National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP)

The National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) is a nonprofit psychoanalytic training institute and outpatient treatment center in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, chartered by the New York State Board of Regents in 1972 ^[5][6]. Founded by a group of psychotherapists who sought an institute in which multiple therapeutic modalities could be studied together, NIP now offers training in relational psychoanalysis, psychodynamic psychotherapy, psychotherapy integration, and trauma treatment ^[7][8]. The institute co-publishes the journal Psychoanalytic Perspectives and operates a sliding-scale treatment center staffed by its candidates ^[9][8].

History

NIP originated in discussions begun in 1968 and 1969 among students at the Postgraduate Center, and was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in 1970; it received its New York State Education Charter in 1972, and its first class of five students entered that year ^[7]. The five founding directors were Henry Grayson, Clemens Loew, James Fosshage, Kenneth A. Frank, and Hy Lowenheim, joined shortly afterward by Paul Olsen ^[7][10]. According to a 1990 institute history by Loew, the plural form in the name was deliberate and reflected the founders’ intention to study a range of psychotherapies rather than a single orthodoxy ^[7].

• First conference (1975) — "Three Psychotherapies," based on a book of the same title, featured live patient interviews from analytic, gestalt, and behavior-therapy practitioners ^[7].
• 1981 — Sandy Shapiro and Margaret Black joined the Board of Directors, which until then had been composed entirely of men ^[7].
• 1982 — Aileen Sirey was employed as Executive Director, and the NIP Professional Association (NIPPA) was founded ^[7][11].
• 1985 — An Administrative Board was established to share responsibility for the institute’s administration ^[7].
• After 2001 — The Integrative Trauma Program developed out of courses introduced by its founder and director, Sandra Shapiro, following the September 11 attacks ^[12].

Loew wrote in 1990 that NIP’s primary training program had over time narrowed from a wide array of psychotherapies to a comparative study of psychoanalytic paradigms, with object relations and self psychology prominent, while retaining elective non-analytic courses ^[7]. The institute’s offices were at 330 West 58th Street in the early 2000s and at 250 West 57th Street as of 2019, before the move to West 23rd Street ^[13][14][2]. Kenneth Frank, the last of the founders to serve on the Board, stepped down in June 2026; in his remarks he stated that the institute had produced more than a thousand graduates ^[10].

Training programs

• Adult Training Program in Psychoanalysis and Comprehensive Psychotherapy (Four-Year Program) — A four-year program integrating didactic coursework, supervision, clinical work, and personal analysis, with emphasis on object relations, self psychology, interpersonal, and contemporary relational psychoanalysis ^[4].
• License Qualifying Program in Psychoanalysis & Contemporary Psychotherapy (LQP) — A five-year sequence comprising a Preliminary Year followed by four years in the Adult Training Program; completion leads to qualification to apply for New York State licensure in psychoanalysis and an institute certificate ^[15].
• National Training Program in Contemporary Psychoanalysis (NTP) — A four-year postgraduate certificate program of six courses per year, most scheduled as three-day weekends in New York, designed for licensed practitioners elsewhere in the United States and abroad; graduates receive the Certificate in Contemporary Psychoanalysis ^[16][6].
• Psychodynamic Approaches in Clinical Practice (One-Year Evening Program) — Two semesters of evening coursework in psychoanalytic thought and clinical application, with an optional two-year clinical component in the NIP Treatment Center ^[17][18].
• Online One-Year Evening Program — An online version of Psychodynamic Approaches in Clinical Practice, comprising two 14-week semesters meeting Tuesday evenings ^[19].
• Certificate Program in Psychotherapy Integration (PIP) — For licensed, psychodynamically experienced clinicians; thirty sessions of coursework, including required courses in the clinical theories of psychotherapy integration, qualify a student for certification ^[20].
• Supervisory Training Program (STP) — A one-year program for certified graduates of psychoanalytic training programs, combining a didactic seminar, group supervision, supervision of two Adult Program candidates, and individual supervision ^[21][22].
• Integrative Trauma Program (ITP) — An umbrella for three complementary certificate programs that may be taken independently, sequentially, or simultaneously ^[23].
• Psychology internships, doctoral externships, and postdoctoral fellowships — Clinical training placements involving intake interviews, caseloads of up to ten patients, seminars, and individual and group supervision ^[24][25][26].

Integrative Trauma Program

• Certificate Program in Integrative Trauma Studies — A nine-month online program of weekly seminars covering topics including attachment, dissociation, racial and cultural trauma, and introductions to EMDR, IFS, AEDP, Somatic Experiencing, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy ^[27].
• EMDR Clinical Affiliate Certificate Program — A two-year program for EMDR-trained clinicians who treat patients referred from NIP’s trauma treatment service in their own offices, with group supervision from EMDRIA-approved consultants and monthly Saturday clinical seminars ^[28][23].
• Child and Adolescent Trauma Certificate Program — A nine-month online program of weekly seminars on trauma-informed treatment of children and adolescents, taught in three ten-week trimesters on Tuesday evenings; the institute states it is the only trauma-informed certificate program in New York City focused on children and adolescents ^[29][23].

The Integrative Trauma Program also sponsors an annual EMDR Basic Training and holds trauma colloquia twice each academic year ^[23][30].

Curriculum and requirements

The Four-Year Program curriculum is organized in trimesters and traces psychoanalytic thought from Freud and ego psychology through interpersonal, object relations, relational, and self psychological theory, with fourth-year courses on gender and sexuality, trauma and dissociation, intersubjectivity, and therapy integration ^[31]. First-year candidates also take summer mini-courses on ethics and law, addictions, and medical aspects of psychotherapy ^[31].

Requirements for the Four-Year Program include:

• A minimum of 1,000 clinical hours over four years, with at least seven patient hours per week and one patient seen three times weekly for at least one year ^[32].
• A minimum of 348 supervision hours, including individual and group supervision and additional supervision for the three-times-weekly patient ^[32].
• A minimum of 395 hours of personal analysis, at least twice weekly, with a NIP-approved analyst ^[32].
• A 25-page final project written under a project chairperson, begun in the third year ^[32].
• Attendance at four NIP community presentations, four NIPPA Focus Seminars, and four professional training events at other institutes ^[32].

Preliminary Year candidates in the License Qualifying Program attend a weekly case seminar plus weekend seminars in psychopathology and psychoanalytic diagnosis, take a child abuse detection and reporting course before seeing patients, receive weekly individual supervision, attend twice-weekly personal analysis, and see three to five patients weekly in the NIP Treatment Center ^[33][34]. National Training Program candidates must complete at least 200 hours of individual consultation with a minimum of three different consulting analysts and be in personal analysis at least twice weekly ^[35].

Admissions

• Four-Year Program — Open to licensed mental health professionals, licensed counselors, marriage and family therapists and creative arts therapists with appropriate clinical experience, graduates of social work master’s programs working toward the LMSW, and candidates in the LQP Preliminary Year; the application deadline is June 1, and a maximum of 14 applicants are admitted each year ^[36].
• License Qualifying Program — Requires a master’s degree, JD, or other graduate degree; applications for the 2026–27 year were accepted until June 1, 2026 ^[37].
• National Training Program — Restricted to mental health practitioners licensed to practice psychotherapy, with applicants in allied fields considered in special instances; the deadline for the 2026–27 offering was July 1, 2026 ^[38].
• One-Year Evening Program — Open to master’s-level social workers, psychologists, physicians, psychiatric nurses, clergy, CASACs, and other professionals with psychotherapy experience ^[39].
• Supervisory Training Program — Open to graduates of recognized postgraduate training institutes with at least two years of post-training clinical experience; a maximum of eight candidates are admitted per class ^[40].
• Psychotherapy Integration Program — Open to clinicians who have completed institute-based psychoanalytic training or comparable background and are licensed where they practice; individual courses have relaxed requirements ^[41].

All programs charge a non-refundable application fee of $100 ^{[36][37][38][39][40][41]}. Applications generally require letters of reference, transcripts, a personal statement or CV, and one or more admissions interviews ^[36][37]. Applicants whose graduate degrees were awarded outside the United States must have them certified as equivalent by the New York State Education Department, and the institute does not offer training interviews until the required state documents are received ^[15][4].

Tuition and fees

For the 2026–2027 academic year:

• Four-Year Program — Year 1: $4,150 (including $370 for June mini-courses); Year 2: $4,195; Year 3: $4,265 (including a $175 final project fee); Year 4: $4,195 ^[42].
• License Qualifying Program (Preliminary Year) — $4,400, comprising $2,200 tuition plus four weekend courses at $550 each, with a supervision fee of $60 per session for a minimum of 40 sessions ^[43].
• One-Year Evening Program — First year $3,340; second year $2,180 ^[44].
• Online One-Year Evening Program — $2,920 for 2027 ^[45].
• Certificate Program in Integrative Trauma Studies — $3,780, payable in four installments after an initial deposit ^[46].
• Child and Adolescent Trauma Certificate Program — $3,075 ^[47].
• EMDR Clinical Affiliate Program — $2,100 for 40 group supervision sessions and 10 Saturday clinical seminars, with individual supervision at $60 per hour ^[48].
• National Training Program — $5,650, with individual consultations at $100 each ^[49].
• Psychotherapy Integration Program — $2,700 for the certificate; individual courses are $270 (three weeks), $360 (four weeks), or $720 (eight weeks) ^[50].
• Supervisory Training Program — $825 for 2025–2026, plus individual supervision at $90 per session (minimum 20) and group supervision at $65 per session (minimum 35) ^[51].

Supervision fees in the Four-Year Program for 2026–2027 are $60 per individual session, $35 for a three-times-weekly patient, and $40 per group session, with no fee for couples supervision; fees for personal analysis are paid directly to the candidate’s analyst ^[42]. Candidates are remunerated for patient sessions above five per week at rates rising from $25 per session in the first year to $30 in the fourth ^[42].

Financial aid

• Tuition Assistance Scholarship — Full or partial tuition awards based on financial need, program of enrollment, and year of training; must be applied for annually and does not cover supervision ^[52].
• Diversity Scholarship — May cover all or part of tuition and supervision for one academic year; available to applicants and candidates in the Adult Training Program and the License Qualifying Program, and separately within the Integrative Trauma Program ^[52][53][48].
• Jackie Mintz Scholarship — Awarded by the NIP Professional Association to a candidate entering the second, third, or fourth year of the Adult Training Program; covers one year’s tuition ^[52].
• Clinical Scholar’s Work-Study Program — Covers tuition, supervision, and annual conference admission in exchange for 15 hours of unremunerated Treatment Center work per week ^[52].

Clinical services

The Treatment Center at NIP offers in-person and telehealth individual psychotherapy and EMDR trauma treatment at reduced fees set with reference to a patient’s income, expenses, and insurance coverage ^[8]. Within the Integrative Trauma Program, the EMDR Trauma Treatment Center provides sliding-scale, short-term trauma treatment for adults, integrating EMDR with psychodynamic psychotherapy and other trauma-informed modalities ^[23]. In an undated fundraising appeal, the institute reported that its Treatment Center had provided 20,815 therapy sessions to 943 clients in a single year and that 108 students were enrolled across seven programs, alongside 16 graduate students in social work and psychology ^[54].

Continuing education and publications

NIP offers continuing education workshops, mini-courses, and a Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series, delivered online since programs were first moved to that format during the COVID-19 pandemic ^[55]. It maintains a written complaint procedure for CE events administered by its Director of Continuing Education ^[56].

The institute’s journal, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, is published three times yearly by Taylor & Francis as a joint publication of NIP and the NIP Professional Association; it carries clinical and theoretical articles as well as a Creative Literary Arts section and a Private Lives section ^[9][57][58]. NIP also produces a podcast, Demystifying Psychotherapy ^[59].

Governance

The institute is governed by a Board of Directors. As listed by the institute, officers are Charles Finlon (President), Jonathan Blazon Yee (Vice-President), Lisa Ruesch (Secretary), and Marc Sholes (Treasurer), with Christel MacLean as Executive Director ^[60]. Kenneth A. Frank is listed as Co-Founder, and James L. Fosshage, Henry Grayson, and Clemens A. Loew as Board Emeritus ^[60].

Board committees include Executive, Governance, Audit, Finance, Management, and Strategic Planning; operational and academic committees include the Training Committee, Admissions Committee, Curriculum Committee, Supervision Committee, Ethics Committee, and the Integrative Trauma Program Executive Committee ^[61]. Diversity and inclusion work is carried out through a Committee on Diversity & Inclusion, a Diversity Strategy Committee, and an Equity Advisory Committee steering group ^[61][62].

The NIP Professional Association (NIPPA), founded in 1982, comprises alumni, trustees, board members, program directors, supervisors, faculty, and candidates, and runs the annual Fall Colloquium, the Sunday Focus Series, a case presentation series, and a mentor program for new candidates ^[11][63][64]. Membership is divided into Full and Associate categories ^[65].

Affiliations and accreditation

• New York State Education Department — Chartered by the Board of Regents in 1972 as a nonprofit educational institution ^[6][5].
• American Psychological Association — Approved to offer continuing education credits for psychologists; NIP maintains responsibility for its programs and their content ^[16].
• New York State Education Department, State Board for Social Work — Approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers, #SW-0018 ^[16].
• New York State Education Department, State Board for Mental Health Practitioners — Approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts (#Psyan-0004), licensed psychologists (#PSY-0131), and licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0059) ^[55][29].

Not all NIP events that carry continuing education credit are eligible for licensed mental health counselors, and eligibility is stated separately for each event ^[55]. NIP describes itself as an equal opportunity organization admitting students without regard to age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, physical disability, or national and ethnic origin ^[6].