Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies (CMPS)

The Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies (CMPS) is a psychoanalytic training institute in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City ^[2][3]. Founded by a group of analysts who met in December 1970 and chartered in 1971, it established the first program of study in modern psychoanalysis, the clinical school of thought associated with Hyman Spotnitz ^[8][9]. The Center holds an absolute charter from the Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department and is recognized by New York State as a licensure-qualifying institute for those seeking licensure as a psychoanalyst ^[10][9]. It also publishes the semiannual journal Modern Psychoanalysis and operates a low-fee clinic, the Consultation and Referral Service ^[4][11].

History

• December 1970 — twenty-two analysts and "friends of psychoanalysis" met to establish a Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies ^[8][12].
• 1971 — the group was chartered by the State of New York Department of Education, and the Board of Trustees elected Hyman Spotnitz as Honorary President ^[8][9][13].
• 1972 — provisionally chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York to offer a training program in psychoanalysis under the name Manhattan Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies; the Consultation and Referral Service was established the same year ^[4][9].
• March 21, 1978 — the charter became absolute and the name was changed to the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies ^[8][9][13].
• 2006 — approved by the State of New York as a licensure-qualifying institute ^[8][9].
• 2010 — the family of Hyman Spotnitz donated his papers to the Center ^[14].

The founders named in the Center’s own account are Evelyn Abrams, Dorothy Bloch, Selwyn Brody, Ethel L. Goldwater Clevans, Mark E. Clevans, Irene Kesten, Jacob Kesten, William Kirman, Evelyn J. Liegner, Leonard Liegner, Shirley B. Love, Sidney I. Love, Benjamin D. Margolis, Deborah Margolis, Cyril Z. Meadow, Phyllis W. Meadow, Benjamin Nelson, Marie Coleman Nelson, Joan Ormont, Louis Ormont, Leslie Rosenthal, and Harold Stern ^[8][12]. The institute developed under the direction of Phyllis W. Meadow, and the Center states that Spotnitz’s contributions remain the major foundation of its philosophy and approach to training ^[8][9]. A further fifteen practicing professionals were appointed senior associates in 1971 ^[8][9].

Theoretical orientation

According to the institute, modern psychoanalysis builds on the framework of Sigmund Freud and on techniques developed by Hyman Spotnitz and Phyllis W. Meadow, with emotional communication as its cornerstone ^[15][13]. The Center describes the approach as originating in Spotnitz’s efforts, beginning in the 1950s, to extend psychoanalytic theory and technique to patients with preoedipal disorders, including borderline and narcissistic conditions and psychosis, on the basis that such patients form analyzable narcissistic transferences rather than object transferences ^[16][17]. The Center states that modern psychoanalysis is in dialogue with other schools, including classical Freudian, Kleinian, relational, self-psychological, and Lacanian ^[16][17].

Training programs

• Certificate in Psychoanalysis — the Center’s licensure-qualifying training program, organized in three levels: Matriculation (pre-clinical coursework), Certificate Candidacy (a clinical internship at the Consultation and Referral Service), and Research Candidacy (supervised research on a control case) ^[1][18].
• One-Year Program in Modern Psychoanalysis — an in-person survey program open to the public, comprising four courses (The Maturation Process; Transference and Resistance; Countertransference; Analytic Listening), meeting ten Mondays per semester ^[19][20].
• One-Semester Introduction to Modern Psychoanalysis — a ten-session survey course open to clinicians and the public, covering transference, resistance, countertransference, and emotional communication ^[21][22].
• Distance Learning Two-Year Program — instruction in modern psychoanalytic theory by Zoom for licensed mental health professionals and others outside the greater New York City area, consisting of the same four courses ^[23][24].
• Distance Learning single-semester courses — ten-week Zoom courses; offerings advertised for fall 2026 included Sadomasochism, The Psychoanalytic Frame, and Psychoanalysis and Identity Formation in Fashion, Part II ^[25].
• Extension Division — seminars, lectures, workshops, and an annual conference open to the professional community and the interested public ^[26][15].

Certificate coursework is grouped into theories of human development and the maturation process, psychoanalytic theory, the history of psychoanalysis, pre-clinical studies, clinical studies, research, and clinical supervision ^[27][18]. Classes meet in the evening, and full- and part-time options are available ^[28][29]. The distance learning and single-semester programs are part of the continuing education department and do not provide credit toward psychoanalytic certification or licensure ^[25][23][24].

The Center does not itself award a master’s degree; a Master of Arts in Psychoanalytic Studies is offered by its sister school, the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis–New York (BGSP-NY, formerly the New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis), also located on West 10th Street, whose graduates may qualify for advanced placement at CMPS ^[30][1].

Requirements for graduation

• An approved training analysis; the Center’s graduation requirements page specifies at least 300 sessions, of which 50 may be group analysis ^[31][32], while its admissions page states that 450 sessions are required, 300 in approved individual analysis and 150 of which may be group analysis ^[33].
• Satisfactory completion of required coursework and the recommendation of the candidate’s Fellow ^[31][32].
• A minimum of 1,500 hours of supervised clinical treatment at the Consultation and Referral Service, of which 750 are direct contact hours ^[31][32].
• Two hundred sessions of supervision with three different supervisors, including at least fifty hours each of PT 211i beginning supervision, PT 311 supervision, and PT 411 control analysis ^[31][32].
• A case presentation before the faculty, a research paper written in the final stage of training, and a presentation of the control case before the faculty ^[31][32].
• Completion of CS 101, Seminar in Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect ^[31][32].

All students are in at least once-weekly individual psychoanalysis with an approved training analyst throughout training, and may not receive supervision credit from their own analysts ^[27][34][35]. Research candidates submit a three-to-five-page statement of a research area to the Research Committee before beginning a single-case study under a Research Supervisor ^[36][18].

Admissions

• A master’s degree in any field is the minimum requirement for admission ^[37][33][29].
• New students are admitted for both fall and spring semesters, with applications accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year ^[37][33].
• Applications are submitted through an online portal with a statement of interest and résumé ^[37].
• Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts and two letters of recommendation are sent directly to the Center; admissions interviews follow receipt of all documents ^[37][33].
• Applicants with previous psychoanalytic training may request an equivalency evaluation of their coursework at the admission interview ^[37][33].

The Center states that it welcomes applications from a wide range of backgrounds, including the mental health professions, the arts, and the humanities, and without regard to race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, or national origin ^[37]. Applicants without a master’s degree are directed to the preclinical master’s program at BGSP-NY ^[37][29]. Accepted students are expected to be in an approved individual analysis by their first semester of training ^[33].

Tuition and fees

• Application fee for the certificate program: $100 ^[38][33].
• One-Year Program: $1,000 tuition per semester for the fall 2026 semester, plus a $50 non-refundable application fee ^[19][20].
• One-Semester Introduction to Modern Psychoanalysis: $500 for ten classes, fall 2026 schedule ^[21][22].
• Distance learning courses: $550 per semester-long course ^[25][23][24].
• Transcripts: $15 each ^[6].

Scholarships

• Social Justice Scholarship — a need-based award established to increase the representation of Black students; it covers tuition and provides for reduced-fee analysis and supervision, and may be renewed annually ^[39].
• Evelyn J. and Leonard M. Liegner Scholarship — a need-based $2,000 grant toward tuition, open to students at Levels 2 and 3 ^[39].
• Ethel Goldwater Clevans Scholarship — a need-based award administered through the CMPS Alumni Association Scholarship Committee ^[39].

Clinical services

The Consultation and Referral Service is the clinical division of the Center, established in 1972 as an integral part of its training program ^[4]. It offers short- and long-term psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy to adults, adolescents, couples, and families ^[4][40]. Treating clinicians are advanced-level certificate students who hold at least a master’s degree and are in supervised training; a separate list of graduate therapists in private practice is maintained for certified, licensed graduates ^[40].

• Location: 16 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10011 ^[4].
• Intake: by telephone at (212) 228-6036; the initial consultation fee is $40 ^[4].
• Session fees are set on a sliding scale, mutually agreed between therapist and client ^[4].
• Hours: Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ^[4].

Publications

Modern Psychoanalysis, the journal of CMPS, was founded by Phyllis Meadow and has been published continuously since 1976, twice a year ^[41][11]. It is indexed in Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing (PEP) and PsycINFO, and its authors have been nominated for and awarded Gradiva Awards ^[41][11]. William J. Hurst is listed as editor in chief ^[11]. As of the subscription page listing volume 49, number 2 as the current issue, a one-year digital subscription was $42 and a one-year individual print-and-digital subscription in the United States was $53 ^[42]. The Center also sells books by faculty and figures associated with modern psychoanalysis, and video-on-demand and DVD recordings of eight Spotnitz lectures delivered in 1978–79 ^[43][44].

Library and archives

The shared CMPS/BGSP-NY library holds more than 3,000 English-language books in psychoanalysis, psychology, and related fields, with access to over 40 full-text psychoanalytic journals through print and online sources ^[7]. It is a member of the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO), through which outside visitors may make appointments using METRO referral cards, and it provides interlibrary loan service to students and faculty at no charge ^[7][45]. Students and faculty receive individual logins to the PEP database ^[46].

The Hyman Spotnitz Archives, donated by Spotnitz’s family in 2010, include materials from his medical study in Berlin, his neurological and psychiatric research in New York, and his writings on group and individual psychoanalysis ^[14]. The archives are available to CMPS scholars and outside researchers by application and appointment, must be consulted on the premises, and may not be photocopied or electronically reproduced ^[14][47].

Affiliations and accreditation

• New York State Education Department — absolute charter from the Board of Regents; recognized as a licensure-qualifying institute for licensure as a psychoanalyst ^[10][9].
• American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis — accrediting body ^[10].
• National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis — member institute ^[10].
• Society of Modern Psychoanalysts — founding member institute ^[8][48].
• Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis and Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis–New York — sister schools listed among the Center’s affiliates ^[41][30].
• Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis — listed among the Center’s affiliates ^[41].
• Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) — library membership ^[7].

The Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved continuing education provider for psychologists (#PSY-0163) and by its State Board for Social Work as an approved provider for social workers (#SW-0206) ^[21][22]. The Center states that its founders, faculty, and graduates assisted in the development of a number of modern psychoanalytic training institutes and that graduates have served on the faculties of more than fifteen psychoanalytic institutes ^[8][48][49].

Governance

• President: Mimi G. Crowell ^[50][13].
• Chair of the Board of Trustees: Jenn Coonce ^[13].
• Registrar: Stephen Guttman ^[50][13].

Governance is divided between a Board of Trustees, which includes alumni and student representatives, and a Board of Administrative Directors holding portfolios for the Consultation and Referral Service, diversity, distance learning, research, educational advisement, library services, admissions, professional events, the Extension Division, communications, and liaison to students ^[50][13]. Additional bodies include the Fellows of the Consultation and Referral Service, a Research Committee, academic advisors, and a Racial Equity Steering Committee that includes student members ^[50][13].

Faculty

Psychoanalytic faculty and supervisors are certified and licensed psychoanalysts ^[5]. The published faculty roster lists practitioners holding credentials including New York State licensure as psychoanalysts, LCSW, and doctoral degrees, with many identified as CMPS graduates ^[5]. The institute states that its approach to teaching encourages instructors to consider how psychoanalytic concepts may be taught through a combination of emotional and cognitive learning ^[5], and it maintains an ongoing faculty development program of courses and seminars throughout the training year ^[48][49].

Events

The Center holds an annual conference together with a program of lectures, workshops, and online presentations carrying continuing education credit ^[15][51][52]. The 2025 annual conference, "Transference Revisited: How Neurotic and Psychotic Patients Use Us Differently," was held on November 8, 2025 in hybrid form with keynote speaker Bruce Fink ^[53]. An annual conference titled "Being-with Nothingness" was announced for November 7, 2026 at 16 West 10th Street, with Ofra Eshel as keynote speaker ^[52]. Earlier conferences were held off site, including at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2023 ^[54][55].