Psychoanalytic Practice in the Early Postgraduate Years

Abstract

As a pilot investigation for a longitudinal study of psychoanalytic careers, a survey was conducted of analysts who graduated during the last fifteen years from the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. Graduates were asked to describe both their analytic practice and their interest in pursuing appointment as training and supervising analysts. The 23-item questionnaire was completed by 67 of 102 potential respondents (66%). The study identified two subgroups of graduates: those who were not certified and were not training analysts (GAs), 78% of the sample, and certified and training analysts (CAs, TAs), 22% of the sample. GAs started a mean of 1.4 new analytic cases since graduation, as compared to CAs and TAs, who started a mean of 5.4 and 8.3 new cases, respectively. CAs and TAs also saw more twice-weekly therapy cases than did GAs. Once-weekly therapy was the most commonly practiced treatment for all subgroups. Interest in becoming a TA was highest during the first five postgraduate years and was lower among non-TAs five to fifteen years after graduation. Only one of the CA respondents met current APsaA immersion criteria for training analyst appointment.

Contemporary Practice Patterns of Dynamic Psychiatrists—Survey Results

“…These percentages are different from the cohort of the same organization studied a decade ago, when 55% of patients were seen once a week, 30% twice a week, and 15% more than three times a week (Friedman et al, 1998;2005). This trend also correlates with the decreasing average of psychoanalytic sessions among analysts in other organizations, the average analyst having a caseload of approximately 4 patients in analysis at any time in the 1980s, dropping to 3 cases in analysis in the 1990s, with a substantial proportion of those in analysis being analytic candidates in training analysis (Cherry et al, 2004).…”

“…Surveys of office-based practice patterns of psychoanalysts periodically appear in the literature (Cherry, Cabaniss, Forand, Haywood, & Roose et al, 2004;Doidge, Simon, Lance et al, 2002;Friedman, Bucci, Christian, Drucker, & Garrison, 1998;Friedman, Garrison, Bucci, & Gorman, 2005;Glover, 1955;Hoff-man, Karush, Garfinkle, Roose, & Cherry, 2009;Jaffe & Pulver, 1978;Prochaska & Norcross, 1983), and much has been written on the declining trend of psychotherapy by psychiatrists (Mojtabai & Olfson, 2008Olfson & Marcus, 2010;Olfson, Marcus, & Pincus, 1999). Dynamic psychiatrists-physicians who are certified, trained, or informed by psychoanalytic theory and technique-are engaged in efforts to preserve the practice of psychotherapy by psychiatrists and take on leadership roles in educating psychiatric residents to achieve competency in psychodynamic psychotherapy.…”

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Child and Adolescent Analysts in New York City

“…We adapted the questionnaire used by Cherry et al (2004) in a study of clinical immersion of graduates from the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. To protect the confidentiality of the analysts and thereby encourage participation, we limited the demographic variables, did not code the questionnaires, and did not ask Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Training and Supervising Analyst, Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.…”

A Prospective Study of Career Development and Analytic Practice: the First Five Years

“…It also appeared that for a majority of graduates immersion in psychoanalytic practice declined over time. Though for the first five years after graduation most graduates report a very high interest in becoming a training analyst, this expressed interest was discordant with the failure to maintain the clinical immersion necessary to achieve that goal (Cherry et al 2004).…”