WPSI Psychoanalytic Training

The Western Psychoanalytic Society Institute (WPSI), along with the Western Branch of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (WBCPS), provides psychoanalytic training for professionals in keeping with standards of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA) and the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis (CIP). WPSI has provided analytic training for two cohorts in Western Canada and is pleased to announce that it will be offering psychoanalytic training to a new cohort beginning in September 2023.

Thank you for your interest in analytic training with WPSI.
The 2023 training application portal is now closed and we are reviewing all submissions. Successful applicants will be contacted with next steps.

 

Psychoanalytic Approach
WPSI faculty and instruction represent many schools of thought and advocate for a multiplicity of analytic technique based on the unique experience of each analytic dyad. WPSI encourages freedom of thought and individual creativity in psychoanalytic theorizing and practice. The curriculum reflects the current interests of faculty members and includes the study of Freud’s original texts, British Object Relations Theory, French Psychoanalysis, the Italian School and other international, historical and contemporary approaches essential to psychoanalysis.

Components of Psychoanalytic Training
Training at WPSI includes the following four components:

  • Personal Psychoanalysis four times per week throughout training (at least through the second case, and optimally into the beginning of the third case, resulting in approximately 800 hours.)
  • Four years of didactic seminars: online on Friday evenings and in-person intensive weekend course conferences occurring four times per year (Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday morning)
  • Three psychoanalytic training cases with weekly supervision, one two-year case (80 supervision hours) and two one-year cases (each 40 supervision hours)
  • Continuing professional development and contribution through participation in societal and institutional life including WBCPS, WPSI and International Psychoanalytical Studies Organization (IPSO) committee work in addition to attending, teaching or presenting at scientific meetings, conferences, courses or study groups.

Curriculum Overview and Mission Statement
Based on the Eitingon model of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), the didactic curriculum of the psychoanalytic training program at WPSI consists of a four-year seminar series taught by training and member analysts of the Western Branch of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society (WBCPS).

The curriculum has three principal missions. First, it aims to broadly expose trainees to fundamental psychoanalytic concepts through a diverse review of the literature, with a general focus on historical and contemporary object relations theories. The second aim is instruction in psychoanalytic technique, paired with group continuing case supervisions in each year of the didactic program. Education in psychoanalytic ethics and the procedural aspects of training, together with opportunities for feedback and community building constitute the curriculum’s third aim.

Structure of the Didactic Component
Seminars will be held primarily online with four in-person weekend course conferences each year. Each seminar will run 3 hours in length, divided into two 1.5-hour blocks, and will be held primarily on Friday late afternoon. In-person conferences will occur twice per semester, with seminars on Friday evening, Saturday morning/afternoon, and Sunday morning. Social programming will be offered on Saturday evenings of the conference.

Description of Year One
The first year’s curriculum will primarily consist of a thorough review of classical Freudian theory, divided into two main sections that survey the development of the topographical and structural models. Core texts from the Standard Edition will be paired with contemporary readings and summarizing content from Quinodoz’s Reading Freud. Later in the first year, a module devoted to psychoanalytic technique will be presented alongside continuing case presentations and discussion. An introductory lecture, ethics module and report-writing seminar will complement the theoretical offerings of the first-year program. Didactic discussions will dovetail with clinical case presentations, attempting to integrate conceptual and empirical approaches to learning. Enriching the core curriculum, contemporary neuroscientific findings and their interrelation with psychoanalytic models will be integrated throughout.

The Following Years
Years two through four will cover a large breadth of post-Freudian psychoanalytic literature, its associated concepts and theories. An early childhood development module covering Kleinian, ego psychology, object relational and attachment models of development will comprise a major segment of the second year. Among others, second year modules will cover Freud’s sociocultural papers and both classical and contemporary analytic understandings of gender and sexuality.

In later years, the curriculum will explore a range of psychoanalytic thinkers including the works of Winnicott, Ferenczi, Bion and select offerings from the French and Italian schools of analytic thought. Didactic immersion in contemporary literature and clinical case supervision will help trainees develop competency in the conceptual and practical management of the transference-countertransference paradigm, building familiarity with the use of analytic field theory in modern psychoanalytic treatment.

Program Advisors – Support from Beginning to End
This rich and comprehensive curriculum is enhanced by the three other concurrent components of training that interweave with the didactic experience: personal training analysis, supervised training cases, and community involvement with peers, colleagues, and analytic societies at large through conferences, scientific meetings, committee work and other events. In addition, the Analyst-in-training is accompanied through the program by an Advisor, a psychoanalyst member of the WBCPS, who guides them through the various phases of training from beginning seminars, submitting forms, writing case reports, choosing supervisors, and writing their final graduation paper. Advisors support Analysts-in-training in their own self-evaluation process and towards the fulfilment of Progression Committee requirements. When the training requirements are completed, the Progression Committee submits the Analyst-in-training’s name to the National Training Committee for final approval through voting by the national institute and society.

Admissions Criteria and Evaluation
Applications are welcome regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, race, ethnic background or physical challenges. Evaluation is based on readiness and suitability for training which is determined through the application and interview process. The personal and professional qualities considered necessary for psychoanalytic education and practice include openness and flexibility, emotional awareness, interpersonal sensitivity, ethical integrity, intellectual curiosity, and the capacity for self-observation.

The WPSI Analyst-in-training application requires the following:

  • Master’s degree, MD or equivalent professional education and clinical training
  • Clinical practice in Western Canada
  • License with a professional college or registration with a regulating body through professional membership
  • Professional liability insurance
  • Current Curriculum Vitae
  • List of courses taken on analytic theory and technique. (Western Branch courses, Infant Observation, etc.)
  • Short write-up of two clinical case experiences
  • Short write-up of the development of the applicant’s interest in becoming a psychoanalyst
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation (two from professional colleagues) sent directly to the Admissions Committee attesting to personal character, ethical conduct and clinical competency that would indicate suitability for analytic training
  • Commitment to begin in-person training analysis at least four months prior to the beginning of didactic training (contact the Admissions Committee regarding exceptional circumstances, e.g., geographic considerations, that require special permission)
  • Commitment to attend online seminars on Friday late afternoon and to attend in-person components of training held four times per year in Western Canada.
  • $250. application fee

Fees and Tuition
Personal analysis and clinical supervision are paid for privately at the rate agreed upon by both parties. Tuition for the didactic portion of the program is $2500. per year and includes membership with IPSO, the WBCPS, and a full subscription to the PEP Web. Partial financial aid in the form of interest free student loans are available through the CIP and the IPA. Subsequent years (following the didactic seminars) require an annual registration fee of $250. to cover subscriptions, memberships and administration costs until graduation.

Application Deadline and Process
Applications for the WPSI training program beginning in September 2023 will be reviewed between December 1, 2022 until January 20, 2023. Interviews will be conducted in February and March.

Interested applicants may contact info@wcpsi.org if they have additional questions about the program or application process and a member of the Admissions Committee will reply to your request for information.

Thank you for your interest in analytic training with WPSI. The training application portal is now closed and we are reviewing all submissions. Successful applicants will be contacted with next steps.

 

Education Committee Executive:

Director:
Endre Koritar, M.D.

Secretary:
Michelle van den Engh, MD, FRCPC, FIPA