Course of Training

Admission to Candidacy.

MPC membership is required for admission to candidacy. MPC members seeking to become candidates should send a completed application to the Registrar (see below). Applications will be reviewed on the basis of background, training, and experience. Letters of recommendation and transcripts of grades will be requested, and evaluation interviews will be conducted.

MPC welcomes all who are interested and qualified to its training programs. MPC is nondiscriminatory, and does not evaluate applicants on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The essence of MPC's evaluation for admission to candidacy entails a judgment of the applicant's likely capacity to deal with psychoanalytic material.

Mentors.

Upon admission, candidates, in consultation with the Training Committee, are assigned a mentor, an advisor. The purpose of the mentor is to inform the candidate about MPC and its procedures, to answer questions, and to be available as needed. The mentor should not be the personal analyst or therapist, or a current supervisor. The candidate may choose a new mentor at any time. For example, if a candidate wished to have the current mentor as a supervisor, the candidate could do so, and then choose a new mentor.

 

The Personal Analyst or Therapist.

Candidates are free to select an analyst or therapist from the list of MPC analysts that appears later in this publication. In general, it is desirable to first start the personal analysis or therapy and then start coursework, although many applicants have already begun coursework. The candidate should inform the Training and Certification Committee at the start and end of the personal treatment, and include the name of the analyst or therapist. Sessions should take at least 45 minutes and occur on different days of the week.

MPC regards it as important that the personal analysis or therapy be a private, meaningful, and safe experience. Hence, it is MPC policy that the candidate's analyst will not be involved in discussions or decisions about the candidate, and also that a candidate should not take a Continuous Case Conference with his/her analyst, but may take other coursework. Similarly, the personal analyst should not supervise or have previously supervised the candidate; analysis and supervision by the same analyst will not be credited toward completion of either requirement. The only allowed communication between the personal analyst and MPC would be in reference to the number of treatment hours completed and their frequency. These policies are designed to protect the integrity of the personal analysis or therapy.

Supervision.

Supervision may be started after completing one year of personal analysis and coursework. The treatment cases may be seen either in public facilities or in independent practices. Candidates are free to select supervisors from the list of analysts presented below. The candidate should inform the Training and Certification Committee at the start and end of each supervisory relationship, and include the name of the supervisor. Supervisory sessions should be weekly meetings of at least 45 minutes, and should be based on process notes on analysands and therapands who are treated in sessions which occur on different days of the week and last for at least 45 minutes.

 

Coursework.

The candidate will direct his/her course of study, and will decide on how many courses to take in a given year. Courses are scheduled on a three-year cycle, and may be taught in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, or elsewhere. Candidates should be aware that many courses will only be taught every third year.

 

Financial Considerations.

Fees for analysis, therapy, and supervision are arranged individually with the analyst. Fees for coursework vary with course length, and courses with low enrollments may entail additional fees. Courses must be paid in full each semester. In case of financial hardship, the candidate may petition the Training and Certification Committee for special arrangements.

 

Writing a Scientific Paper.

The candidate may select a mentor to help with this task. The paper should be more than a case presentation. It should address some idea, review the pertinent literature, and perhaps use case material as supporting evidence. The paper may be theoretical, clinical, or applied.

 

Participation in MPC.

The requirement to participate in MPC activities is based on the view that part of a psychoanalytic education entails a certain amount of socializing and interacting with peers, colleagues, and analysts. In general, the candidate is expected to become a member of the MPC community.

 

Designation of Psychoanalysts.

MPC Training, Supervising, and Teaching Analysts are those who have been certified by MPC as psychoanalysts, and have ongoing participation in continuing education in psychoanalysis. The list of MPC analysts who meet these criteria is presented below.

 

Evaluation of Candidates.

After the first year of coursework, the candidate will be evaluated by his/her instructors. These evaluations will be reviewed by the Training and Certification Committee, and a recommendation will be made about starting supervised work. Thereafter, there will be annual evaluations of the candidate by instructors and supervisors, and annual reviews of the candidate's progress by the Training and Certification Committee.

 

Waiver Policy.

Candidates usually take their entire course of training with MPC. An applicant or candidate who has had prior psychoanalytic training experience, or who wishes to alter some aspect of the MPC program, may request to have one or more requirements waived. The applicant to MPC programs will have an opportunity to make a formal waiver request in writing during the application process. The Training and Certification Committee will act on these requests. Candidates may appeal Training and Certification Committee decisions to the MPC Board of Directors, which has the final authority for all MPC actions.

 

Certification.

Upon completion of all requirements, candidates will receive a certificate stating that he or she has completed a course of training in psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Candidates may not have any outstanding financial obligations to MPC at the time of graduation. The certificate will be awarded at the annual dinner meeting, usually in June.

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