Psychoanalytic Research Training Program

Anna Freud Centre Program at the Yale Child Study Center Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Society University College London

A Model for Research Training

Modeled on the IPA-sponsored University College London psychoanalytic research training program (RTP), the Anna Freud Centre Program at the Yale Child Study Center research training program (AFC-CSC RTP) provides a faculty of visiting professors in psychoanalytic research to meet with visiting fellows and scholars involved in, or considering undertaking, psychoanalytic research. Interested scholars include more junior academicians or graduate students wishing to extend their research interests into psychoanalysis and candidates in psychoanalytic training.

A central part of the experience is the opportunity for fellows to present and discuss their own research projects and goals with members of the faculty and other participants. Fellows have an opportunity to refine their research questions and to meet other fellows from around the U.S. and the world and set up collaborative, consultative bridges. Relationships among fellows and between fellows and faculty flourish and continue through ongoing consultations and collaborative studies. There is a remarkable and exciting synergy between very experienced clinicians drawing from their years of clinical experience and experienced investigators trying to ask more clinically relevant questions. Fellows consistently report that they leave the program feeling more grounded with the idea of establishing an identity as a psychoanalytic researcher. Most importantly, this research training program is not intended to push fellows to produce a polished design at the end of the seminar, but rather to begin the process of refining their questions and the research focus they find most engaging.

The catalytic effect towards productive research that this seminar induces stands as one measure of its success (e.g., the number of publications, completed or active research studies, research grants that have resulted from the London and New Haven experience).

The Program

Key Goals of the Model

• To provide fellows with the mentoring they need to design psychoanalytically relevant research
• To build bridges between psychoanalysis and the empirical perspective of social and developmental neuroscience
• To foster a mentoring/collaborative relationship as well as a spirit of inquiry among like-minded psychoanalytic scholars
• To demonstrate the compatibility of research perspectives for practicing analysts when presented in the spirit of collaboration
• To demonstrate how insights from the consulting room inform research methods (and vice versa)

Practical Details

What is required: A research idea, not a polished project, and a willingness to make a short (30 minute) presentation to the faculty and other fellows.

Who is eligible: Anyone with an interest in psychoanalysis and in psychoanalytically informed research. Previous fellows have come from all disciplines, all levels of clinical and research experience, and from multiple stages of career development.

How often is the Program offered:

Location: Yale Child Study Center and the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis, New Haven CT

Tuition: There is no tuition. Fellows are responsible for their travel to New Haven and their lodging expenses. Low-cost housing is available

Faculty for Prior Research Training Programs have included:

Peter Fonagy, Ph.D Mary Target, Ph.D. David Carlson, M.D. Andrew Gerber, M.D., Ph.D. Ken Levy, Ph.D.

Linda Mayes, M.D. Patrick Luyten, Ph.D. David Reiss, M.D. Eamon McCrory, Ph.D.

Where to find more information:

• International Journal of Psychoanalysis (1997), vol 78, pp. 643-651.
• The American Psychoanalyst, Dec. 2004.
• Ask a Former Fellow

How To Apply

The application should include:

1. A brief CV
2. A one to two page statement of the applicant’s research idea, goals, or design
3. A set of questions for which the applicant is seeking research consultation (up to one page)

Please Note

Applicants do not need to have a fully formed research project but should come with a topic or general area they would like to study. They also need to be prepared to present their ideas to the research group.

Applications MUST be submitted by February 28, 2008

For More Information

Those interested should write to:

Linda Mayes, M.D.
Yale Child Study Center
230 So. Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06520

Tel: (203) 785-7205 or (203) 785-7211
Fax: (203) 785-7926
E-mail: Linda.Mayes@yale.edu