Reading Treatment Reports: The Writer, the Editor, and the Analyst or The Value of Certification

Abstract

The writing of treatment reports is a neglected part of psychoanalytic training. The basis of the certification procedure of the American Psychoanalytic Association is the demonstrated ability to convey in writing what had occurred in treatments applicants had conducted. The paradoxical situation of a test based on skills not taught during the training period has created, in the writer's view, a crisis within the Association, threatening the existence of the certification procedure. This article derives from the efforts of a group of analysts at the request of the Board on Professional Standards, to conduct seminars on the topic of writing about clinical work at meetings of the Association. Although many members of the Association argue for the elimination of the certification requirement, this article contains the argument that the certification procedure has been a valuable educational tool that has benefited both applicants and training programs. An example illustrates both the skills necessary to convey in writing the process of analytic work, and the situation with regard to the teaching of those skills.