National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP)

The National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP), whose educational arm is the Training Institute of the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, is a psychoanalytic membership organization and training institute in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City ^[2][8]. It was organized in 1948 by Theodor Reik, a student of Sigmund Freud, together with a group of student analysts, and was established in response to the exclusion of non-medical practitioners from psychoanalytic training in the United States ^[9][8][10]. The institute describes itself as the oldest non-medical psychoanalytic training institute in the country ^[11]. NPAP is the publisher of The Psychoanalytic Review, described as the oldest continuously published psychoanalytic journal in the world ^[12][10].

History

• 1948 — first organized by Theodor Reik and a small group of student analysts ^[9][8]
• 1950 — incorporated under New York State law as an educational membership association ^[9][8]
• 1958 — The Psychoanalytic Review became the institute’s official journal ^[12]
• 1977 — restructured into separate Association and Training Institute entities ^[9]
• 2022 — the membership categories "Members" and "Training Members" replaced the former "Association" and "Training Institute" categories as the organization moved to a single entity ^[13]

Theodor Reik emigrated to the United States in 1938 and settled in New York City; holding a PhD in psychology rather than a medical degree, he was denied full membership in the New York Psychoanalytic Society ^[8]. According to the institute, NPAP was founded in response to professional discrimination against non-medical analysts and emerged from Reik’s conception of psychoanalysis as an independent profession open to qualified individuals regardless of medical background ^[9].

According to a reference account published in 2000, NPAP had grown to more than 350 members and more than 175 enrolled students, and a majority of the founding members of organizations including the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, the New York Freudian Society, and the New York Center for Psychoanalytic Training had trained at NPAP ^[8].

The institute’s journal, The Psychoanalytic Review, was founded in 1913 by William Alanson White and Smith Ely Jelliffe ^[12][1]. It became NPAP’s official journal in 1958 following a merger with Psychoanalysis, the journal Reik founded in 1952 ^[12]. The Review publishes four issues per year and operates with editorial policies independent of NPAP ^[12].

Training programs

• Psychoanalytic Training Program — the institute’s principal program, following a three-part model of coursework, personal psychoanalysis, and supervised clinical experience ^[14][11].
• Practice-based Psychodynamic Learning Center (PPLC) — a one-year Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Certificate Program for licensed clinicians, delivered remotely ^[6][11].
• Continuing education seminars, such as a six-session monthly virtual seminar on neuropsychoanalysis scheduled from September 2026 to February 2027 for 18 CE contact hours ^[15].

The psychoanalytic training curriculum covers Freud’s drive theory, ego psychology, the object relations schools, intersubjective self psychology, contemporary Freudian perspectives, attachment theory, relational, and neuropsychoanalytic approaches ^[14][11]. Requirements for all candidates are 32 twelve-week courses and 9 six-week courses; a minimum of 450 hours of three-times-weekly personal psychoanalysis with an approved psychoanalyst; and a minimum of 1,000 direct clinical hours with at least 300 hours of supervision ^[14][11]. Candidates typically begin seeing patients under supervision in their second year, either at the institute’s Greenwich Village clinic or in their own private practices ^[14].

Two tracks accommodate different licensing backgrounds:

• The "Already-Licensed" Track, for candidates holding a New York State mental health license that includes psychoanalysis in its scope of practice, including licensed psychoanalysts, physicians, licensed psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, physician assistants, registered professional nurses, and nurse practitioners ^[14].
• The License-Qualifying (LQ) Track, for candidates without such a license, including those trained outside the mental health tri-disciplines and holders of LMHC, LMFT, LCAT, and LMSW licenses ^[14][11].

Preparation for the New York State license in psychoanalysis (LP) is built into the curriculum, and the LQ track also allows LMSW holders to complete clinical experience requirements toward the LCSW license ^[14][11]. Some classes are offered remotely and others in person; the institute requires candidates to conduct at least 50% of supervised clinical work in person, and states that the training cannot be completed entirely remotely ^[14][11].

According to the institute, graduates over the ten years preceding the page’s publication took between 7 and 18 years to complete the full training program, with an average of 10 years; candidates pursuing the LP during training completed the licensure requirements in between 5 and 16 years, averaging just under 7 years ^[14][11].

The Member-in-Training Organization (MITO) is the representative body for candidates; all candidates in good standing are members, MITO holds seats on most Institute standing committees, and the MITO chair holds a voting seat on the Board of Trustees ^[14]. MITO hosts the Theodor Reik Guest Lecture Series ^[14].

Admissions

• Applicants to the psychoanalytic training program include licensed mental health practitioners and holders of master’s degrees in fields such as the arts, humanities, law, social sciences, psychology, medicine, and education ^[16][11].
• Open houses are held twice yearly, in spring and fall, at 40 West 13th Street ^[17][5].
• The institute states that it maintains non-discriminatory policies in admissions, faculty, and membership, and that candidates have come from five continents ^[17].
• Foreign students with or seeking F-1 visas are accepted through the SEVIS program ^[14][11].

Admission to the PPLC certificate program requires a copy of a New York State license, evidence of malpractice insurance, one letter of recommendation, an application form, and a non-refundable $75 application fee, followed by an interview with a PPLC faculty member ^[6]. A mental health license is generally required for the certificate program, with exceptions considered case by case ^[6].

Tuition and fees

• PPLC certificate program: $3,500 for the complete one-year program, comprising five courses, three supervision experiences, and three workshops ^[6].
• Individual PPLC courses: $700 each; workshops $100 each ^[6].
• PPLC registration fee: $150 per year, nonrefundable and payable before beginning the first course ^[6].
• PPLC application fee: $75, non-refundable ^[6].
• Continuing education seminar (2026–27 neuropsychoanalysis series): $500 for members, candidates, and other professionals ^[15].
• Membership dues (payable by January 1 of the current year): $380 for members; Training Members pay an additional $380, totaling $760 ^[13].

A separate page describing PPLC affordability gives the program cost as $2,950 per year, while the same page’s tuition and fees section gives $3,500 for the complete one-year program ^[6]. The refund policy provides a full refund for courses dropped before they begin, a refund less a $35 charge after the first class, and no refund after the second class; workshop fees are nonrefundable ^[6]. Fees are subject to periodic review and change by the Board of Trustees of the Training Institute ^[6].

Financial assistance

• Candidates in the LQ track are eligible for an educational stipend once they begin seeing patients under supervision, based on the number of patient hours conducted ^[14][11].
• The Good Trouble Scholarship, established in 2020, is available to three newly enrolled candidates of African descent for one year, with an option to reapply for a second year, covering full tuition and fees up to $3,200 per academic year ^[18].
• The Lou Berkowitz Scholarship, established in 1980, covers full tuition and fees up to $3,200 per academic year for one year, with a possible second-year extension, for candidates at or above matriculation level who are from or working in an underrepresented community ^[18].
• The Ernest Angel Scholarship is awarded on an ongoing basis for an original unpublished paper, with the amount determined by the committee and subject to Board of Trustees approval ^[18].
• A General Hardship Scholarship fund is also maintained ^[19].

The institute states that its training is not eligible for federally insured student loans ^[14][11].

Clinical services

• Theodor Reik Clinical Center (TRCC) — the institute’s low-fee outpatient clinic, offering psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis to adults on a sliding scale, in person in Greenwich Village, at therapy offices around New York City, or virtually ^[20][21].
• The Edith Laufer Neuropsychoanalytic Clinical Study Center (ELNCSC) — launched in 2003, providing neuropsychoanalytically informed psychotherapy, initially to patients with focal brain damage and, since 2018, to a general caseload ^[22].

The TRCC has served the New York City community since 1949 and treats adults presenting with anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, learning difficulties, addictive behaviors, attentional problems, and relationship issues ^[20]. Intake proceeds through a referral interview, after which patients are matched with a therapist; fees are set according to the patient’s financial situation ^[20]. Psychiatric referrals for medication management are available ^[20].

From 2003 to 2020 the ELNCSC’s members provided neuropsychoanalytic treatment to brain-injured patients under the supervision of Mark Solms ^[22]. The center runs a reading and study group, has developed neuropsychoanalytic electives within NPAP training, and its members have published in Neuropsychoanalysis and the British Journal of Psychotherapy ^[22].

Affiliations and accreditation

• American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis (ABAP) — national accreditation of the training program ^[16][9]
• National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP) ^[9]
• International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education (IFPE) ^[9]
• New York State Education Department Office of the Professions — the Training Institute holds waiver number 264, for the period 24 April 2026 to 30 April 2029, permitting it to offer professional services including licensed psychoanalysis, psychology, licensed clinical social work, and licensed mental health counseling through qualified individuals ^[3]
• New York State Education Department registration to prepare students to sit for the New York State License in Psychoanalysis ^[16]
• New York State Board of Regents charter ^[21]

NPAP is an approved provider of continuing education under the New York State Education Department for licensed social workers (#SW-0139), licensed psychoanalysts (#P-0010), and licensed psychologists (#PSY-0137) ^[15]. According to the 2000 reference account, NPAP was also a member of the World Federation for Mental Health and a founding member of the Council of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists and the International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education ^[8].

Governance

The institute states that it is a democratic organization in which candidates and members vote on policy and direction ^[23][16]. Membership of the Association requires graduation from the NPAP Training Institute, though the Board of Directors may exceptionally invite psychoanalysts trained at other institutes, and the Admissions Committee may evaluate other cases at its discretion ^[24]. Additional categories include Senior Member, Honorary Member, and Special Member ^[24].

As listed on the institute’s governance page, the Board of Directors included:

• President: Joyce Rosenberg ^[4]
• Vice President I: Steven Yagerman; Vice President II: Paul Kaiser ^[4]
• Secretary: Monique Rinere ^[4]
• Director, Training Group: James Holmes ^[4]
• Past President: Tom Taylor; MITO Chair: Parthenia (Tina) Caesar ^[4]

Within the Training Institute, James Holmes served as Director and Susana Martinez as Assistant Director, with standing committees covering candidate progress, candidate services, clinical experience and TRCC, curriculum, faculty and supervisors, outreach and admissions, and PPLC ^[4].

Facilities

• The Douglas Maxwell Library, housing more than 2,500 books and periodicals, subscriptions to psychoanalytic journals, and all volumes of The Psychoanalytic Review, catalogued in an online database ^[16][25].
• The Sy Coopersmith Lecture Room, treatment rooms, and a conference room at 40 West 13th Street, available for hourly office and event rentals ^[26].

Finances

NPAP is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with federal tax identification number 13-5656340 ^[19][27]. Fundraising includes a General Hardship Scholarship fund, named scholarship funds, a TRCC fund, a Building Fund, and a 75th Anniversary Fund ^[19]. The Theodor Reik Legacy Society, approved by the board, solicits bequests; as of the page describing it, 31 charter members had pledged more than $573,000 ^[28].