Scholars in universities have long recognized the value of psychoanalysis as an approach to research in a wide variety of fields, and thanks to the waivers available through the Committee on Research and Special Training (CORST), a number of them have had the opportunity to undertake analytic training as clinical candidates. These academics, and colleagues like them with research interests in psychoanalytic topics, are delighted to respond to renewed efforts on the part of the American to bridge the gap between institutes and the academy, and between clinicians and research scholars interested in psychoanalytic topics.
In 1996 Robert A. Paul, a member of the Committee on University and Medical Education, was asked by the chair of that committee, Steven T. Levy, to form a subcommittee to address the role of psychoanalysis in universities outside the clinical setting—that is, the role of psychoanalysis in arts and science, law, theology, business, and so on. With the support of APsaA president Marvin Margolis and president-elect Robert Pyles, the Subcommittee on Psychoanalytic Studies Programs (SPSP) was formed with Paul as chair. Members have included Elizabeth Auchincloss, Bertram J. Cohler, Volney P. Gay, Maida Greenberg, Jonathan Lear, Peter J. Loewenberg, Humphrey Morris, Joel Rosen, Elise Snyder, Stuart Taylor, Joel Whitebook, Arnold Wilson, and Jerome A. Winer.
The mission of the subcommittee is to survey, evaluate, and if possible enhance the presence of teaching, research, and scholarship on psychoanalytic topics or from a psychoanalytic point of view in the contemporary academic world. While many academics are interested in psychoanalytic theory, practice, or history and employ it in their teaching, there are few outlets in most universities for the regular teaching of psychoanalytic topics or for organized programs of study in psychoanalytic fields.
Our experience in establishing a Psychoanalytic Studies Program at Emory University as a minor concentration available to graduate students in any part of the Arts and Sciences Department convinced us that the disparate resources for running such a program are often scattered throughout a university and require effort to focus them into a visible and effective program of study. We encourage scholars with analytic training and/or expertise at other universities to take similar initiatives where this is possible.
At the American's December meetings in 1997, the SPSP began a two-part project to learn more about the place psychoanalysis holds in various parts of American academic and clinical communities. We wanted to find out what kinds of interactions have been taking place between institutes and universities, to understand better the relationship between these institutions and the general public, and to contact individual scholars interested in psychoanalysis.
The first part of this project was to survey key representatives of three areas: psychoanalytic institutes, individual academics, and psychology departments. We sent letters to institutes around the country asking whether any psychoanalysts taught courses on psychoanalysis in colleges and universities (excluding medical school). If so, how did they go about this? We also asked if the institute itself offered any courses in the clinical technique and practice of psychoanalysis that were open to non-clinicians. How, for example, could a non-clinician learn firsthand from a psychoanalyst how psychoanalysis is actually conducted? With the assistance of Levy, who is also director of the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute, we heard from about half of the APsaA institutes.
The SPSP generated a list of individual professors known to teach psychoanalysis within the humanities. Letters were also sent to the members of such groups as the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, an organization comprising both academics and clinicians. The letter asked how a student interested in psychoanalysis might go about studying the field; whether or not there was a formal program or degree for such study; and, if there was not one in place, if there might be enough interest among the faculty to begin such a program at the graduate or undergraduate level.
Further, letters were sent to many of the top twenty-five psychology departments asking how psychoanalytic theory and/or clinical technique were taught in their departments. Were there any courses devoted to the topic? Was psychoanalysis a major component of other courses? If so, which ones? We requested copies of relevant course syllabi, departmental course lists, or similar material.
The results of these inquiries were presented at the December meetings in 1998. The survey responses confirmed our suspicions. Institutes not related to a university had little or no interaction with surrounding schools. Those that did had mixed relations. Many academics responded enthusiastically to the APsaA's efforts to bridge the two worlds, despite their lack of personal interaction with institutes. At best, many scholars knew individual analysts and found conversation with them to be informative, fruitful, and satisfying. Scholars wanted to learn more about what happens during the analytic hour and how subject matter is taught to a different kind of student (candidates vs. film students, for example.)
Not many psychology departments teach psychoanalysis. When they do, it is typically limited to an overview of Freud's ideas. There was little overt hostility toward the field. Only one person admitted to personal bias as the main reason for excluding psychoanalysis. In terms of connecting with the general public, the most successful and popular programming seems to be screening films. Institutes often rely on film series to generate public interest in psychoanalysis — the most rewarding way of combining pedagogy, fun, and community outreach.
The second part of our project was to set up a Web site as a resource for scholars and analysts interested in psychoanalysis, those who teach classes in psychoanalytic studies, or those looking for centers of psychoanalytic activity in the United States at which to study.
The SPSP home page () offers a brief description of current active non-clinical psychoanalytic studies programs and contact information for Emory University; the New School for Social Research in New York City; the University of Chicago; the University of Florida, Gainesville; SUNY–Buffalo; and U.Cal.–Berkeley. The page also provides contact information for schools that have a significant amount of psychoanalytic activity that goes beyond institute walls, but have yet to organize separate programs: Columbia University, New York University, and Yale University. The page is continually updated.
When news of the SPSP's research got out, several people requested hard copies of the materials gathered. These course offerings and program materials are also available on the SPSP Web site. While the information is limited to the United States, we have already heard from people in Canada and England curious to know more about psychoanalysis in the university. We hope that making these materials available will help clinicians and academicians to learn how they teach the same material differently, or perhaps similarly. By
Edward Gamarra is a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, in Atlanta. Robert A. Paul, Ph.D., is coordinator of Emory University's Psychoanalytic Studies Program.
putting these documents on the Web, the SPSP also hopes to give people around the country a sense of what is going on in areas with greater psychoanalytic activity. Everyone is invited to submit their own syllabus to the Webmaster; detailed instructions can be found on the page.
The SPSP Web site can also be reached via the home page of the American (); scroll down to the “Committees and Task Forces” line. Click on that line. This will take you to the page listing both CORST and the Subcommittee on Psychoanalytic Studies Programs. Clicking on the latter line will take you to the SPSP page, which is run jointly out of the Emory University Psychoanalytic Studies Program and the American's Web site, thanks to the cooperation and assistance of Brian Canty.