WCSPP - Supervisory Training

Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

WCSPP Offers professional treatment for adults, Adolescents, and children.
WCSPP sponsors three professional associations.
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Find Information for Members in this Section.

Couples Training Program (One-Year)

The Couples Psychotherapy Training Program is a one-year course of study which focuses on the theory and practice of couples therapy. It integrates contemporary psychoanalytic thinking with systems theory from a clinical perspective.

ADMISSION

• PSYCHIATRY: M.D. from an accredited medical school, completion of one year of psychiatric residency plus ongoing residency while in training.

• PSYCHOLOGY: Ph.D. or Psy.D. in psychology from an accredited university or professional school. Eligibility for state licensure.

• SOCIAL WORK: Masters or doctoral degree from an accredited school of social work. Eligibility for state licensure.

• Other Licensed MENTAL HEALTH professionals from accredited programs. This includes marriage and family therapists, creative arts therapists, and mental health counselors. Others are considered on an individual basis.

Admission is by application and interview. Applicants are encouraged to apply prior to June 15. Each applicant must have current professional liability insurance, a copy of which will be retained in the WCSPP office.

REQUIREMENTS
• COURSE WORK: The one year academic program is organized as a trimester system with one course per trimester. The course meets for one hour and twenty minutes for 11 weeks on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:20 PM. On the twelfth Tuesday of each trimester candidates attend a Town Meeting where WCSPP candidates, graduates, and faculty assemble for discussion.

• FEES: There is an annual $75 registration fee to cover administrative costs. Course tuition is $450 per course and the tuition is to be paid prior to the start of each trimester. If needed, individual payment plans can be arranged.

COURSES

• FALL: Introduction to Couples Therapy – This course will focus on basic concepts in the treatment of couples as well as practical issues. Included will be the process of engaging the couple, setting the treatment frame and working with concurrent individual treatment. The assessment process will consider the couple’s degree of attachment/separation from the family of origin and the couples mutual ability to communicate and deal with differences.

• WINTER: Beginning Couples Therapy – Looking through the Dual Lens of the Intrapsychic and the Systemic – This course will bring together psychoanalytic and family systems models that are helpful to beginning a couples therapy. Some of the topics we will explore are: how to enter the couple’s world, how to assess the couple’s attachment styles, how to understand how they have co-created their problems, how to evaluate the negative cycles of conflict and begin to de-escalate tensions, how to instill hope for change, how to stay on both of their sides, and how to deal with one’s countertransference.

• SPRING: Special Topics – This course will focus on special topics related to couples therapy, including secrets, extra marital affairs, divorce, nontraditional families, sex therapy, infertility, substance abuse issues, and multicultural issues.

 

SUPERVISORY TRAINING PROGRAM
(ONE YEAR)

The Supervisory Training Program is a course of study designed to develop the skills and theoretical background consistent with supervisory responsibilities in practice, agencies and training institutes.

ADMISSION

Applicants must have four years of clinical experience after having completed psychoanalytic training.

Admission is by application and interview. Applicants are encouraged to apply prior to June 15. Each applicant must have current professional liability insurance, a copy of which will be retained in the WCSPP office.

REQUIREMENTS

• COURSE WORK: The one year academic program is organized as a trimester system with one course per trimester. The course meets for one hour and twenty minutes for eleven weeks. Classes are held in the instructors’ office.

• SUPERVISION: Supervisors in training will supervise candidates or graduates from within WCSPP or other institutes, or therapists from the community. Each trainee will be supervised individually on a weekly basis by a senior faculty supervisor.

• FEES: There is an annual $75 registration fee to cover administrative costs. Course tuition is $450 per course and the tuition is to be paid prior to the start of each trimester. If needed, individual payment plans can be arranged.

COURSES

• FALL: Review of Historic and Contemporary Literature on Supervision – This course examines current and historical thinking about the nature and practice of supervision through an overview of the literature. Topics covered include transference, countertransference and parallel process, use of authority, dangers of collusion, supervisor and supervisee’s narcissism and unanticipated negative effects of supervision. Responsibility and accountability to the supervisee and to the patient will be considered.

• WINTER: Who We Are and What We Do as Supervisors – This course considers the tasks and processes of supervision and who we are as supervisors. Topics include methodology, supervision of the therapist vs. supervision of the case, boundaries of supervision and analysis, subjective elements in analytic technique, collaborative and conflictual aspects of the supervisory relationship and one’s motivation for doing the work.

• SPRING: Synthesis of Theory and Clinical Experience – With the use of formal case presentations, the candidates have the opportunity to integrate their thinking on supervision. A cohesive group allows for discussion and exploration of what approaches best resonate and fit their personalities and how their own values and belief systems play central roles. Candidates will develop a clearer and more formulated understanding of supervision and their own clinical process.