Search New Center for Psychoanalysis

IPA Society of the Month

The New Center for Psychoanalysis (NCP) is an increasingly diverse, nearly 300-member organization dedicated to transforming lives and communities through the power of psychoanalytic study and dialogue. Minutes from the beautiful Pacific coast, NCP is located blocks from the commuter train in a vibrant, walkable neighborhood known for its Asian restaurants, markets, and Japanese artisan shops. The area has a small-town atmosphere, yet is surrounded by mixed-use buildings, clinics, schools, universities, and hospitals. The proximity to these institutions, as well as the coexistence of numerous social service and nonprofit agencies, provides an expansive and vibrant environment for lively discourse, professional networking and development, patient referrals, and training. NCP members work diligently to address the shifting needs of both their analysands and those still in training as they relate to today’s busy lifestyles, traffic, the expense of living in an urban area, the limitations of siloed institutions of learning, clinical practice, and, in some cases, outdated perceptions of psychoanalysis itself.

The New Center’s Home and History
NCP has a long history with the very first analysts who came to Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, who began a study group and later founded an Institute and Society. The New Center for Psychoanalysis was established in 2005 through the merger of the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and the Southern California Society and Institute—reunited after a split that had occurred in 1950.

NCP’s home is one to be most grateful for—a spacious, aesthetically pleasing one-story building with multiple classrooms, an extensive library, a reading room, full-service kitchen, dedicated free parking (a huge plus in Los Angeles!), a flower garden and grounds. The building was developed for the psychoanalytic community in 1976.

Professional and Academic Affiliations
NCP is the only psychoanalytic organization in Los Angeles that is an institutional member of both the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) and the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA). NCP works closely with other local IPA societies, as well as other psychoanalytic and psychotherapy-focused institutes and organizations. Most recently NCP co-sponsored two IPA programs: a COWAP Conference examining the unconscious mind related to misogyny with featured guest speaker and current president of the IPA, Virginia Ungar; and the Joseph Sandler Research Conference, which brought together a diverse group of academics and clinicians discussing trends in psychoanalytic research, held at Children’s Hospital and co-sponsored by the University of Southern California (USC). NCP’s location and significant participation among researchers foster collaborations with several medical, neuroscience, social work, education, public health, and humanities schools on both the USC and UCLA campuses. The Medical Board of California issues a Research-Psychoanalyst License, enabling NCP to enthusiastically welcome academic researchers to its training program so they may enrich their work with a thorough knowledge of the theory and clinical technique of psychoanalysis. Members of NCP are also active in the Association for Child Psychoanalysis, American Board of Psychoanalysis, Western Consortium of Child and Adolescent Psychoanalysts, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Psychological Association’s Division 39 (Psychoanalysis).

Pluralistic Approach
A spirit of open and critical inquiry forms the basis of NCP’s founding principles and psychoanalytic training, which maintains the integrity of traditional psychoanalytic education while embracing contemporary theory and practices. The training programs are comprehensive and develop students’ clinical skills and psychoanalytic understanding. NCP’s Institute is an approved member of APsaA, and as such, represents an extraordinary educational experience through an integrated tripartite Eitingon model of psychoanalytic training. Students in the Analytic Training Programs are active members of APsaA and, via NCP’s organizational membership, are automatically members of IPA.

Psychoanalytic Training
NCP’s training programs are both rigorous and innovative, covering a range of classic and contemporary psychoanalytic thought and practice. It provides a theoretical foundation in Freud and classical psychoanalysis, Klein and Bion, the British Object Relations School and contemporary relational and intersubjective perspectives. The curriculum also includes a track on development, clinical case conferences, electives on Lacan, cinema and psychoanalysis, and other assorted themes. The clinical aspects of the training offer the opportunity to study, examine, discuss, and learn from current casework, research, and professional journals. NCP’s programs cover working with patients of all ages

The faculty is regarded highly for its clinical acumen and seriousness, for the rigor of its approach, and its caring and sensitive attitude toward our wide patient population. Several members of the faculty are major contributors to the literature, continuing to make valuable additions to psychoanalytic theory and practice. NCP has a rich history of important figures in the history of psychoanalysis, including Simmel, Fenichel, Greenson, Rangell, Ekstein, Stoller, Call, Shane, and many others. Leading scholars on the current faculty include Loewenberg, Prager, Tuch, Fisher, Schwab, Bacal and others.

The four primary educational programs are:

1) A multi-year Adult Psychoanalytic Training Program – Offered to licensed mental health professionals, the program results in a diploma or PsyD in Clinical Psychoanalysis accredited by ACPE, Inc. Among the program’s notable components is the Inter-Institute Analysis Conference, a pre-training case presentation with one’s supervisor, advisor, the IAC Chair, senior faculty discussants, and other clinical associates. Need-based scholarships are available for students of the program.

2) A Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Training Program, taught in conjunction with the Adult Psychoanalytic Program.

3) A two-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program for already licensed professionals or, in exceptional cases, those who are working under supervision.

4) A two-year Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program, resulting in a certificate.

More information about the training programs can be found on the NCP website under Education https://bit.ly/2sLA1B7.

NCP educates, informs, and brings together professionals from the region with varied experience and specialties through a robust slate of year-round continuing education courses for licensed practitioners, offering CME credits for physicians and CE credits for psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and psychiatric nurses. Courses and multiple-day seminars are scheduled on an ongoing basis, ensuring timely subject matter such as trauma, bias, new trends in psychodynamic psychotherapy, neuroscience research, the business of managing a practice, and LGBTQ-related issues.

Special Programs and Projects
Those from around the globe may be interested in utilizing NCP’s resources, attending open events when in Los Angeles, or becoming partners in programming. NCP hosts Scientific Meetings, movie nights, book signings, art shows, and supervision courses. Special programs include:

John S. Peck, MD, PhD, Distinguished Lecture Series informs and impacts the broader community, highlighting the importance of the work of mental health professionals. In light of these tumultuous times, this spring’s discussion explores The Happiness Puzzle, to be held on March 9 in Beverly Hills. Information and registration can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2RHoBg4.

Master Clinician in Residence Program brings highly respected psychoanalysts to Los Angeles for a week of intensive sessions for faculty and students, as well as programs for the wider community. The internationally known author and analyst Adam Phillips was the first such guest, and Jessica Benjamin will be featured in November 2019.

Psychoanalytic Archive – NCP has developed a digital archive of historical documents and letters from prominent psychoanalysts, including correspondence between Sigmund Freud to Ernst Simmel encouraging him to develop a Society and Institute in Los Angeles. This project includes an extensive outreach program to academics from other fields who have an interest in the relevance of psychoanalysis
to their work.

Psychoanalytic Study Group of Los Angeles, 1944

The New Center for Psychoanalysis Library houses more than 7,000 books, publications, and recordings on psychoanalytic theory and technique.

BEYOND THE COMMUNITY

Regional Impact
Efforts to serve the greater mental health community are evident by the continuous and wide-ranging work of NCP’s dedicated volunteer members, teaching continuing education courses, hosting free monthly Scientific Meetings, and serving as sponsors or co-producers. Clinical associates in psychoanalytic training are required to take at least one case from NCP’s sliding-scale Adult Clinic or Infant, Child, and Adolescent Clinic, both of which are growing resources for the public. Faculty members provide thousands of volunteer hours teaching at NCP and other organizations; other members serve as mentors, training analysts and training supervisors, many of whom form life-long relationships with those whose lives they touch.

Focus on Diversity
Through the work of a recently formed Diversities committee, NCP members are committed to recruiting a more diverse membership and working with current members to develop a more contemporary lens as it relates to serving marginalized, underrepresented, and minority groups and individuals. The committee is looking at NCP’s training curriculum and programming to infuse, align, and be more attuned to the current day’s understanding and awareness around issues of diversity. One of the first programs organized by the committee was the Transgender and Sexuality Conference, featuring invited experts. The group’s work also inspired a new Diversities Scholarship fund.

International Reach
NCP is excited by the possibilities afforded by the growing trend in the United States to train, supervise, and work with students and faculty from around the world. About 30% of NCP’s active members teach internationally, some via online technologies. Several clinical associates and training graduates are from, or have professional ties to, China, Iran, Mexico, France, Italy, Russia, and Israel. A recent graduate is founding a new psychoanalytic program and society in Iran and is co-sponsoring an upcoming Psychoanalytic conference on trauma.

Looking to the future, NCP’s strategic planning committee is discussing ways to build NCP into an authentic “International Institute.” To pave the way, discussions with local, national, and international institutes are underway with NCP’s membership, programming, and continuing education committees to partner, co-host, and co-sponsor events in Los Angeles featuring speakers from around the world.