Components of Training
The training program is broadly divided into two phases, Stage I and Stage II. The entire training requires a minimum of five years to complete. During Stage I, a candidate will train for at least two years, with a focus on incorporating theoretical material and learning approaches to symbolic thinking and symbolic process. A minimum enrollment of three years is required in Stage II, where the focus shifts to clinical application and integration of theoretical material.
Personal analysis is a central component of the training process, and each candidate is expected to be in analysis throughout the course of training. A requirement of a minimum of 350 hours of analysis will be completed in order to qualify for graduation. The container of analysis is sacrosanct and not open to evaluation or intrusion from other areas of the candidate’s training.
Courses and seminars cover a wide range of topics relevant to the understanding of the psyche and the practice of analysis. An in-depth study of analytical psychology, including a comprehensive reading of Jung’s work, lays the foundation for the study of other schools of analytic thought, along with other relevant clinical approaches to psychotherapy and the ongoing evolution of contemporary Jungian thinking. A candidate may also need to obtain additional knowledge through self-study in order to prepare for the Stage I examinations.
A critical component in becoming an analyst is seeing patients or analysands under the supervision of a case consultant. Most candidates begin this process as they enter Stage II of their training, but those already licenses as mental health professionals may start this process in Stage I.
All candidates are assigned to a Training Committee consisting of three members who will follow their progress throughout training. A candidate meets with his or her three Training Committee members once each semester. The Training Committee members review a candidate’s experience of training and support the candidate in his or her analytic development. Training Committee members function as both guides and evaluators for the duration of the candidate’s training process.
There is a group process built into the coursework each semester, which is facilitated in the Tavistock method. This group process, along with participation in the formative training program, provides a level of extraverted development and relatedness that helps deepen the training process and add greater understanding of the unconscious as it lives in group life.
There are two examinations built into the training program. The first occurs when a candidate has fulfilled the requirements in Stage I and wants to begin Stage II. The second is a final examination when all other requirements have been met.
Before entering into the final exam, the candidate writes and defends a thesis that reflects critically on one chosen area of Jungian psychology and its practical application. The thesis is the candidate’s demonstration of competence in the use of theoretical and clinical material, as well as the ability to think psychologically.