Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (MITPP)

The Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (MITPP) is a psychoanalytic training institute on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, offering certificate programs in adult and in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy ^[1]. It is a not-for-profit corporation organized in 1980 and operating under an absolute charter from the New York State Board of Regents ^[1]. MITPP’s clinical training is conducted through an arrangement with the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health (MCMH), a low-fee outpatient clinic founded in 1962, where candidates treat assigned patients to satisfy the institute’s clinical requirements ^[1]. The institute also offers licensure tracks through which candidates may work toward the New York State LCSW or Licensed Psychoanalyst credentials, in some cases with paid clinical hours ^[1].

History

• 1962 — the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health was founded to provide low-cost psychological treatment ^[5].
• 1980 — MITPP was organized as a not-for-profit corporation under an absolute charter from the New York State Board of Regents ^[1]; in the same year, the Professional Association of the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health was renamed the Metropolitan Society of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists (MSPP) ^[5].
• February 1987 — the organization’s federal tax exemption took effect ^[6].

MCMH has provided low-cost, long-term psychoanalytically informed treatment to community residents since 1962 ^[1]. One aggregated business-data listing gives MITPP’s founding year as 1962 ^[7], which conflicts with the institute’s own statement that it was organized in 1980 ^[1].

Training programs

MITPP describes its offerings as affordable contemporary certificate programs open to individuals licensed or certified in social work, psychology, psychiatry or psychiatric nursing, and to those working toward such credentials ^[1]. Counselors and others holding a master’s degree may train to qualify as Licensed Psychoanalysts under New York State licensure law ^[1].

• Clinical Training in Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy — leads to a Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy; may be entered full-time (three courses and eight patient hours), part-time (one or two courses and five patient hours), or on a non-matriculating basis ^[8][1].
• Clinical Training in Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy — a two-year certificate program consisting of two courses per semester, weekly individual and group supervision, and five clinical hours per week, one of which may be a collateral session ^[9][1].
• Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: LCSW Track ("Earn and Learn") — offered with MCMH, an Office of Mental Health licensed clinic, for social workers working toward LCSW licensure ^[10][1].
• Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: LCSW Track — after the two-year child and adolescent certificate, candidates continue in supervision and take at least one Adult Program course per semester until LCSW hour requirements are met ^[11][1].
• Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic Licensure Program ("Earn and Learn") — for master’s-degree holders working toward the New York State license in psychoanalysis; coursework includes Research and Ethics courses required by the state ^[12][1].

Under the LCSW tracks, candidates working a minimum of 14 clinical hours weekly may qualify for the LCSW in three years and be paid for clinical work, while those working a minimum of 10 unpaid clinical hours may qualify in six years ^[10][1]. Licensure-track candidates seeing 14 patient hours weekly at MCMH are paid for their clinical work and are assigned an MCMH supervisor at no charge ^[12].

Courses are held in instructors’ private offices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:25 to 7:55 PM and from 8:35 to 10:05 PM, in two 15-week semesters per year ^[8]. Adult Program coursework may be completed in three years, and most candidates train part-time over a longer period ^[8]; the licensure track is described as taking approximately three and a half years ^[12]. Courses are approved for 22.5 contact hours (CEUs) each ^[8]. The adult curriculum is organized in three years and includes sequences in Freud’s writings, psychoanalytic technique, psychoanalytic theories of development, psychopathology, dreams, unconscious processes, object relations theory, and integrative case seminars ^[12].

Certificate requirements

Adult Program (LCSW track and general adult track) ^[10][8]:

• Successful completion of all coursework.
• 750 hours of supervised clinical practice with MCMH patients.
• A minimum of 120 hours of individual supervision, 40 hours each with three different MITPP supervisors.
• A minimum of 135 hours of group supervision.
• A minimum of 300 hours of personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy, at least twice weekly.
• Successful completion of a written and oral case presentation.
• Good standing with MITPP and MCMH.

Child and Adolescent Program ^[9][11]:

• Successful completion of all coursework.
• 440 hours of supervised clinical practice with MCMH patients.
• A minimum of 80 hours of individual supervision, 40 hours each with two different supervisors.
• A minimum of 90 hours of group supervision.
• A minimum of 100 hours of personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy, at least once weekly.
• Good standing with MITPP and MCMH.

In the Psychoanalytic Licensure Program, supervision consists of 50 hours on one case with one supervisor and 100 hours on one or more cases with another, with a further 40-hour course of supervision required to graduate ^[12]. Individual and group supervision are included in tuition without additional fees, and a course of individual supervision runs 40 weeks per year ^[8]. Personal psychoanalytic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis is required throughout training, with training therapists subject to approval by the Director ^[8].

Admissions

• MITPP Application for Training, with a $50.00 non-refundable application fee payable to info@mitpp.org ^[3].
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae ^[3].
• Two letters of reference from current or former supervisors, teachers, administrators, or other professionals who have overseen the applicant’s work, sent directly to the institute on official letterhead ^[3].
• A personal interview, arranged once all materials have been received and reviewed ^[3].

Applications are accepted year-round for either the Fall or Spring semester, with most candidates beginning in the Fall ^[3]. To matriculate, an applicant must be certified or licensed in psychology, social work, psychiatry, or psychiatric nursing, or working toward such credentials; other applicants are evaluated individually ^[8]. Applicants are additionally assessed against stated guidelines including emotional maturity, capacity for self-reflection and empathy, and an ability to tolerate anxiety, ambiguity, and difference ^[8]. The institute states that it does not discriminate in admissions on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, nationality, or disability ^[1].

Tuition and fees

• Tuition: $1,400 per semester, all-inclusive of courses and supervision, for matriculating candidates ^[13][1].
• Non-matriculated course: $400.00 per semester course ^[13].
• Non-refundable acceptance deposit: $300, applied to the first semester’s tuition ^[13].
• Final Case Presentation fee: $75.00; transcript fee: $50.00; completion and submission of NYSED forms: $40.00 ^[13].
• Administrative fees per semester include late registration ($25.00), registration change after deadline ($20.00), late tuition ($25.00), tuition deferment ($35.00), returned check ($35.00), and leave of absence ($100.00) ^[13].
• MSPP dues for all matriculated and non-matriculated students: $25 annually ^[5].

Tuition is refunded at 75 percent before or during the first week of classes, 50 percent in the second week, and 25 percent in the third week, with no refunds after the third week ^[13]. The Louise Crandall Memorial Fellowship awards one matriculating Adult Program candidate a year’s paid tuition each year ^[13]. MITPP states that it is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to allow candidates in good standing to defer repayment of outstanding graduate or undergraduate educational loans ^[13].

Continuing education

MITPP is approved by the New York State Education Department as a provider of continuing education for LMSWs, LCSWs, LMHCs, LPs, LMFTs, and licensed psychologists ^[14]. The institute runs workshops, scientific meetings, open houses, and a Summer Institute of online mini-courses and workshops carrying approved contact hours ^[14]. For 2026, listed Summer Institute offerings ranged from a 1.5-contact-hour seminar at $55 to a nine-contact-hour, six-week course at $225 ^[14]. Individual two-hour workshops in 2025 were priced at $60, or $40 for students, with no fee for MCMH staff therapists ^[15]. Some scientific meetings are held jointly with MCMH and MSPP ^[16].

Clinical services

Candidates do not treat patients in private practice or at other agencies to meet MITPP requirements; all required clinical work is with patients of MCMH, a separate entity, and decisions on treatment, patient assignments, and use of space rest with MCMH’s Director of Clinical Services ^[8][1]. Presenting problems among MCMH patients may include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, borderline conditions, pathological narcissism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and character pathology; the clinic maintains a team of psychiatrists, a 24-hour emergency answering service, a Medical Director, and full-time administrative and clinical directors ^[8]. MCMH is open weekdays from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and provides services in person and by telehealth ^[8].

MCMH sites used for clinical training ^[8]:

• 160 West 86th Street, Manhattan (main office).
• 336 Central Park West, at 94th Street.
• 1090 St. Nicholas Avenue, Washington Heights, which also houses a substance abuse program.

Affiliations and accreditation

• New York State Education Department Office of the Professions — approved entity, waiver number 603 ^[17]; approved continuing education provider ^[14].
• New York State Board of Regents — absolute charter ^[1].
• Metropolitan Center for Mental Health (MCMH) — affiliated clinic providing candidates’ clinical placements ^[5][1].
• Metropolitan Society of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists (MSPP) — affiliated professional society of MITPP candidates and graduates ^[5].
• International Forum for Psychoanalytic Education — listed affiliation ^[5].
• Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) — listed affiliation ^[5].

Under its New York State Education Department waiver, the institute was approved to offer professional services by qualified individuals in licensed master social work, licensed clinical social work, licensed mental health counseling, licensed marriage and family therapy, licensed creative arts therapy, licensed behavior analysis, licensed psychoanalysis, and psychology ^[17]. The waiver record lists a current period from March 15, 2012 to March 31, 2015 ^[17]. MSPP, formerly the Professional Association of the Metropolitan Center for Mental Health, comprises candidates and graduates of MITPP together with MITPP faculty and supervisors and graduates of other psychoanalytic training institutes; it offers peer support and four clinical presentations a year ^[5].

Governance

MITPP is governed by a Board of Trustees and administered by a Director, with standing Program, Training, Educational Development, Nominating, and Finance committees ^[4]. Officers and administration listed by the institute include ^[4]:

• Gino R. Benza, LCSW — President, Board of Trustees.
• Barbara Spiridon, MS Ed, MSJ — Vice President.
• Ruby R. Benjamin, LP — Treasurer.
• Elena Mancini, Ph.D., LP — Secretary.
• Barbara L. Reichenthal, LCSW, BCD — Past President.
• Joyce A. Lerner, LCSW — Director, MITPP.
• Karen Trokan, LCSW — Senior Consultant; Ivy Vale, BFA — Registrar.
• Caroline Sloane, LMSW — Candidates’ Representative; Margaret Wood, LMSW — MSPP Representative.

The Program Committee is chaired by Gino Benza, LCSW, the Training Committee by Loretta Hayes, LCSW, the Educational Development Committee by Barbara L. Reichenthal, LCSW, BCD, and the Finance Committee by Gene Yellin, LCSW ^[4]. The institute’s IRS filings for fiscal years 2022 through 2024 list a comparable slate of officers ^[6].

Faculty

Faculty and supervisors hold certificates from a range of psychoanalytic training institutes, among them the William Alanson White Institute, the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, the Harlem Family Institute, the Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of New Jersey, the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, the Contemporary Freudian Society and its predecessor the New York Freudian Society, and the National Institute for the Psychotherapies ^[18][14]. Several faculty members hold appointments at university social work and psychology programs, and a number are graduates of MITPP’s own programs ^[18].

Finances

MITPP is a 501(c)(3) organization, tax-exempt since February 1987, with EIN 13-3076314 ^[6]. Reported figures from IRS filings ^[6]:

• Fiscal year ending June 2025 (Form 990-EZ): revenue $142,093; expenses $140,939; net assets $18,399; contributions $107,800 (75.9 percent of revenue) and program services $32,447 (22.8 percent).
• Fiscal year ending December 2024 (Form 990): revenue $274,831; expenses $275,817; net assets $17,245; executive compensation $115,449 (41.9 percent of expenses).
• Fiscal year ending December 2023 (Form 990): revenue $246,503; expenses $249,924; net assets $18,231.
• Fiscal year ending December 2022 (Form 990-EZ): revenue $197,174; expenses $183,853; net assets $21,652.

In each of these years contributions accounted for roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of total revenue ^[6]. A commercial business-data aggregator lists an annual revenue figure of about $8.85 million and eight employees for the institute ^[7], which is inconsistent with the amounts reported in its IRS filings ^[6].