Psychotherapy Training


ICP&P offers an intensive three-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy training program, involving weekly seminars, clinical process groups, and individual supervision. The training program emphasizes contemporary psychoanalytic theories and their clinical application.  Areas explored during the first two years of training include:

  • self psychology
  • intersubjectivity theory
  • motivational systems
  • history of psychoanalysis
  • modern theories of the self
  • ego psychology
  • object relations theories
  • Attachment theory
  • infant research

Study of each of these areas is conducted with an emphasis on the potential for clinical applications in psychotherapy. In the first semester of the final year, seminars on special topics are arranged and Members-in-Training work with experts in the field, including some with national and international prominence.  The last semester of training is devoted to developing a written paper on a topic of the trainee’s choosing, with mentoring from a faculty member. The four major components of the psychotherapy training program at ICP&P are:

  • Psychotherapy Training Seminars
  • Clinical-Process Seminars
  • Individual Clinical Supervision
  • Personal Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy Training Seminars - two hours/week

In each of the first two years of the training program, classes and materials are arranged into several four- to six-week units, each organized around a specific topic/theory. These two-hour weekly seminars are devoted to theoretical discussions with an emphasis on making meta-psychological concepts more “experience-near” through the use of clinical material.

Opening the first year of the Psychotherapy Training Program, the first unit explores in-depth the original contributions of Heinz Kohut, who amended and expanded psychoanalytic theory by refining the concept of narcissism, highlighting the significance of real experiences with early “selfobjects,” and illustrating the significance of empathy in both early development and the conduct of  psychotherapy. Building on the pioneering work of Kohut, the rest of the first year includes units on empathy as a mode of inquiry and its central role in treatment, the theory of motivational systems, intersubjectivity theory and its contemporary applications, and modern theories of the self. Members-in-Training learn directly from a number of the leading theorists representing these perspectives.

In the second year of training, during the first unit, trainees review the history of classical psychoanalysis.  This unit is followed by seminars on ego psychology, the object relations theories of Klein, Fairbairn, Winnicott and others, attachment theory, as developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth and its contemporary place in the understanding of attachment patterns and pathology, and psychoanalytic developmental theories, including the significant works of Freud and Mahler, as well as modern infant researchers such as Beebe and Lachmann, and Stern.

During the first half of the third year, a number of special topic units are arranged. In the past, these have included seminars on gender and sexuality, substance abuse, and psychological trauma, as well as topics designed to deepen understanding of material previously covered in the training program.  Additionally, trainees have an opportunity to study directly with experts who have earned national and international acclaim for their work in their specialty.  Faculty mentors assist in the writing process.

Attendance at Other ICP&P Educational Programs

Tuition fees for the Psychotherapy Training Program entitle trainees to attend most ICP&P programs throughout the year at no charge. Trainees are also entitled to attend certain other ICP&P events at “student” rates.  Programs that are free to trainees include the ICP&P Annual Conference, and various meetings, seminars and case conferences presented throughout the year. At a number of these meetings, arrangements are made for trainees to meet in a small group with nationally and internationally recognized figures in self psychology and other contemporary psychoanalytic theories.  A special feature of these meetings is the opportunity for a number of our trainees to present clinical materials to the top figures in the field for comment and “supervision” from an expert.  Attendance at these events is an essential part of the training program and absent extraordinary circumstances, trainee participation is expected.

Clinical/Process Group - one hour/week

Members-in-Training meet as a group for an hour each week with a senior faculty member for the purpose of discussing case material, integrating theory and practice, and examining the dynamics within the training group. In this process-oriented supervisory group, trainees greatly enrich their clinical skill, as they learn to elaborate and articulate their own “use of self” in the context of the relational-intersubjective model they are studying.

Individual Supervision - one hour/week

Supervised clinical work is an essential component of psychotherapy training at ICP&P. Members-in-Training are required to obtain individual supervision for one or more ongoing psychotherapy cases during the three years of training, with a minimum of 30 hours of clinical supervision per year. Supervision must be provided by a member of ICP&P and must meet with the approval of the Coordinator of Training.  Fees for individual supervision are determined by arrangement between the supervisee and supervisor and payments are made directly to the supervisor. The Coordinator of Training is available to assist trainees in identifying suitable supervisors, some of whom may be able to provide supervision at reduced fees where circumstances warrant.

Personal Psychotherapy

A personal psychotherapy (or analysis) is essential for a complete training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and is a requirement of the training program at ICP&P. Members-in-Training are encouraged to have personal psychotherapy from a self-psychologically informed psychotherapist concurrent with their training period.  Exceptions to this requirement may be made, with the approval of the Coordinator of Training, for those who already have completed a significant personal therapy or analysis with a psychoanalytic psychotherapist or analyst.

Admissions Policy

Admission to ICP&P’s Psychotherapy Training Program is available to any qualified individual interested in self psychology and other contemporary psychoanalytic theories.  The application process includes consideration of graduate and post-graduate education and supervised clinical experience. 
Application Materials may be obtained from:

Coordinator of Training
Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
4601 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 8
Washington, DC 20008

(202) 686-9300 / FAX: (202) 232-2565

Or click here to e-mail us


The ICP&P Training Program draws its applicants from the various mental health disciplines and other fields. The program does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, handicap, or national or ethnic background.