Engaging Minds: Toward Developing Psychoanalytic Candidates

ABSTRACT

The future and vibrancy of psychoanalysis rests on increasing the accessibility to training for early career clinicians. By recognizing and addressing the numerous barriers to the immersive experience of psychoanalytic training, we can foster strong candidate groups. This paper recounts one institute’s process of creating multiple points of access and substantive mentorship for new clinicians, aiming to nurture involvement over time with institute members and its professional offerings. Valuing both individual developmental trajectories and attracting diverse applicants across disciplines while attending to the significant obstacles many potential trainees face, generated increased interest and matriculation in both psychotherapy and psychoanalytic training programs.

KEYWORDS:

• Training outreach
• outreach
• psychoanalytic training
• psychotherapy training
• candidate
• mentor

Acknowledgments

I deeply appreciate the generous contributions of Lisa Citrin, Alison Phillips, Stephanie Schechter, Ellen Pinsky, Catherine Kimble, Stephen Bernstein, Catherine Mitkus, and Edward Rabinovitz.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Janet E. Noonan

Janet E. Noonan, LICSW, is a Training and Supervising Analyst and is on the faculty at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, where she is Vice Chair of the Students (Progression) Committee. She is in private practice.