WCSPP - Adult Psychotherapy 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.

Adult Psychotherapy Training Program (Two-Year)

The Adult Psychotherapy Training Program is designed for mental health professionals who wish to further their skills and understanding of the psychotherapeutic process. Courses explore assessment, psychopathology, psychodynamics, and core clinical concepts in conjunction with clinical case seminars. Supervision will be arranged for eligible participants. Personal psychotherapy is strongly recommended. A limited number of spaces are available to students who wish to pursue only course work without the clinical component.

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 two 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.

• SUPERVISION: A minimum of 80 hours of faculty supervision are required over two years. In order to earn credit, participants must have at least 40 hours with the same faculty supervisor.

• CLINICAL REQUIREMENT: Candidates are required to provide treatment on a weekly basis to patients. Training patients are assigned through the Treatment Service for a minimum of 80 hours over two years. Upon graduation, training patients may be transferred to the candidate’s private practice.

• FEES: There is an annual $75 registration fee for each academic year 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. Supervision is $50 per individual session.

ADULT PSYCHOTHERAPY TRAINING PROGRAM COURSES

FIRST YEAR

• FALL: Psychoanalytic Principles I – The basic psychoanalytic concepts of transference, countertransference, resistance, and interpretation are studied. The focus of the course consists of adapting the analytic attitude to the psychotherapy situation.

• Winter: Psychoanalytic Principles II – The primary objectives of the course are to increase the students’ abilities to identify and understand latent content. The focus is on understanding the unconscious, fantasy, dreams, symbolism and metaphor.

• Spring: Contemporary Issues in the Therapeutic Relationship – The therapeutic relationship has been seen as transference, a working alliance, a frame, a holding environment and a source of new experience. This course will review these aspects to focus on ways of integrating them into the therapist’s clinical work.

SECOND YEAR

• FALL: Psychoanalytic Listening – The course focuses on expanding the clinician’s capacity to hear the complexity of meaning of the patient’s communications. Emphasis is on the importance of unconscious processes, conflict and the use of language.

• Winter: Comparative Theory and Technique from a Contemporary Clinical Perspective – The focus of the course is to provide through clinical material and readings a contemporary clinical perspective comparing various psychoanalytic approaches.

• Spring: Treatment of Patients with Severe Pathology – The course reviews psychoanalytic theory and techniques relevant to working with more disturbed patients. Readings address mood disorders, substance abuse, trauma, sexual abuse, ethical dilemmas, and the integration of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.