Psychoanalytic practice in the early postgraduate years.

Area of Science:

• Psychoanalysis
• Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Pilot study for longitudinal research on psychoanalytic careers.
• Survey of recent graduates from Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe analytic practice patterns.
• To assess interest in becoming training and supervising analysts.

Main Methods:

• 23-item questionnaire administered to 67 of 102 graduates (66% response rate).
• Identified two subgroups: Graduates-as-analysts (GAs) and Certified/Training Analysts (CAs, TAs).

Main Results:

• CAs/TAs started significantly more new analytic cases (5.4-8.3) than GAs (1.4).
• CAs/TAs also had more twice-weekly therapy cases; once-weekly was most common for all.
• Interest in becoming a training analyst peaked within five years post-graduation.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences exist in practice patterns between graduate subgroups.
• Most graduates interested in training analyst roles do not meet current APsaA criteria.