Explore OUR

PSYCHODYNAMIC
PSYCHOTHERAPY PROGRAM

• Theory and clinical classes, and group supervision, from 6 – 9:20 PM on Tuesday nights
• Weekly individual supervision sessions
• Weekly individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy session
• Two patient hours per week, either from ICP’s Adult Treatment Service or from candidate’s work setting / private practice

• Social Workers
• Mental Health Counselors
• Psychologists
• Psychiatric Nurses
• Physicians
• Creative Arts Therapists
• Other mental health professionals

• Attendance:
  Each semester is either 14 or 15 weeks long and consists of 14 class sessions and if 15 weeks long, a mid-semester workshop also.
  • Full semester classes have 14 class sessions.
  • In the first year, one course is divided into four seven-week module classes: each is an introduction to a different theory.
  • For didactic courses and supervision, the attendance policy will be stated in the syllabus.

• Case Requirements:
  • You are required to see 2 patients in psychotherapy per week for a total of 80 hours minimum per year in the program, 160 hours minimum over the 2 years. The hours counted are for sessions attended.
  • You are required to attend at least 40 sessions of individual supervision each year with an approved ICP supervisor of your choice. You and your supervisor are to focus on the 2 designated patients during your work together.
• Personal Analysis: You are required to be in once-weekly psychoanalytic psychotherapy with an approved analyst for at least 80 continuous hours over the course of the 2 years of training.
  • An approved analyst is one who: has a certificate in Psychoanalysis from a recognized analytic institute; and graduated at least 5 years ago.
  • If you choose to be in therapy multiple times a week, you still must continue at least one-time-per-week treatment throughout the second year of the program, even if you accumulate many more than 80 hours of treatment total.

The academic year consists of two semesters of classes each year. Classes meet Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9:20 PM. Each evening participants attend one theoretical course, one clinical course, and one group supervision.

In the reading courses, we encourage candidates to discuss their responses to both the content and the experience described in the week’s assigned articles, as well as to present clinical material that relates to the assignments. This is in keeping with our philosophy of personal growth as an integral component of clinical competence.

The Fall semester has 14 classes. The Spring semester has 15: in the additional week, candidates from both years join to attend a mandatory workshop on an important topic that isn’t covered in depth in the regular curriculum. Some recent topics were “A Basic Introduction to Trauma Work,” “Starting a Private Practice,” and “Trans Experience: A First-hand Account.”

Clinical Courses:
The clinical classes focus on the understanding of therapeutic interaction, and on the development of effective clinical skills. Readings serve as the springboard to class discussions in all courses. We encourage candidates to pay attention to their affective responses to the articles, and to develop their capacity for self-reflection in these courses.

Theoretical Courses:
In the first year, each semester consists of two 7-week theory modules. Each of the 4 modules highlights a different theory and its accompanying clinical practices (see details below). By the end of the first year, the candidates have a beginning grounding in the major theoretical schools. The second year’s courses are Development, Assessment 1 and 2, and Unconscious Process / Dreams / and Termination.

First Semester:

• THE CLINICAL PROCESS 1
  This course serves as an introduction to working as a psychodynamically-oriented psychotherapist. Readings and case examples address questions such as: what are the therapist’s initial tasks; how does the therapist listen, provide an atmosphere of safety, engage the patient, and encourage curiosity; what are common problems that arise early in treatment; and how may they be used to advance the work?
• SUPERVISION GROUP 1
  The cohort is divided into two groups, each of which meets weekly with its group supervisor to discuss the candidates’ work with individual patients. Each group remains together for both semesters of the first year.
• INTRODUCTION TO FREUDIAN THEORY
  In this 7-week module, the candidates read and discuss articles by Freud and contemporary Freudian theorists. Freud, the founder of our profession, made contributions from which all other analytic theories derive.
• INTRODUCTION TO OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY
  Also a 7-week module, this course teaches the important theories that began to shift analytic thinking towards a two-person psychology. These expanded the understanding of psychological functioning. Readings include theorists such as Klein, Fairbairn, Winnicott, and contemporary writers.

Second Semester:

• THE CLINICAL PROCESS 2
  This semester’s material continues to look at therapists’ experiences with patients (including “countertransference”) as a valuable source of information. Current complex clinical concepts are introduced and discussed. Specific aspects of therapy situations are also discussed from the perspective of the therapist’s experience.
• SUPERVISION GROUP 2
  This is a continuation of the first semester’s group.
• INTRODUCTION TO SELF-PSYCHOLOGY THEORY
  This third 7-week module introduces one of the constituent components of “two-person psychology,” through reading Kohut and his followers. The syllabus also covers contemporary Self-Psychological and Intersubjective perspectives.
• INTRODUCTION TO INTERPERSONAL AND RELATIONAL THEORIES
  In this last 7-week module of the year, candidates learn about Interpersonal theory from articles by major contributors to this school of thought. Contemporary Relational theory developed from many sources, including post-modern and feminist critiques of older models of mind. Candidates read important Relational articles that explore various themes in the profession.

• SUPERVISION GROUP 3
  In the second year, the candidates are shifted into different group configurations. This allows for exposure to additional perspectives from other classmates and from new group supervisors. The new groups stay together for both semesters.
• DEVELOPMENT
  This course focuses on human development from a psychoanalytic perspective. Candidates read developmental theorists who have made contributions to the understanding of infancy, the early relationship between mother and child, and developmental issues from childhood through adulthood. Writings from varying schools of thought, all of which shed light on different aspects of development, are in the syllabus.
• CLINICAL ASSESSMENT 1
  Candidates get an overview of several theories of assessment. This course helps candidates assess symptoms, presenting problems, and on-going patient material. Some topics include affect, trauma, mentalization, as well as borderline, narcissistic, and dissociative states. The way various capacities are expressed in the therapeutic relationship will be considered. Traditional concepts, such as diagnostic entities, character structure, and self- and object-constancy will be integrated with this clinical / relational model of assessment.

• SUPERVISION GROUP 4
  This is a continuation of the first semester.
• CLINICAL ASSESSMENT 2
  This is a continuation of the first semester.
• UNCONSCIOUS PROCESSES, DREAMS, and TERMINATION
  This class explores the work we do from a more philosophical perspective, and emphasizes cultivating an appreciation of unconscious processes. Dreams and the termination process include unconscious components. The discussion of dreams may involve personal contributions from some candidates. Termination, a part of each treatment whether dealt with explicitly or not, is an appropriate ending to the semester and the two years of the program.