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The tripartite training program in adult psychoanalysis consists of personal analysis, educational coursework, and consulted psychoanalytic work with patients. The foremost goal of psychoanalytic training at SFCP is to facilitate each candidate becoming a psychoanalyst -- in particular, for each candidate to develop the capacity to practice psychoanalysis in a way that responds to each patient’s unique needs. This capacity grows as candidates immerse themselves in the various components of the training program, and it continues to develop after they complete training.
The major steps in training are shown below. Each will be elaborated in subsequent sections:
With the exception of admissions decisions and candidates establishing a personal training analysis, all of the other steps in the sequence outlined above are tracked by and discussed in the Candidate’s annual CDP Meeting (Candidate Devlopment & Progressions process) with consultation as needed from the Psychoanalytic Education Division (PED).
The Development & Progression Committee (CDP) is a subcommittee of the PED and is comprised of the CDP Chair and 10-20 Progressions Advisors. Each candidate is assigned a Progressions Advisor, who will guide them through the CDP process for the duration of their candidacy. Once per year — or more frequently if desired — the PA will organize a CDP meeting that includes the candidate, the PA, and all of the candidates Consulting Analysts with the goal of offering personalized support and feedback regarding the candidate’s development. The CDP meeting will have a flexible format, tailored specifically to the needs of each candidate, but will usually include a portion during which the PA and CAs meet without the candidate and then with the candidate present.
The CDP process will replace the current PGC process and will have responsibility for ensuring that (1) the candidate meets the requirements for graduation and (2) the candidate has personalized and consistent longitudinal support throughout their training. The CDP process aims to first and foremost offer candidates active support and guidance around their analytic development, following their progression through analytic training and their analytic development over the course of their training within a personalized and dialogic framework. Secondarily, the CDP ensures the candidate is meeting objective training requirements and seeks to address any gaps or concerns brought up by the candidate, their Consulting Analysts (CA) or their instructors over the course of training. The concept of the “leading edge of the candidate’s development” will be an important focus of organizing feedback about the candidate’s development.
Upon completion of all training requirements, a candidate will be considered by the CDP process for graduation. (See section below on Candidate Development & Progression for further description regarding the annual CDP review of each candidate’s work, and of criteria for progression and graduation.)
The following sections describe each of the steps toward graduation in more detail.
