American Institute for Psychoanalysis — Karen Horney Clinic (AIP)

The American Institute for Psychoanalysis (AIP) is a psychoanalytic training institute in New York City, founded in 1941 by Karen Horney and colleagues who had left the New York Psychoanalytic Institute ^[3][4]. Together with the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, established at the same time, the institute became the organizational base for the Horneyan tradition in psychoanalysis ^[4]. AIP was accepted into the American Psychoanalytic Association and the International Psychoanalytical Association in January 2016 ^[3], and it is closely associated with the Karen Horney Clinic, a low-cost treatment and training center in the same building ^[5][4].

History

• 1941 — Horney and other analysts left the New York Psychoanalytic Institute and established the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and the American Institute for Psychoanalysis ^[3][4].
• 1941–1952 — Horney served as Dean of AIP until her death, and was founding editor of The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, published continuously since 1941 ^[4].
• 1955 — The Karen Horney Foundation, established in New York to sponsor low-cost psychoanalytic services, founded the Karen Horney Clinic ^[4][6].
• 1998 — AIP adopted new by-laws extending membership and voting privileges to all participants, from students and candidates to senior analysts ^[3].
• 2016 — AIP was accepted into the American Psychoanalytic Association and the International Psychoanalytical Association ^[3].

According to the institute, its founding mission statement emphasized avoiding conceptual rigidities and responding to ideas "whatever their source, in a spirit of scientific and academic democracy" ^[3]. AIP states that it was among the first psychoanalytic institutes to amend its charter to admit psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses, and that it later expanded its charter after New York State approved a licensure-qualifying program in psychoanalysis for holders of advanced degrees outside the mental health fields ^[3].

Karen Horney (1885–1952) received her medical, psychiatric, and psychoanalytic training in Germany, was a founding member of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society in 1911 and of the Berlin Poliklinik and Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute in 1920, and moved to New York in 1934 ^[4]. The Karen Horney Clinic describes her as the only woman to have founded a psychoanalytic school of thought ^[7][8].

Training programs

• Core curriculum — a two-year sequence of courses and seminars required of candidates in both the psychotherapy and the adult psychoanalytic programs ^[9].
• Training Program in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy — the two-year core curriculum, a minimum of three psychoanalytic psychotherapy patients, weekly individual and group supervision, and personal psychotherapy; candidates may take a certificate at the end of two years or apply to continue into the analytic program ^[9].
• Training Program in Adult Psychoanalysis — the core curriculum plus three further years of didactic courses and clinical seminars, three supervised analytic control cases, and 500 hours of personal psychoanalysis at a minimum frequency of three times weekly ^[9].
• Licensure Qualifying Program in Psychoanalysis — described by the institute as a New York State Education Department–approved program for master’s- and doctoral-level professionals from other fields ^[10][3].
• Post-Degree Fellowship Training Program — offered in conjunction with the Karen Horney Clinic and open to clinicians who are fellows at the Clinic ^[10].
• Guangzhou China Training Program — a long-distance certificate program in psychodynamic psychotherapy that also provides teaching and supervising opportunities for advanced AIP candidates ^[10][2].
• Continuing Education Program — workshops, lectures, and courses offered through the academic year ^[10].

The core curriculum covers classical and contemporary models of the mind, development, and psychopathology, with emphasis on conceptualizations of conflict, and includes Horney’s theory of the split and conflicted self and the influence of culture and social environment on development ^[9]. First-semester courses include The Structural Model of the Mind and Modern Conflict Theory, Early Treatment: Establishing the Frame, Rapport and the Initial Interviews, and an introduction to therapeutic technique; the second semester includes Assessment and Comprehensive Case Formulation ^[9]. In announcing enrollment for the 2026–2027 academic year, the institute said it had updated the curriculum and integrated the psychotherapy and psychoanalytic programs into a more streamlined sequence for the first two years ^[9].

Candidates in the first two years receive one hour each of weekly individual and group supervision; second-year supervision is oriented toward deepening treatments so that candidates continuing into the analytic program can use them for conversion to analytic cases ^[9]. For the 2026–2027 year, classes were scheduled for Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings, held via Zoom in a hybrid model, with local students meeting in person once monthly ^[9].

Admissions

• Open to licensed professionals with mental health degrees in psychiatry, psychology, social work, mental health counseling, or psychiatric nursing ^[9].
• Application deadline of May 15, with a $125 application fee payable by check or by PayPal ^[9][1].
• Two copies of the application form, submitted by mail or email to the institute ^[1].
• Three references, comprising two recent supervisors and one other professional colleague; applicants are asked not to submit a reference from an analyst or psychotherapist who has treated them ^[1].
• Work-study opportunities for tuition reduction, requiring a resume and a separate interview ^[1].

Applicants are asked to document professional education and experience, field placements and supervision hours, private practice, and current and previous personal analysis or psychotherapy, and to disclose malpractice judgments, pending actions, findings of professional misconduct, and disciplinary action ^[1]. For the adult psychoanalytic program, a candidate’s personal analyst must be at least five years post-graduation from an American Psychoanalytic Association or International Psychoanalytical Association institute ^[9].

Tuition and fees

• Core curriculum (two years) — $4,250 per year, covering 90 hours of classes, 40 hours of individual supervision, and 40 hours of group supervision annually, as listed by the institute for enrollment in the 2026–2027 academic year ^[9].
• Years 3–5 of the analytic program — charged per course or credit hour, approximately $4,050 per year as listed for the same period ^[9].
• Analytic supervision — arranged with the supervisor, typically $75 to $150 per session ^[9].
• Application fee — $125 ^[9][1].

Quarterly payment plans and work-study opportunities are available for candidates seeking tuition assistance ^[9].

Clinical services

AIP provides psychoanalysis and psychotherapy to the community, delivered by trainees under faculty supervision, with treatment available for adults, teenagers, and children ^[11]. Psychoanalytic treatment is conducted at between three and five sessions a week, and psychotherapy at one or two sessions a week, in person or by video ^[11]. Reduced-fee places are available in psychoanalysis; the institute states that care provided at AIP is not covered by insurance, though patients may be eligible for out-of-network reimbursement, and that its therapists do not prescribe medication but will coordinate with a prescribing psychiatrist ^[11].

Licensed candidates and students may also see patients at the Karen Horney Clinic on a fee-for-service basis, and candidates may be engaged by the Clinic to supervise its junior therapists ^[5]. The Clinic’s post-degree fellowship schedule lists AIP Scientific Meetings, at which therapists and authors present on a range of topics, as generally taking place monthly on Thursday evenings ^[12][13].

Affiliations and accreditation

• American Psychoanalytic Association — AIP is listed among APsA’s approved training institutes, with programs in adult psychoanalysis and in adult psychoanalytic psychotherapy ^[14][15][16].
• International Psychoanalytical Association — AIP was accepted into the IPA in January 2016 ^[3].
• New York State Education Department — the institute describes its licensure-qualifying program in psychoanalysis as state-approved, and states that it is recognized by the NYSED State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers ^[10][3].
• Karen Horney Clinic — the institute reports an association of more than sixty years with the Clinic, which provides trainees with clinical experience ^[5][2].

APsA’s approved institutes are required to maintain and implement the association’s educational, administrative, and professional standards for the teaching of psychoanalysis and the training of psychoanalysts, as set out in its Standards and Principles for Psychoanalytic Education ^[14][17].

Governance

Karen Horney served as Dean of the institute from its founding until her death in 1952 ^[4]. Under by-laws adopted in 1998, AIP describes itself as a fully participatory organization in which membership and voting privileges extend to students, candidates, junior faculty, and senior analysts alike ^[3]. Advanced candidates are invited by the Training Committee to teach in the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Program and to teach and supervise in the Guangzhou China program ^[5].