ADULT PSYCHOANALYSIS TRAINING PROGRAM ELEMENTS
BPSI’s Adult Psychoanalytic training program consists of three major parts, which take place concurrently:
CURRICULUM
BPSI is the largest psychoanalytic institute in the United States. Founded in 1933, its members have been and continue to be among the most prominent contributors to the development of psychoanalysis in this country. BPSI candidates benefit from a comprehensive exposure to historical currents in psychoanalysis as well as contemporary controversies and debates in our field. BPSI’s curriculum immerses candidates in the development of psychoanalytic theory and technique in the context of current ideas, nationally and internationally. Our classwork offers a rich and lively interchange with faculty and fellow candidates designed to advance each candidate’s knowledge of psychoanalytic theory and practice and to develop his or her individual psychoanalytic identity and capacity to engage deeply with patients.
The core curriculum consists of five sequences, which are interwoven throughout the five years of seminars. These sequences include:
- Theory
- Technique
- Psychopathology
- Development
- Clinical Practice
The first year of psychoanalytic training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute offers an immersive introduction to the foundations of psychoanalytic thought and practice. Candidates develop a working understanding of core psychoanalytic concepts while learning the essential clinical skills of analytic listening and technique. The curriculum follows emotional development from infancy and toddlerhood through close observation and explores the vital roles of dreams, ethics, and the treatment relationship. From the beginning, candidates are encouraged to consider how race, culture, gender, sexuality, social location, and power shape psychic development, identity, the therapeutic relationship, and the analyst’s ways of listening. A case presentation seminar brings these dimensions into dialogue with theory and clinical experience, creating a thoughtful and supportive setting in which candidates begin to develop their own analytic voice.
In the subsequent years, candidates deepen and broaden their clinical and theoretical understanding through sustained engagement with Freud, ego psychology, Klein and the Neo-Kleinians, Winnicott, Bion, the Independent Tradition, relational theory, and contemporary intersubjective perspectives. Race, culture, gender, sexuality, and social context are treated not as supplementary topics, but as foundational dimensions of psychoanalytic understanding and clinical practice. Dedicated seminars including Psyche, Race & Social Context and Genders & Sexualities invite candidates to examine how social realities become part of psychic life and how difference, privilege, marginalization, and power enter the analytic relationship. Developmental and psychopathology courses, progressive technique seminars, electives, writing opportunities, and continuous case conferences help candidates integrate these perspectives with clinical practice. By the fifth year, candidates are supported in their ongoing development of a coherent, flexible, and personally authentic psychoanalytic identity, one capable of listening deeply to the complexity of each patient and to the cultural and social worlds in which every analysis unfolds.
Across the curriculum, candidates engage with essential themes, including human development, neuroscience and empirical research, ethical practice, sociocultural context, race, sexuality and gender, and the evolution of analytic cases. These perspectives encourage candidates to reflect critically and contextually on both what we know and how we practice. BPSI also recognizes writing as an important means of deepening one’s understanding of the analytic process and supports writers at every level through seminars, workshops, and individual mentorship.
Traditionally, classes are held on Thursday evenings at BPSI from 5:30pm- 7:00pm and 8:00pm – 9:30pm, with an hour free for dinner, over eight-week periods from September to June. Our focus is on in-person learning and applicants are expected to be able to attend classes at BPSI, at 141 Herrick Road in Newton Centre.
Our faculty draws from an extensive list of experienced, dedicated and enthusiastic clinical scholars. Many are nationally-recognized leaders in the field and publish frequently in major psychoanalytic journals.
BPSI enhances our core seminars with electives, open academic lectures, considerable support for clinical writing and mini-seminars. Candidates and faculty work together to continually expand and build upon the curriculum so that it is current and relevant for our Candidates.
Throughout our training programs BPSI provides several mentors, volunteers from faculty who are committed to supporting Candidates throughout their education and into their professional advancement.
Continuing Education Credits are available across all disciplines for select Thursday evening events and Saturday Programs.
SUPERVISION
As part of their analytic training, BPSI Candidates treat at least three patients in psychoanalysis under supervision from a qualified analyst, one for each case. Candidates choose their supervisors from a list of experienced and vetted psychoanalysts.
The relationship between Candidate and Supervisor offers a significant mentoring experience.
Through the lens of a concentrated single-case focus, supervised cases help Candidates learn to integrate theory and technique within the clinical process and develop their analytic skills. Throughout the experience, Supervisors help Candidates develop:
- criteria for evaluating the indications and contraindications for conducting a psychoanalysis with a particular patient,
- an analytic stance that fosters free association,
- an ability to be attuned to the patient’s feelings and to listen to analytic material at different levels,
- an ability to identify and understand transference and countertransference feelings,
- a capacity to use different conceptual models in understanding clinical material, and
- an ability to make interventions that facilitate the development and deepening of the psychoanalytic process.
Supervision Guidelines
- Supervisors may be selected from the BPSI list of Supervising Analysts.
- For graduation, Candidates must undertake three supervised cases, with at least one of each gender. 150 supervisory hours are required, with 50 hours dedicated to one of the three cases.
- After approval for a third case, Candidates may apply to begin unsupervised cases.
- For Candidates also studying child psychoanalytic training at BPSI, one child training case may count toward their three supervised cases.
Consultation and Referral Service
BPSI’s Referral Service, offered by our Referral Committee, can be an excellent source for referrals. The committee provides information and assistance to individuals who are considering psychoanalysis and/or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Committee members meet in consultation with adults, adolescents and children and, whenever possible, provide referrals.
When appropriate, committee members work to facilitate analytic referrals to Candidates who are willing to take a reduced fee for training purposes.
PERSONAL PSYCHOANALYSIS
BPSI considers Candidates’ personal analysis to be a crucial part of thorough psychoanalytic training. Through a personal analysis, Candidates develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the analytic process while gaining a greater openness to their own feelings and those of others.
The exploration, understanding and insight afforded by the analysis allows each Candidate the experience of free association, transference, resistance and termination. By participating in their own analysis, Candidates develop a fuller appreciation of the nature of their patients’ experience with the analytic relationship and process and come to feel more responsive and freer in their personal and professional lives.
In the context of a close, working relationship with their analyst, Candidates are able to identify and address conflicts and therefore enhance their capacity to be good psychoanalysts. Ultimately, each Candidate’s personal analysis contributes to the development of his or her self-analytic skill and an analytic identity.
The personal analysis is fully confidential and fees are arranged privately between Candidate and analyst.
A Training Analysis at 4- 5x per week with an approved BPSI Analyst is required by matriculation. Candidates are in analysis during at least part of the time concurrently with their supervised cases. For graduation, Candidates need 300 hours of psychoanalysis with a BPSI Training Analyst. In some cases, well established analyses with BPSI Psychoanalysts may be eligible for a Waiver for the analysis to serve as the training analysis. If you are already engaged in a 4-5x/week analysis with a BPSI Psychoanalyst who is not yet designated as a Training Analyst, or you wish to work with an APsA/IPA Training Analyst who is not at BPSI, the Analyst may inquire about a waiver to continue as an approved Analyst for the Candidate’s training.
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Training Program Elements
Syllabi
Faculty & Candidates
Admissions
Training Analysts
Mentoring
