welcome to modern psychoanalysis

At the CENTER FOR MODERN PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES, highly qualified psychoanalysts have been using Freud's creative and influential ideas in a truly "modern" way. Using Freud as an example, they have broken with old forms of treatment when work with patients has convinced them that some traditional “rules,” such as multiple times a week treatment, reconstruction of the forgotten past, the exclusive use of interpretation of unconscious motives, and primary focus on the Oedipus complex do not lead to desired results. Because patients today may be more bothered by their aggression than by their sexuality and by their injured narcissism than by their unconscious incestuous wishes, the emphasis is on how patients handle rage, their own and that of others. They may bottle up their anger and become inhibited, depressed, and anxious. Self-hate may dominate over self-love. The theories and practices that have evolved to free patients from their self-damaging repetitions have implications for freeing creativity, raising children, and functioning optimally in love and work.

The Center holds an absolute charter from the New York State Board of Regents to grant a Certificate in Psychoanalysis. The program consists of courses in human development, psychoanalytic history, theory, and research. In addition to the course work, students, under supervision, see patients at our Consultation and Referral Service.

The Center is interested in receiving applications from mental health practitioners and from those who have never worked or studied in the field before. Freud believed that people with open minds, from a variety of backgrounds, have the potential to understand the unconscious. Many of his most distinguished followers (Anna Freud, Otto Rank, Eric Erickson, Melanie Klein) began as artists, teachers, editors, for example. We follow Freud’s model in welcoming people with a wide range of past experiences. We have trained teachers, lawyers, clergy, mathematicians, writers, engineers, and others as well as social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists.

The Center also offers workshops, conferences, and extension courses geared toward the application of modern psychoanalytic concepts to non-treatment situations. Recent workshops have focused on: working with elderly parents; dealing with one’s children; releasing creativity; understanding dreams; and recognizing the unconscious in the classroom and boardroom.

The Center’s Consultation and Referral Service is an integral part of the training program. It affords students approved for Certificate Candidacy and Research Candidacy the opportunity for clinical experience under faculty supervision. Individuals and families considering treatment can call the Consultation and Referral Service between 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, to arrange for an initial interview. Therapy fees fall within Consultation and Referral Service guidelines and are decided by mutual agreement between therapist and patient. Fellows are responsible for the direction of the Consultation and Referral Service, and meet regularly with students. While they are working with patients at the Consultation and Referral Service, analysts-in-training must be in a PT 7 training analysis on a weekly basis at minimum.