APPLICATIONS
AND ADMISSIONS
The
initial contact for potential applicants for admission to the Analytic Training
Program is the Chair of the Admissions Committee, who will set up a preliminary
interview. Discussion during this interview will focus on professional interests
and overall plans, preparation for application at a future date, and/or
potential arrangements and timetables for admissions procedures for entry into
the next candidate class. There is no charge for these preliminary interviews.
Formal
Admissions Requirement Regarding Analysis
Before
the formal admissions process can begin, prospective applicants for full
candidacy (for Research
Candidates see below) must have completed one year of
analysis with a training analyst. On occasion, there are special considerations
that allow for an exception to this general policy; for example, if a candidate
seeks to transfer from another Institute of the American Psychoanalytic
Association. There are also certain life circumstances, such as a professional
move to the Cincinnati area or a change of analysts from a non-training to a
training one, where an earlier admissions evaluation is deemed appropriate.
These kinds of issues should be raised during preliminary pre-admissions
interviews with the Admissions Chair.
Qualifications
At
one time, psychoanalytic training was available only to physicians who had
completed residencies in psychiatry. That requirement now has broadened to
include:
 |
Physicians
and doctors of osteopathy who have completed at least one year of training
in a psychiatric residency program that is approved by the Council on
Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association.
(Completion of such a program is required for graduation from CPI) |
|
Clinical psychologists with a PhD or PsyD |
|
Social workers with a PhD, DSW, or an MSW who are also board certified |
|
diplomates
of clinical social work (or have a BCD equivalent) |
While
professional backgrounds can vary, in some sustaining ways they must have
prepared the individual to be able to work clinically within an intensely
committed professional relationship. All applicants must be licensed in the
state(s) where they practice.
Research
Candidates: Qualified individuals
from other academic disciplines, such as literature, history, or anthropology,
to name a few, and physicians in fields other than psychiatry, such as
pediatrics or internal medicine, are eligible for psychoanalytic training as
research candidates. A training analysis is not required but strongly
recommended. Research candidates
participate in all aspects of analytic training except the undertaking of
control cases analyses. As of yet
we do not have a formal CORST program that would allow, under special
circumstances, full training of individuals outside the usual mental health
professions. However, given the
complexity of the issues involved and our periodic exploring of unique avenues
of training, particular inquiries regarding
possible full training should be made to the Admissions Chair for full
clarification.
Formal
Applications Process
Following
the preliminary and informal interviews with the Chair of Admissions,
prospective candidates are asked to send a letter to the Admissions Committee
stating their interest in analytic training. This letter initiates the formal
application process which generally consists of completion of an application, a
write-up of current psychotherapy cases (usually two), a written overview of
their current practice, and a series of interviews.
The first three interviews are with three members of the Admissions
Committee. Then the applicant will have a series of 4-8 clinical
consultations with two faculty. Generally
these clinical consultations will focus on one or two current psychotherapy
cases.
The
interviews and the consultation allow faculty to assess the potential of the
applicant to do analytic work. In addition, applicants must demonstrate
integrity of character, maturity of personality, analyzability, empathic and
introspective capacity,
significant clinical aptitude, and educational readiness
for psychoanalytic training. The quality of curiosity and a need to understand
must be present and are essential. Furthermore, during both phases members of the
Admissions Committee are assessing the applicant’s capacity, emotional
resilience, and endurance to communicate and interpret.
It
is important for the development of such skills for the candidate to be able to
tolerate ambiguity and to sustain interest in what unfolds in the analytic
situation without imposing constricting points of view in the service of
premature closure. Hence, the applicant must have the potential to be able to
maintain multiple perspectives on a set of data. Clinically, this means that the
Committee is also looking at the individual’s ability to approach the material
of the analytic hour with evenly hovering attention, without limiting
preconceptions, and with an openness to possibilities and alternate hypotheses
concerning the vicissitudes of intrapsychic human experience.
The
application process for a child candidate is essentially the same provided
he/she demonstrates sufficient child clinical experience.
Child supervisors will participate in the admissions process as assigned
by the Chair of the Child Committee.
Readiness
Prospective
candidates must not only demonstrate their potential to do analytic work, but
must also be ready to do such work. Candidates who have been approved by the
Admissions Committee after the initial interviews and clinical consultation
phases are ordinarily considered prepared
to conduct analyses under supervision after some preliminary didactic seminars
and clinical conferences within the first six months of class work.
Transfers
Candidates
in good standing at other Institutes accredited by the American Psychoanalytic
Association may apply for transfer to CPI through a modification of the above
procedures. Often, at CPI, written clinical summaries and supervisory reports
can substitute for the clinical consultations. The Education Committee will
consider prior training for possible validation and credit upon submission of
appropriate transcripts and letters of reference from the other Institute.
Additional seminar attendance or personal training analysis may also be required
as a condition for transference of candidacy.
Matriculation
To
be eligible for matriculation, applicants must have fulfilled
all the prerequisites described earlier in this section. Applicants are
notified in writing of the decision of the Admissions Committee about their
acceptance. Upon acceptance, each candidate explicitly agrees to conduct only
those psychoanalyses that he or she is authorized to conduct.
Academic
Schedule
