The Case for 4 Years
The Training Institute for Mental Health is recognized and respected as a one of the premier learning centers in New York City, offering opportunities for professionals to enhance their understanding and deepen their skill in individual psychoanalysis, couples therapy, group therapy, and the supervision of the psychoanalytic process.
Focusing on TI's Individual Training Program, there are three tracks of study:
Basic Concepts in Psychotherapy, a 1-year program, which provides students with the chance to continue their professional education while assessing their interest in further analytic training.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, a 3-year program, whereby students follow the development of psychoanalytic thought, learning how each new theory built on and/or altered what came before.
Psychoanalysis, a 4-year program, which builds on the 3-year program, with more intensive exploration on how to approach clinical work and transition to a thriving private practice. While each of TI's individual programs has specific requirements for students to enroll and to complete, the 4-year Psychoanalysis Program is the most rigorous when it comes to personal analysis, supervision, and coursework.
But for many who have completed this track, the hard work is well worth it, helping them take a next and important step as psychotherapists. As Fred Aiese, LCSW, TI's Executive Director states, "it’s a matter of having a varied palette of thinking and intervention."
Karen Nelson, LCSW, TI's Director of Training, further elaborates on the impact of a 4th year. "Shortly into my third year of training, everything I’d been learning at TI seemed to suddenly gel together. My practice became much deeper and I noticed that it’d profoundly transformed. At the same time, my patients started staying with me much longer and making more profound and noticeable improvements. My classes also became a place to get support from and to bond with my cohort, who I trusted a great deal to process my work and, inevitably, my own inner conflicts. It was all so rewarding, I couldn’t think of any good reason to stop there. Plus, I knew well enough to know I still needed supervision and was getting excellent supervision at such a low cost, and not having to do a fellowship freed up a lot of time to put my education to work and grow my practice. I can whole-heartedly say my 4 year TI education completely transformed my practice, my understanding of myself, and has shaped my career."
Here are more testimonials from recent TI graduates:
"My main motivation for doing the fourth year was to stay connected to my individual supervisors and the other students in the group. When the fourth year arrived, I had only recently started my private practice and I needed support from the people who I had grown to trust. My experience at TI was that connecting theory to cases became progressively a deeper and less intellectualized process, with the fourth year requiring the most vulnerability from me and my cohort. It was an important part of my development in introspection and it helped me think through how I wanted to form my own local peer group when the analytic program ended." Matthew Singer, LCSW
"I can't imagine having not completed the fourth year as part of my experience at TI. Some of the best classes we had were in the last stretch. Beyond that, my evolution as a clinician happened in leaps and bounds during that last year. Hard to put my finger on what it was, exactly, but to my mind it very much had to do with extended time with my colleagues. The companionship, support and exchange of ideas deepened the longer we were together (much like a therapeutic relationship) as did our comfort level to challenge and be authentic with each other and more importantly, ourselves. I still often think, "How would Jack see this? What would Matt do in this situation?" Being in the 4th year was also a great source of support and comfort as we all navigated getting clinical licenses and moving into private practice with the company of others doing the same. My writing skills deepened, as did my sense of allegiance to TI and my colleagues there (whether in my cohort or not.) To me, it is a no-brainer!" Jennifer Glass, LCSW
"Training in psychoanalysis at TI has been instrumental in my personal and professional growth as a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. Having the opportunity to study with and learn from smart and able teachers, supervisors and fellow students has been a wonderful learning experience throughout my time at the institute. Upon completing the third year of training, I felt strongly that continuing the course of study and keeping my connection with TI could only help me to continue on the path toward expertise, efficacy as a therapist and in building important relationships with colleagues. Like any important field of knowledge and practice, it takes time to absorb and integrate information meaningfully, and in this regard, doing this in the supportive milieu of TI was particularly helpful. In retrospect, the fourth year at TI enabled me to build on an already strong foundation of knowledge and to widen my scope of understanding and ability to practice with the patients I aim to help on a daily basis. I strongly recommend the fourth year at TI to anyone interested in becoming a psychoanalyst!" Jack Heinemann, LCSW