Psychoanalytic Education Center of the Carolinas

Child & Adolescent Training Programs

The Psychoanalysis Training Program offers specialized training in the psychoanalytic treatment of children and adolescents. The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program is in the process of developing specialized training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with children and adolescents.

Training Program in Psychoanalysis: Child & Adolescent Training

The Psychoanalysis Training Program provides a training curriculum for all candidates and graduates of an American Psychoanalytic Association accredited adult analytic training program who wish to specialize in the psychoanalysis of children and adolescents. Prior training in child or family-centered mental health is recommended but not required.

In addition to the required coursework on growth and development (or parallel didactic experience) included in the adult curriculum, the child analytic curriculum includes courses covering the psychopathology of children and adolescents, the theory and technique of child and adolescent analysis, infant observation, and the use of the diagnostic profile. Child analytic courses may be taken concurrently with adult courses. Continuous case conferences on child and adolescent analysis also are part of the curriculum.

Graduation from the child analytic program requires the supervised analysis of three child cases. One of these cases may be substituted for one of the three required cases in the adult program. Thus, candidates in the child and adult combined program may have a total case requirement of five. Of these, one child case will be an adolescent and one will be in latency. It is desirable that the third case be in prelatency. Both genders should be included among both the adult and child cases. A minimum of 150 hours of supervision of child cases is required. The first supervised child case may begin after the first adult case is underway. At least one child or adolescent case should be supervised through the termination phase.

Candidates in the adult training program may attend child analytic classes and seminars and may analyze a child or adolescent under supervision. These candidates must be enrolled in the child program if their child & adolescent cases are to be considered part of their training as child analysts.

Donald L. Rosenblitt, MD is Chair, Child Psychoanalysis Committee.

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