A Contribution to the Problem of Termination of Training Analysis

The problems related to the termination of training analysis are determined, just as in any other process nearing its end, by problems related to its beginning and to its course. We cannot hope for clarification of the problems concerning its termination unless we can clarify the function of the personal analysis of the future psychoanalyst in the total psychoanalytic training process.

As long as training in psychoanalysis was acquired in a manner of apprenticeship (1), the interrelation of the three aspects of training—personal analysis, supervised analyses, and theoretical courses—and their effective co-ordination could not be studied since in each instance the interpersonal relationship between teacher and pupil dominated the training. Since Ferenczi (5) stated that training analysis needs to be more thorough than therapeutic analysis, the time required for training analysis, which originally had been of but few months' duration, has become longer and longer. One reason for this is that the goal of the psychoanalytic process has become increasingly complex with the evolution of psychoanalysis as a science and a therapeutic tool. The other reason, however, is rather doubtful because it originates in the expectation that if only the personal analysis is carried on long enough, all problems, which in a given case might interfere with the successful progress of a candidate, could be resolved and the goal of his personal development as well as his training would be achieved. Yet such optimism needs scrutiny beyond the clinical evidence in reference to the various phases of training, since there are indications that the effectiveness of the training analysis might be seriously impeded by the interference of the training process itself.