Symposium: Selection Criteria for the Training of Psycho-Analytic Students1

We are no doubt all in agreement that an exchange of ideas on the selection criteria for the training of psycho-analytic students will raise a series of complicated, very difficult, and at the present time often still insoluble problems covering all the various aspects of our profession, both scientific and practical.

An exchange of ideas is necessary to bring greater clarity as to what we want to achieve with our training, what goal we have in view, and to gain insight into the unconscious motives which influence our actions.

An empirical investigation into the extent to which and in what manner we perform our selection in practice is non-existent, at least for Europe. We should be very careful when generalizing our problems of selection, because cultural and sociological influences are important and have not yet been studied in detail.

Hence, my contribution is based on a more or less impressionistic foundation. In the present paper I have attempted on the one hand to put forward the views and experiences which were considered of general interest at the conference of the members of the European training committees held in Amsterdam at Whitsun 1960, while on the other hand I have availed myself of the opportunity to put some personal views to the test of experience. Gratefully, use has been made of the 'Introductory Remarks on Experiences of Interviewing and Selecting Candidates' made by Dr F. D. Wride at the conference referred to earlier. Thanks to the co-operation of my European colleagues it is possible to gain a better insight at least into the extent of our selection work. By 1 September, 1960 applications for training had been received from 167 persons, of whom 95 were admitted. On the same date 506 prospective colleagues were receiving training. The European societies had 306 full members and 298 associate members, making a total of 604. The ratio of medical doctors and/or psychiatrists to laymen was 370 to 234.

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