Admissions
Procedures
Applications may be completed online at the Center website, www.wcpweb.org, printed out directly from the website, or obtained by contacting the Institute. A nonrefundable application fee of $100 is due with each formal application. Applications will be accepted throughout the year but should be submitted by May 1 to be eligible for classes starting the following September. Applications requiring a Waiver for a Non-Training Analyst are due January 15. To learn more, please contact the
Admissions Committee Chairs: | |
| Linda Stern | Steve Rosenblum |
| lssmft@aol.com | gsrosenblm@aol.com |
Requirements for Admission
Admission for training in psychoanalysis is based on the Standards of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Much of what follows is cited from these standards, with modifications as appropriate. Information gathered during admissions procedures and during the course of training is confidential and only for the use of authorized personnel of the Instutute and the American Psychoanalytic Association to the extent allowable under the law.
A. For Mental Health Clinicians
The selection of applicants for clinical psychoanalytic education and training is based on an assessment of their eligibility and readiness: prior education, clinical training, clinical experience, aptitude, and potential for psychoanalytic competence. Applicants must have graduated from an accredited post-baccalaureate degree-based clinical mental health educational program. They should have at least one of the following: (1) a medical degree with psychiatric residency training completed or in progress; (2) a doctoral level degree in a mental health field; or (3) a clinical masters degree (when this degree is recognized as the highest clinical degree generally obtained within a specific mental health profession) supplemented by at least two years of additional didactic and clinical training.
For masters degree applicants, post masters experience must include clinical work, two years of full-time mental health clinical experience (or the equivalent, about 3000 hours); weekly clinical supervision in psychodynamic psychotherapy; and didactic experience that covers assessment of the full range of emotional disorders (about 60 hours total). This experience may be attained through a structured program or through individually selected learning opportunities. Its goal is to enable the applicant to demonstrate potential for psychoanalytic clinical competence.
Applicants must obtain appropriate licensure or certification and the insurance necessary for the practice of psychoanalysis in the jurisdiction in which they intend to practice.
B. For Non-Mental Health Clinicians
The Institute welcomes applications from medical clinicians and researchers, from research investigators and scholars in all fields, and from other professionals who seek to enhance their work through psychoanalytic training. They may pursue training as a Research Candidate, which involves personal analysis with a training analyst of this Institute and the four year core curriculum of courses. It does not include the supervised analysis of patients.
Non-mental health clinicians may also qualify to become Clinical Candidates by obtaining a "CORST waiver". This waiver is intended for candidates who plan to continue their work in a field other than clinical psychoanalysis (a few examples include literary scholarship, philosophy, law, or international relations) and whose work would be enhanced by psychoanalytic study that includes supervised analysis of patients. The CORST waiver requires extensive clnical preparation, arranged with the Institute on an individual basis; this preparation may be undertaken before applying to the Institute or while studying as a Research Candidate.
Suitability
In judging suitability for training, the Institute Council must be satisfied as to the applicant's good professional and ethical character, in the general meaning of the term. In addition, the Council evaluates applicants from a psychoanalytic viewpoint with regard to their potential for a successful personal analysis and consequent personality maturation, and for Clinical Candidates, their potential to function as psychoanalysts. This evaluation of the applicant's suitability is based on a review of written information from the applicant and from references, and also on conferences with the admissions interview panel. After their personal interviews, qualified applicants submit a written clinical case report as the basis for a group discussion with those who have interviewed them, along with the Chair of the Admissions Committee.
APPLICATIONS
Application forms may be obtained by writing to the Institute or via the link below. A non-refundable application fee of $100 is due with each formal application. Applications are due by May 1 for the following fall, but will be accepted at any time during the year, and the Admissions Committee will meet periodically to act on them. Applications requiring a Waiver for a Non-Training Analyst are due January 15. The applicant will be notified about the decision of the Education Committee regarding his/her application as soon as possible after completing the admissions procedure. Since decisions on admission for training involve complex personal judgments and evaluation of intangible factors, the Institute may choose not to advance reasons for non-acceptance of an application.
For a Word version of the application form, click here, or for a hard copy please write to:
The Washington Psychoanalytic Institute
4545-42nd St., N.W., #209
Washington, DC 20016
Voice: 202.237.1854
Fax: 202.237.1856
center@wcpweb.org
