A Brief History of Child Psychoanalytic Training

ABSTRACT

This paper traces the history of child psychoanalytic education, with emphasis on Anna Freud’s vision of training as inseparable from observation and research, from the issues of children’s education and upbringing, and from service to marginalized families. Historical obstacles to the formalization of child training – lack of parity for non-medical practitioners, organizational hierarchies, negative attitudes toward child work – are reviewed, as well as the pathways by which leaders in the field ultimately surmounted these hindrances, allowing child psychoanalytic centers to develop and create novel training models. In conclusion, the author draws from this complex history to propose a number of potential future directions that might help revitalize contemporary training programs.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Paul Brinich for his guidance during the initial stages of this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pamela Meersand

Dr. Meersand is the Chair of the Child Division, Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. She is a Training and Supervising analyst in both child and adult, and maintains a private practice in New York City.