Psychotherapy of Children and Adolescents Course Descriptions

First Year

Fall Semester – all courses are taken with the One Year Program and the Advanced Program candidates.

#F101 – Basic Concepts of Psychoanalysis

This course will serve as an introductory survey of fundamental psychoanalytic concepts,
which will include, but not be limited to: an emphasis on and appreciation of the role of
anxiety, the definitions and importance of the Structural theory, the unconscious,
transference, countertransference, and resistance.

#F102 – Psychoanalytic Theory of Early Development

This course emphasizes the psychoanalytic understanding of the structure and psychic
development of the mind of the infant and young child. It will begin with an introduction
to the traditional conceptualization of the developing child, using as a point of departure
Freud, Anna Freud and Spitz. We will proceed with an exploration of Klein’s and
Winnicott’s ideas followed by Margaret Mahler’s Symbiosis and Separation-Individuation
Process. The contributions of Bowlby’s attachment theory will provide the background to
address the infant and mother dyad and the theoretical and clinical practices that have
evolved from it. It will address the input of Erikson and Piaget on psychoanalytical
developmental theory and will touch upon some of the research and studies in infant and
child development such as the work of Beebe, Stern, and Fonagy. At the conclusion of the
course candidates should have developed a framework in which to conceptualize the
trajectory of infant and early child development.

#F103 – Case Seminar: Clinical Considerations

In this seminar we will read closely Freud’s papers on technique, exploring the
fundamental ideas that guide the psychoanalytic encounter. The concepts to be explored
include: free association, transference, resistance, repetition compulsion, abstinence,
neutrality, and working through. The objective of the course is to develop the candidate’s
appreciation and understanding of how these timeless papers are relevant to the practice
of psychoanalysis today and to apply these psychoanalytic concepts to their clinical work.

Spring Semester – all courses are taken with the One Year Program and the Advanced Program candidates.

#S104 – Introduction to Freud

Psychoanalysis began with Freud and his groundbreaking vision of the unconscious. In
this course, the students will learn how Freud created psychoanalysis as a theory of mind
and as a method of treatment. The course will present an introduction to basic yet
important ideas in psychoanalysis. Students will learn the concepts of unconscious
motivation, drives and their expression, repetition compulsion, resistance, transference,
and countertransference. Other themes will include Freud’s topographical and structural
theories, dreams and their relationship to unconscious derivatives, metapsychology,
symptom formation, conflict, and defense. Students will become acquainted with some of
Freud’s most well-known cases. Theory and technique will be consistently examined via
ongoing case presentations, case vignettes, and critical engagement with the material.

#S105 – Developmental Theory: Latency to Adolescence

This course emphasizes the psychoanalytic understanding of the psychic development of
the latency period which sets the groundwork for the successful approach, entrance, and
passage through the second separation – individuation process of adolescence. We will
untangle the web of conflict (constructive and destructive processes) between parent and
child (Attacks on Linking) to provide a corrective emotional experience that builds
emotional muscle and a protective shield. This course will draw upon the work of Freud,
Winnicott, Blos, Fonagy, Ferenczi, and Howell.

#S106 – Case Seminar: Clinical and Ethical Considerations.

Clinical and ethical considerations will be given to the psychoanalytic process, how
psychoanalysts ought to (and should not) approach the analysand/patient/ client.
Recognizing that, when possible, the most optimal way to learn do this kind of work is to
present an actual case, students will be asked to draw material from their actual
experience. When that is not possible, case material provided by the instructor or from
reading material will be utilized. In all instances regarding the way people as well as the
details of their personal history are treated, descriptions of proper (and improper ethical)
conduct will be given serious consideration. A term paper will be used to allow students to
describe and demonstrate what they have learned.

Second Year

Fall Semester – all courses are taken with the Advanced Program candidates.

#F201- Transference

Transference in the context of the psychoanalytic encounter has been broadly defined as
the displacement of feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and desires originally experienced in
relation to significant figures from childhood/the past onto the analyst. This course
explores the evolution of the concept from its classical roots to contemporary perspectives
on it. It will emphasize transference’s recognition, its development in the context of the
psychoanalytic relationship, its purpose, how it can further analysis or present itself as a
resistance, and its analysis.

#F202 – Psychopathology I

The etiology and development of psychic disturbance will be described and discussed
through the varied prisms of psychoanalytic perspectives.

#F203 – Case Seminar: Initial Resistances

Discussions of the concept of resistance is predicated on understanding that almost all
instances of resistance are based upon real, imagined, or anticipated pain, which the
patient (wisely) wishes to avoid. Our mission is to help students understand that this
process is to be expected therefore, we are not to judge our patients, and help students to
understand the concept sufficiently so that they can help their patients learn to recognize,
respect, and eventually overcome their resistance and thus, be able to analyze it, with us
acting as their co-pilot in this mutual endeavor.

#S204 – Countertransference

(taken with the Advanced Program candidates)
This course addresses the concept of countertransference in psychoanalysis.
Countertransference, narrowly defined, is the analyst’s transference. The term initially
described situations in which the analyst’s feelings, attitudes, and reactions toward the
analysand are the product of the analyst’s early life. The term has evolved to signify all of
the analyst’s reactions to the patient’s conscious and unconscious, the analyst’s
identification with the internal objects of the analysand, and a relational/constructivist
mutually-influenced phenomenon.

Using as a point of departure Freud’s notion of countertransference we will track the
evolution of the term, moving from a classical perspective to views presented by ego
psychology, object relations, self psychology, and contemporary relational perspectives.
We will gain a deeper understanding of the concept and the invaluable tool it represents
in treatment, paying close attention to the self-scrutiny of the analyst.
We will address the different types of countertransference inherent in different diagnoses
via case presentations and reading material. We will see how countertransference has
received increased attention in the literature, mainly as a result of an increased interest in
the analytic relationship.

#S205 – Psychopathology II

(taken with the advanced program candidates)
This course builds on the foundational ideas presented in Psychopathology I. It aims to
familiarize candidates with the Second Edition of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual
(PDM-2) while increasing their understanding of the differences between the nosology of
the PDM-2 and that of the DSM-5-TR. This course will examine the phenomenology of
major diagnostic categories while analyzing the psychoanalytic literature and its
conception of different pathologies. Candidates will be able to recognize and assess
clinical states, evaluate the difference between repression and dissociation and analyze
how certain pathologies impact the clinical process.

Four tutorials (Each tutorial is comprised of 4 sessions-75 minutes each. Each tutorial is five hours). Tutorials are taught as individual supervisory sessions.

Tutorial I = Play Therapy
Tutorial II = Dreams
Tutorial III = Clinical issues with children and adolescents
Tutorial IV = Case formulation/final paper