The goal of our curriculum is to expand and enhance each candidate’s knowledge of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and its practical application in a variety of clinical settings.
The courses are designed for the working professional, offering learning which may be immediately applied to each student’s work life setting. The course load is designed to be a manageable amount of reading, typically about 2-4 articles assigned weekly. Each semester is 15-weeks and classes are held on Monday evenings , approximately between 6:30 pm- 9:30 pm.
All of our classes offer lecture and experiential discussion of the readings and clinical presentations. We teach a theory of the mind valued for offering an understanding of personality development and organizing and guiding useful intervention in therapy. The theories are tied to clinical work and the advancement of a practical technique.
The continued development of the science and art of psychoanalytic psychotherapy is at the forefront of NYSPP’s vision. Our goal is for the candidates’ cognitive and experiential learning as well as the therapeutic effect that technique provides clients.
1st Year Fall Semester
The Theory of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy IThis course provides a foundation for learning the basic concepts of psychoanalytic theory and their modification over time. We learn how early theory contributes to contemporary thinking of developmental object relations theory and the way that the theory provides guidance for therapeutic technique.
1st Year Fall Semester
When Strangers Meet: The Therapeutic Process of Engaging & Holding the Prospective Client
This course uses psychoanalytic object-relations model of the mind, to focus on engaging clients new to the analytic therapeutic treatment process. Students learn techniques for establishing the therapeutic alliance while balancing therapeutic boundaries. The class examines how to understand the client’s fears and protective measures and create techniques that provide a safe holding environment that aid to bring the client material into the space of the therapeutic relationship.
1st Year Spring Semester
The Theory of Psychoanalytic Theory IIThis course continues to examine Freud’s developmental theory and model of the mind, forming a basis for the study of the conscious and unconscious functions of the ego and object relations. The course focuses on clinical material such as symptoms, problems in mood, screen memories, and dreams. This class highlights how to understand such phenomena in a therapeutic setting and how to apply this understanding to working with clients.
1st Year Spring Semester
Introduction to the Study of Ego & Object Relations FormationThis course focuses on classical and contemporary clinicians and their contribution to a unified theory of the conscious and unconscious workings of the mind. The course highlights the study of the development of the inner structure of the mind through the gradual organization of self and object representations, identifications, integration of the ego, and identity formation.
2nd Year Fall Semester
Clinical Theory of Psychoanalytic PsychotherapyThis course provides an overview of conflict and its essential ingredient to understanding the dynamics of the mind. Here we address how defenses operate in relation to underlying wishes and needs, and their essential link to relationships with self and others. This class examines how dynamics play out in the treatment and offer techniques to understand and provide a safe holding environment to each client.
2nd Year Spring Semester
Diagnosis from a Developmental Point of ViewThis course utilizes a diagnostic profile originated by Anna Freud and elaborated on by contemporary clinicians, and looks at diagnoses as a guide to treatment planning. There will be detailed consideration of basic symptoms such as neuroses, hysteria, obsessional borderline, depression and psychosis.
3rd Year Fall Semester
The Theory of Techniques of Psychoanalytic PsychotherapyThis course examines the importance of maintaining a therapeutic alliance and the in-depth process of working through, a vital aspect of analytic therapy. Student’s learn an understanding of the workings of the transference, tact, and timing in the interpretative process. This class presents clinical concepts such as transference, countertransference, and resistance in the treatment process.
3rd Year Spring Semester
The Theory & Technique of Strengthening the Fragile SelfThis course focuses on the theory guiding and techniques utilized in treating more severe pathologies such as borderline and destructive narcissism. Classical and contemporary readings guide the discussion. The effects of developmental trauma on the developing mind, the distortions in thinking, feeling, and identity will be discussed using students’ case material.