Can we be both women and analysts?

The authors, candidates at a psychoanalytic institute that has not had a woman training analyst for more than 20 years, have a unique vantage point from which to examine the woman's development as an adult female and as a psychoanalyst. Our group has engaged in a series of discussions asking: Can we be both women and analysts? Comparing and contrasting our experiences with feedback from colleagues across the United States and abroad, we had to accept that our unique situation could not be a foil for the training dilemmas facing women. Our insights into the challenges involved with training, expression of sexuality, family ties, formation of an analytic identity, creative contributions to the field, and career progression have caused us to arrive at some sobering observations and hard-hitting questions which we present here. We hope that as we describe our discussions about the woman analyst's experience an active dialogue will arise within the reader's mind, and subsequently with colleagues.