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Björn Sahlberg’s article touches upon important questions regarding psychoanalysis today. How is it trained and practiced today? What is its place in today’s society? What should be done in order for the method to survive? In the end of the article Sahlberg gathers his thoughts into four challenges of today’s psychoanalysis. The article is well written and I could not but admire the way Sahlberg formulates his ideas. My first reaction was to agree with him, but after some thinking other ideas also entered my mind, and I shall now reflect on Sahlberg’s article based on them.
After the decision in IPA to change the rules regarding the frequency of personal analysis and the training cases from 4–5 sessions to 3–5 sessions a week in the Eitingon model we have discussed training on several occasions in the Finnish Society. Not only the frequency has been discussed, but also how the candidates after graduation could develop a stronger tie to the society and a profound psychoanalytic identity.
Unlike the Swedish Society, we in Finland have had plenty of new candidates starting training. The law in Finland concerning psychotherapy training was changed in 2011, after which the training of a registered psychotherapist has to take place in collaboration with a university. The training of the Finnish Society gives also the qualification of psychotherapist and it is organized in collaboration with Turku University since 2012.The interest to apply into training has been steady since then.
In the Finnish Society we have different grades of membership. After training the candidate becomes an associate member and a member of IPA. An associate member can apply for full membership after 2 years and having had 3000 h of psychoanalytic practice, one finished psychoanalytic case, and a paper presented in the scientific meeting. A full member can apply for becoming a training analyst after having been a member for 5 years, and having had 6000 h of psychoanalytic practice. To be elected a cli