The American Psychoanalytic Foundation was established in 1995 by the American Psychoanalytic Association to raise and consolidate contributions to the American and to lead its charitable educational, developmental, and outreach activities. By design, the foundation's board of directors includes both psychoanalysts who are members of the Association and community members who are committed to the advancement of psychoanalysis. The board also includes the current president-elect of the American as liaison between the APsaA Executive Committee and the foundation, as well as representatives from the Psychoanalytic Assistance Fund and from research.
The foundation gives grants and loans to individuals and organizations to provide financial support for specific psychoanalytic projects. It supports projects that bring some innovative concept or format to the development of psychoanalytic science, psychoanalytic education, or public education about psychoanalysis. the foundation especially favors projects that have the potential to be transported to other groups and sites, thus benefiting the entire organization and not just the initial locale.
The American Psychoanalytic Foundation supports the development of psychoanalysis primarily through grants and urges all members of the psychoanalytic community to consider it as a resource. Every effort has been made to simplify the process of applying for a grant; one does not need an experienced grant writer. The primary requirement in submitting a grant proposal is to demonstrate that the project has been well thought through with regard to its goals and the means to achieve them. As the foundation's board members read and consider the proposals, they expect to be able to answer the following:
What is the nature of the project?
Who are the people or organizations responsible?
What resources will be required?
How have the costs been estimated?
What is the expected duration of the project?
What benefits are hoped for?
Indications of how a successful outcome can be replicated elsewhere, or else transmitted to the general membership and/or interested public, and similar indicators of wider applications will help the foundation in making its evaluations. If initial submissions are not clear in one or another aspect, the foundation will make every effort to work with applicants to clarify their applications for a proper evaluation.
Recent foundation grants have included support for a national telecommunication network for teaching between institutes, new psychoanalytic centers, and new training facilities; a grant in conjunction with the Fund for Psychoanalytic Research to study the effectiveness of teaching psychoanalytic concepts to residents; a program to give financial support to candidates who wish to attend the American's meetings [see page 29]; and a conference for psychoanalysts interested in philosophy, in conjunction with leading scholars in academic psychoanalytic philosophy.
We encourage you to learn more about the foundation's grants guidelines and mission and to consider the foundation in your plans for project development.
A copy of the guidelines for grant proposals can be obtained either from the foundation's Website at or directly from the foundation's office:
American Psychoanalytic Foundation
1636 Connecticut Avenue, N.W, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-667-6363
Fax: 202-667-4477
E-mail: TAP