Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program: An Advanced One Year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Certificate Course

The Psychoanalytic Center of California offers advanced training for mental health clinicians in the practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.  This clinically oriented course provides students an opportunity to develop and deepen the psychoanalytic knowledge and clinical therapeutic skills of intensive psychotherapy, with special emphasis on the contributions of British Object Relations theory.  Special features of PCC’s advanced training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy are as follows:

•    A One-Year Intensive Evening Course
•    An Optional Second-Year Extension for Graduates
•    Theoretical and Clinical Synthesis of British and American Object Relations Models
•    Small Group Case-Based Seminars
•    Each Student is Assigned a PCC Faculty Mentor
•    Course Begins October of Each Year  


COURSE OBJECTIVES
PCC’s year-long intensive course provides an overview of Object Relations theory and psychoanalytically-oriented technique. Our unique approach:
•    Builds upon the work of Klein, Bion, Fairbairn, Winnicott, and Tustin
•    Is a window into the central theoretical and clinical components of PCC’s training programs
•    Correlates theory with clinical application in all seminars
•    Offers readings from original theoretical sources


COURSE STRUCTURE
In order to effectively integrate theory with clinical practice, PCC’s psychoanalytic psychotherapy training consists of two integrated components:
•    6 Seminar Courses on essential elements of the psychotherapeutic encounter
•    Small Group Case-Based Seminars supervised by PCC Faculty


THEORETICAL SEMINAR COURSES
The sequence of seminar courses is designed to develop the essential components of an object relations perspective in conducting a psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy. All courses integrate the clinical and theoretical aspects of the subject matter, using clinical examples from the instructors and students. Essential features of the progression of study are:
•    First encounters with the patient
•    Emerging transference and countertransference configurations
•    Unconscious communication of phantasy and projective identification  
•    Special emphasis on unconscious phantasy in dreams.
•    Understanding primitive and infantile aspects of the patient’s personality


SMALL GROUP CASE-BASED SEMINARS
Case-Based Seminars allow students to apply theoretical material to on-going clinical cases.   Faculty Instructors change each trimester to introduce students to experienced analysts with varying points of view.  Seminars meet every other week on different nights to accommodate student schedules.
•    Five small group case seminars per trimester.
•    Each group consists of 3-4 students
•    Student presents process notes from a current case
•    Faculty Supervisor directs discussion of case with fellow students
•    Additional supervision can be arranged through Faculty Mentors at affordable fees


CERTIFICATE
Students are awarded Certificates of Completion at the year-end Graduation Ceremony held in June.


TUITION
•    $50 non-refundable application fee
•    $625 per trimester (includes theoretical classes and case-based seminars)
•    One-time $50 fee for reproduction of the course readings
•    Total cost for one year is $2075 (application fee included), paid as follows:
•    $725 due before commencement of classes
•    $625 due beginning of each trimester


COURSE SCHEDULE
Seminar Classes meet from 7-10 PM on Thursday evenings in the PCC Conference Room.  Students attend two classes per trimester, 10 sessions each.   Course offerings are as follows:

FALL COURSES
The Unique Patient-Therapist Relationship and the Frame
Transference and Countertransference

WINTER COURSES
Unconscious Phantasy: Understanding the Internal World of the Patient
Dreams and the Internal World

SPRING COURSES
States of Mind and Body:
Neurotic, Psychotic, Infantile and Adult: The Capacity to Tolerate Emotional Experience


ELIGIBILITY FOR PROGRAM
Applications are accepted from all mental health professionals with a valid California license (L.C.S.W., M.D., M.F.T., Ph.D., Psy.D., R.N.), and from those who have authorization to work under a person holding a valid California license or are working under the auspices of a state approved mental health facility.


APPLICATION PROCESS
•    Submit Application Form with $50 non-refundable application fee
•    Two Interviews with members of the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program Faculty
•    Concurrent personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy is recommended but not required
•    Applications due by August 15
•    Download Application form below or email request to PCC at psychcntr.pcc@verizon.net


NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
The Psychoanalytic Center of California admits students of any race, color, sex, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded to or made available to students at the Center. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM

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