The Master of Arts in Psychoanalysis:

The Fall 2003 semester will mark the inception of the affiliation between the Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis and Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, and the establishment of the first Master of Arts degree in Psychoanalysis in the state of New Jersey. This program joins the advancement of psychoanalysis into traditional degree programs which are now only available in Massachusetts, Vermont and New York.

The Master of Arts program grounds students in academic psychoanalysis and prepares them for advanced clinical and research studies. The 48-credit program provides a solid foundation in the knowledge of human mental and emotional functioning and motivation. Students from diverse backgrounds such as education, nursing, law, social work, counseling, business, law enforcement, engineering, gerontology, psychology, and psychiatry, to name a few, have enhanced their careers through an understanding of psychoanalysis.

Students completing the Master of Arts in Psychoanalysis who wish to continue their clinical training will be eligible for admission to the ACAP Certification program leading to State Certification in Psychoanalysis. Advisement:

Upon admission, each student is assigned an advisor, who is available to facilitate the student’s progress through the program. A student may contact an advisor at any time. The advisor reviews and approves the student’s registration prior to each semester and reviews the faculty course evaluations at the end of each semester.

Curriculum:
Students take courses in human development, psychoanalytic theory, history of psychoanalysis, research and clinical studies.

Training Analysis:
Because the psychoanalytic process involves the analyst’s personality, as well as the patient’s, it is strongly recommended that students begin a personal training analysis prior to the second semester when the Externship experience begins. Students enrolled in the Externship must complete a minimum of eight personal analytic sessions per semester. A minimum of 24 hours of analysis is required for graduation. Analysts may be chosen from ACAP’s approved list or are available at student fees through ACAP’s treatment service.

Externship Experience:
Students in the Master of Arts program complete an Externship Placement experience. This experience offers direct contact with regressed patients in mental hospitals or comparable settings and provides the student with the opportunity to observe severe pathology and the earliest levels of fixation or regression. Students are required to work with three hospitalized or post-hospitalized patients for 50 hours each over three semesters. Throughout the Externship experience, the student also takes the Externship Seminar and Small Group Supervision. Additionally, the student completes a minimum of eight personal analytic sessions per semester throughout the duration of the Externship Placement.

Research:
The research curriculum in the Master’s program consists of two courses taken in the second and third semesters of study. The first course, Introduction to the Psychoanalytic Research Method, introduces students to the theoretical and practical aspects of research methods in the human sciences. Students will study relevant research literature and learn to observe, hypothesize, and think of clinical interventions. In the second course, Research Methods and Thesis Advisement, students will write a case study of an Externship patient whom they have been observing. A salient feature of the patient’s character will be used to glean his or her primary unconscious dynamics. Additionally, students will conduct an in-depth review of relevant psychoanalytic literature related to the case. The thesis is an opportunity for students to integrate their conceptual learning with their clinical skills.

In conjunction with coursework, the student works regularly with a thesis advisor, selected from the faculty, who helps the student to develop and carry out an acceptable research project. The thesis is the basis of the oral presentation to the faculty at the conclusion of the Externship Experience.

Requirements for Graduation:
Graduation from the Master of Arts program requires successful completion of 48 credits of coursework, the Externship Placement, and an accepted research thesis. Assistance in completing the requirements is addressed throughout training with individual instructors, educational advisors, and the Training Committee.