Preface

When the Center opened its doors in 1971, it proposed to operate in accordance with two bold propositions: 1) that the resolution of resistance, a basic principle of psychoanalytic treatment, would be applied to the education of psychoanalytic candidates and, 2) that the psychoanalytic model including the couch can be used in the treatment of preverbal disorders. It was hypothesized that resistances to emotional learning were the greatest handicap to becoming a psychoanalyst. The method adopted by the Center and described herein was successful in helping students to develop tolerance for the feelings induced by patients and to increase their understanding of themselves. The Center has continued to develop its innovative approach to psychoanalytic education.

Phyllis Meadow, author of this issue devoted to the Center's teaching methods, is widely known for her energy and vision. A noted psychoanalytic educator, her published works indicate an abiding interest in how people learn and unlearn. As Dean of Curriculum at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies, Meadow has the major responsibility of reviewing psychoanalytic literature and selecting readings for the modern analytic curriculum.

Her own classes are uniquely exciting—her keen interest in the subject being taught and the people learning it favors absorption of the material emotionally as well as intellectually. No student contact is dismissed or neglected in her classes. At the same time, the topic of the class, whether it be dreams, drives, or case management, is never lost sight of.