Academy of Clinical & Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP)

The Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP) is a nonprofit psychoanalytic training institute and mental health center in Livingston, New Jersey, offering a graduate certificate program in modern psychoanalysis along with continuing education, community programs, and outpatient treatment ^[8][1][3]. Founded in 1980 and organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation, ACAP has been accredited by the American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis (ABAP) since 1990 ^[9][1][3]. The institute is distinguished by its partnership with the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP), whose New Jersey campus is hosted at ACAP’s Livingston site, and by its emphasis on "applied psychoanalysis" — the extension of psychoanalytic technique to schools, agencies, and organizations ^[8][10][11].

History

ACAP was founded in 1980 and describes itself as having been continuously accredited in psychoanalysis by ABAP since 1990 ^[12][1]. In 2007 the institute formed the Community Resource Partnering Network (CRPN), bringing together some 50 organizations and agencies to develop collaborative programming and grant applications ^[13][14]. The Joining Forces tuition assistance program originated in a partnership with the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and has been funded by the Robert and Joan Dircks Foundation since 2009 ^[15].

The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis established a New Jersey branch campus in collaboration with ACAP, offering graduate degrees at the Livingston site ^[16]. In September 2020 the branch campus was renamed The Institute of Counseling and Psychoanalytic Studies (ICPS); ACAP’s program director, Vicki Semel, stated at the time that the change was intended to reduce confusion arising from the earlier "Boston" name ^[10]. ACAP’s own materials continue to refer to the partner campus variously as BGSP-NJ and ICPS ^[17][8][18].

In 2019 ACAP launched iStrive, a Saturday program for young adults on the autism spectrum, with a pilot planned to begin in January of that year ^[12][19]. In December 2025 ACAP announced that it had been recognized by the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) as a Registered Training Provider (RCTP1014-ACS) for its 45-hour Approved Clinical Supervisor course ^[20].

Training programs

• Graduate Psychoanalytic Certificate Program — a clinical training program leading to a Certificate in Modern Psychoanalysis; graduates are eligible to apply for New Jersey State Certification as a Psychoanalyst ^[8][21].
• One-Year Program in Modern Psychoanalytic Studies — four courses over one year, each meeting for six sessions, delivered on Zoom, intended for clinical practitioners and professionals in other disciplines ^[22].
• Trauma and Resilience Studies (TRS) — a certificate program for those seeking recognition as trauma specialists, offered through the Applied Psychoanalysis Division ^[8][23].
• Continuing education — mini-courses, workshops, lectures, conferences, films, and community partnering opportunities ^[8].
• Clinical supervision courses — 45-hour (counseling), 20-hour (social work), and 10-hour (art therapy) formats delivered by synchronous video conference, plus standalone modules in ethics, cultural competency, telehealth, and opioids ^[24][25][18].
• BGSP-NJ / ICPS graduate degrees — a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a Master of Arts in Psychoanalysis, and a 30-credit Post-Master’s Certificate in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, hosted by ACAP at the Livingston campus and through distance learning ^[8][26].

The certificate program is described as consisting of academic coursework, supervised clinical practice, and personal analysis, with students treating patients at the North Jersey Consultation Center ^[21][3]. The catalog states the certificate curriculum comprises a Level A (also styled PreCandidacy) and a Level B candidacy stage ^[17][3]. According to a 2016 account by a graduate, the certificate program totals 96 graduate-level credits ^[27]. Coursework spans human development across the lifespan, psychopathology and psychodiagnosis, comparative psychotherapies, group dynamics, transference and countertransference, resistance and defense, child and adolescent treatment, addiction, and fieldwork seminars with supervised group studies ^{[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]}. New tracks in child and adolescent treatment were announced to begin in fall 2023 ^[36].

Distance learning has been offered at ACAP since 1995 and relies on synchronous video conferencing, with classes held in the U.S. Eastern time zone and taught in English ^[37]. ACAP states that the certificate program, the One-Year Program, introductory courses, and continuing professional education courses are amenable to distance participation ^[37].

Admissions

• Completed application form with a non-refundable $35 application fee ^[26][38][39].
• Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts sent to the Administrative Office ^[26][39].
• Two letters of reference or recommendation ^[26][39].
• A brief personal statement describing professional goals and reasons for seeking psychoanalytic training ^[26][39].
• Two interviews, arranged by the Dean of Admissions, are required for the matriculated Psychoanalytic Certificate Program ^[38][39].

A single application form covers the certificate program, non-matriculation status, the Trauma & Resilience program, and the One-Year Program; non-matriculating applicants need only complete the form and arrange one interview ^[38][39]. Applicants educated outside the United States are asked to submit a credential equivalency report from a service such as World Education Services or Educational Credential Evaluators ^[26]. Applications to the BGSP-NJ master’s degrees are made through the partner institution’s own site ^[26]. ACAP states that it welcomes applicants from all academic disciplines and that its programs use an experiential learning model without standardized testing or exams ^[12]. Applicants to the full certificate program are expected to hold a prior master’s or doctoral degree; those without prior graduate study are directed to the partner MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling as a prematriculation route ^[21].

ACAP states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, or ethnicity in the administration of its educational or admissions policies ^[24][25].

Tuition and fees

• Certificate course tuition: $800 per course ^[40].
• Small Group Supervision: $800 ^[40].
• Research Supervision Tutorial: $600 ^[40].
• Non-refundable registration/handling fee: $125 ^[40].
• One-Year Program: $350 per course, plus a $17 processing fee for CE certificates ^[22].
• Graduation fee: $125; transcript: $20; late fee and leave of absence: $100 each ^[40].
• Clinical supervision courses: $500 for the 45-hour and 20-hour formats; $250 for the 10-hour art therapy format, with individual modules from $30 to $175 ^[24][41][18].
• iStrive: $200 per month, $1,200 for six months, or $2,400 per year ^[42].

The figures above appear on ACAP’s undated payment-portal and program pages and are not tied to a stated academic year in the sources ^[22][42][40].

Tuition assistance and scholarships

• Dircks Tuition Assistance Program (originally Joining Forces) — an award of up to 50% of tuition for candidates serving vulnerable populations, applicable to any ACAP program except the Clinical Supervision Course ^[15].
• Tuition Referral Program — a 50% tuition credit toward one future course for both the referring party and a newly enrolled certificate-level student ^[15].
• Named awards including the Sandra L. Newman Memorial Scholarship, Gordon Ashworth Memorial Scholarship, Bilingual Scholars Award, and Next Gen Scholarship ^[15].
• A 20% tuition discount for staff at mental health agencies enrolling in the partner master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling ^[15].

Dircks tuition assistance is limited to students in the first three semesters of the certificate program and is not available thereafter; the institute notes that availability depends on funding and funder restrictions ^[15]. ACAP also states that veterans, military personnel, and their families may be eligible for direct subsidy of tuition and expenses for ACAP/BGSP-NJ courses of up to $20,000 per year depending on status as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs ^[43].

Clinical services

• North Jersey Consultation Center (NJCC) — ACAP’s clinical arm, providing psychotherapy, counseling, and psychoanalysis to individuals, adults, children, families, couples, and groups at 301 South Livingston Avenue ^[10][7].
• iStrive — a Saturday program running September through June, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., for young adults on the autism spectrum aging out of other services, addressing socialization, emotional development, and career readiness ^[44][45].
• ACAP Mental Health Practitioners’ Directory — a listing of private practitioners, graduates and faculty among them, offering services at their own locations across New Jersey and New York ^[46].
• "Roger That!" — a cost-free discussion group for military veterans and their families ^[43].

The institute states that no applicant to NJCC has been turned away for reasons of diagnosis or finances, and that fees are affordable and set without regard to insurance or managed care ^[47][7]. As of a page dated 2020, ACAP reported providing approximately 5,000 hours of treatment annually through NJCC ^[12]. Certificate candidates and master’s graduates accumulate supervised clinical hours through iStrive and NJCC under the supervision of senior faculty ^[48][21].

Applied psychoanalysis and community programs

ACAP maintains an Applied Psychoanalysis Division that develops programs and seminars in collaboration with other community organizations ^[8][11]. Reported activities have included co-sponsored training seminars for New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services staff, summer conferences held at Caldwell University, the CRPN, a Friday Night Live lecture series, a Family Matters cable television program, parenting workshops, and a monthly public brown bag lunch ^[11][49]. The institute also reports having provided critical incident debriefing services in the four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks ^[23]. A Write to Heal expressive writing group has been offered in conjunction with the Trauma and Resilience Studies program ^[23][50].

Annual conferences have included a 2019 two-day meeting at Caldwell University on "Family Matters: Conflict to Collaboration," a 2021 virtual conference on "Belonging and Otherness," and a 2023 virtual conference on "Reciprocal Resilience," each co-sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis ^[49][51][36].

Affiliations and accreditation

• American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis (ABAP) — national accreditor of ACAP, continuously since 1990 ^[12][8][3].
• Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP) — degree-granting partner, whose New Jersey campus (BGSP-NJ, later ICPS) is hosted at ACAP; BGSP is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) ^[8][16].
• New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee — accepts the BGSP-NJ curriculum ^[8][26].
• National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP) — students and graduates are eligible for membership; NAAP co-sponsors ACAP events, and its New York State approvals extend continuing education credit to co-sponsored programs ^[5][3].
• Society of Modern Psychoanalysts (SMP) — students and graduates are eligible for membership; ACAP follows the NAAP and SMP codes of ethics and endorses the ABAP Code of Good Practice ^[3].
• Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) — ACAP is a Registered Credential Training Provider (RCTP1014-ACS) for the 45-hour Approved Clinical Supervisor training course ^[24][20].
• American Psychological Association (APA) — approves ACAP to sponsor continuing education for psychologists ^[24][5].
• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) — ACAP is an Approved Continuing Education Provider, #5709 ^[24][5].
• New York State Education Department — recognizes ACAP through its State Board for Art Therapists as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists, #CAT-0081 ^[24][5].
• National Association of Social Workers, New Jersey chapter (NASW-NJ) — approves specified ACAP courses for social work continuing education ^[41][25].
• New Jersey State Nurses Association — has approved ACAP as a provider of continuing nursing education, provider number P297 ^[52][53].
• Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) — an ACAP director is an ATCB Authorized Art Therapy Continuing Education provider ^[24].

ACAP is an approved continuing education provider for psychoanalysts certified by the State of New Jersey ^[24][5]. The institute states that graduates are eligible to apply for state licensure or certification as a psychoanalyst in New Jersey, New York, and Vermont ^[12].

Governance

ACAP is a nonprofit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees responsible for fiscal and administrative policy, while educational programs and the North Jersey Consultation Center are operated by the Faculty Directors, advised by a Training Committee drawn from the active faculty ^[3]. Named directors include Vicki Semel, PsyD, PhD, Executive Director and President; Patricia Bratt, PsyaD, PhD, Academic Innovation and Communications; Eva Silver, LCSW, Director of Admission and Advisement; and Annette Vaccaro, EdD, Academic Affairs ^[6]. Bratt directs the iStrive program, with George Grant as administrator ^[6].

Mary Robinson, MA, CT, was appointed President of the Board of Trustees, an announcement dated December 2018 reporting that she had served on the board since 2010 ^[54]. Administrative staff include an Office Administrator and Registrar, a controller, and a marketing coordinator ^[6]. A librarian oversees the ACAP/BGSP-NJ library, which holds collections in psychoanalysis, psychology, mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, and social work, and provides students online database access and interlibrary loan ^[55]. ACAP states that students have online access to Psychoanalytic Electronic Publications ^[56].

Finances

ACAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with EIN 22-2426648, and states that gifts to it are tax-deductible ^[9]. According to the institute, essentially all of its income derives from tuition and fundraising, which support general operating expenses ^[12]. ACAP acknowledges support from donors including the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, the Orange Orphans Society, Sovereign Bank, the Hyde & Watson Foundation, the Robert and Joan Dircks Foundation, and Bradley & Sons Funeral Home ^[9]. The institute reports that its work depends substantially on professional volunteer labor, citing approximately 20,000 volunteer hours per year contributed by directors, alumni, students, and volunteers ^[12][14]. A third-party business database lists annual revenue of approximately $5.8 million and a staff of eight ^[1].