretical psychoanalytic knowledge and the capacity to conduct
competent and independent psychoanalytic work. Three adult cases (four in the
“WAWI model”) including cases of different genders are required to demonstrate the
candidate’s competency to conduct an analysis in the opening, middle, and if possible,
termination phase. Candidates who are in combined adult/child psychoanalytic training
are required to have only two adult cases of different genders in addition to their child
and adolescent cases.
Each institute should ensure that a suitable methodology is used to assess candidate
readiness for graduation. Assessment for graduation should include a review of
reports by instructors and supervisors, case write-ups, meetings between the
candidate and faculty preceptors to discuss the candidate’s ability to conduct
competent and independent psychoanalytic work.
Institutes that adopt the developmental pathway for Training Analyst appointment (see
Section VIII) are required to use a graduation colloquia as described in V1. c above to
determine readiness for graduation. The graduation colloquium has two elements:
written reports up to 20 pages each of at least two of the candidate’s supervised
psychoanalytic cases, and a formal meeting or series of meetings between several
faculty preceptors to discuss the cases and the candidate’s clinical work and mastery
of psychoanalytic theory and technique. The Progression Committee or its functional
equivalent will use the results of the graduation colloquium in addition to faculty
evaluations and supervisory reports to determine a candidate’s eligibility for graduation.
The “White Institute model” requires at least one clinical case presentation to the
Institute community prior to graduation. This presentation provides relevant
information to the Training Committee about the candidate’s readiness to be graduated
and to engage in independent clinical psychoanalytic practice.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
The Board on Professional Standards and its committees will, over time, gather
information, evaluate and develop guidelines and best practices for graduation
colloquia or their equivalent, and serve as a consultative resource for institutes
developing and using graduation colloquia or their equivalent.
2. Faculty Development
Institutes should have policies and procedures designed to encourage and develop
individual talents of faculty members, especially recently appointed faculty. This may
be a system of mentoring, study groups, or post-graduate seminars. Faculty should be
encouraged to deepen their own individual interests which may result in publications or
development of courses in a chosen area.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
For SA’s and TA’s from the time of APsaA approval of the White Institute, and those appointed
during the ten years following such approval will be “grandparented” by APsaA, continuing to
function in role, with all the rights and privileges of those APsaA members who have been or
are “traditionally” certified or certified by the “developmental pathway.” WAWI’s graduates will
continue to seek appointments and promotions through application to its Appointments and
Promotions Committee, regarded as integral to the White Institute’s training model.
Training Analysts have responsibility for the personal, non-reporting analyses of candidates.
Supervising Analysts have responsibility for the supervision of candidates’ psychoanalytic
training cases. In addition, both Training and Supervising Analysts participate in the
development and implementation of the curriculum and other aspects of the educational
program. The criteria for appointment as a Training Analyst and/or Supervising Analyst are
outlined below.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
Institutes using the Developmental Pathway will work with the BOPS
and its committees, over time, to develop mechanisms, guidelines
and best practices for this pathway.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
To be eligible for consideration of this waiver the analyst must meet the
following criteria:
1. Be in good ethical standing.
2. Five years post-graduation from an institute of the American
Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) or the International
Psychoanalytical Association (IPA).
3. Experience with 4 non-psychotic (psychotic cases acceptable in
“WAWI model”) post graduation (non training) psychoanalytic
cases conducted at a frequency of at least 4 times per week (at
least 3 times per week in “WAWI model”)
4. The WAWI Model permits its Training Committee to waive the
requirement that the training analysis be conducted with an
approved TA for good cause shown.
The institute must have an explicit assessment procedure for determining
the suitability and eligibility of the analyst for performing this function. This
procedure should be submitted to and approved by the COI prior to
requesting a waiver. Institutes should avoid requesting multiple waivers for
the same analyst.
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
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APsaA Standards for Education and Training in Psychoanalysis
b. Psychoanalytic Theory
These seminars should include the study of basic psychoanalytic
theories relevant to child development including current
developmental theories and research.
c. Psychopathology
These seminars should include study of psychoanalytic perspectives
on the manifestations of psychopathology in children and
adolescents.
d. Development
These seminars should include the study of child and adolescent
development in greater depth than usually offered in seminars in
development in the adult psychoanalytic curriculum. Direct
observation of infants, children, and adolescents is an important
enrichment of the study of development.
e. Research
These seminars should include basic knowledge and current
research in infant and child development and the treatment of
children and adolescents.
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