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(1) This letter has been published in: “Les nouveaux enjeux de la psychanalyse: subversion and conflictualité”, Analuein, Journal de la F.E.D.E.P.S.Y., Strasbourg, 2004 ; “Come lavorare insieme in psicanalisi”, Spazio Aperto, Nodi Freudiani, Rome,2004; Lacan e a formaçäo do psicanalista, Contracapa/Corpo Freudiano do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2004 .
(2) Laurel Bass Wagner, “Progress Report on the Psychoanalytic Consortium,” Psychologist Psychoanalyst, Newsletter of Division 39, Vol. XXI, Fall 2001, Wahsington, D.C., p. 7 .
(3) According to the Consortium, eligibility for admission to an institute is first determined in terms of a candidate’s graduate degrees and his/her involvement in the domain of mental health: “1. Graduate education. To be eligible to undertake psychoanalytic education, a candidate will possess one of these degrees: Ph.D, Psy.D, D.S.W., M.S.W., M.D., Ed.D. D.O., R.N. (plus a master’ s degree with Clinical Specialist certification or Ph.D.) or a comparable mental health degree and education/training leading to licensure or certification for independent practice of a core mental health profession at the highest clinical level. […]
2. The applicant will have the ability to diagnose mental disorders. […]
3. The applicant will have had psychotherapy practice experience. S/he will have had close supervision of individual cases.[…]” (“Standards of Psychoanalytic Education, Accreditation Council for Psychoanalytic Education, The Psychoanalytic Consortium,” Psychologist Psychoanalyst, Newsletter of Division 39 , Vol. XXI, Fall 2001, Washington, D.C., p. 8).
(4) On this point: “Suitability refers to the personal characteristics of the applicant that are deemed necessary for psychoanalytic education. The applicant will show evidence of integrity of character, maturity of personality, reasonable indication of capacity and motivation for self-reflection, psychological mindedness, clinical aptitude, and appropriate intellectual ability. […] An ethics violation disclaimer will be part of the admission procedure. If an applicant has been found by a recognized professional or governmental body to have comitted an ethical violation the institute shall be responsible for reviewing the finding and documenting its conclusions and actions. If there is an ethics or malpractice case pending against an applicant the institute may defer its decision on the application until the case is resolved (ibid., p.9).
(5) It is interesting to note that, after defining the selection of candidates for analytic training in terms of “eligibilty and suitability,” the Consortium feels obligated to specify that: “Applicants will not be excluded on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual preference of physical disability. An anti-discrimination clause will be prominently displayed in official publications of the institute (8).”
(6) “Psychoanalytic work is characterized by depth and intensity which are achieved in the context of frequent treatment sessions over a long term. […] The psychoanalysis of a candidate is expected to be conducted in person at a frequency of three to five sessions per week, for a minimum of forty weeks during a year and for a minimum of three hundred (300) hours. This criterion may be modified to accommodate candidates who are physically handicapped or who live and work at a considerable distance from an appropriate analyst. Such execptions shall be reviewed by the institute and its descision shall be documented (pp. 1; 3).”
(7) Letter, April 27, 1929.
References:
S. Freud, The Question of Lay Analysis, Standard Edition, Vol. XX, pp. 183-258.
B. B. Fuks, “Judéité , errance et nomadisme: sur le devenir juif de Freud”, Essaim, Revue de psychanalyse, n.9, Paris 2002, pp.15-25.