A group of 15 candidates at New York University Psychoanalytic Institute, New York University Medical Center (NYUPI), in collaboration with four faculty advisors, has initiated an online journal, The Candidate, devoted to issues of special interest to candidates.
The theme of the first issue will be “Beginnings.” Among other topics, the editors are interested in examining how candidates are initiated into the psychoanalytic community through the interview process, beginning a training analysis, and beginning a first analytic case. The first issue will focus on the ways that candidates commencing their training can become open to exciting new ideas or, conversely, how candidates' development as thinkers, writers, clinicians, and human beings can be derailed during these early phases.
Candidates and faculty involved in The Candidate hope that this project promotes candidate writing, creates lively dialogues, and strengthens the field of psychoanalysis.
The Candidate is the most recent—and very exciting—development in NYUPI's program in Scholarly Thinking, Reading and Writing. Writing is viewed as one aspect of an atmosphere of scholarship. Candidates' ability to create valuable scientific contributions and lively clinical writing depends on the freedom to think, read, critique, and raise challenging questions; nurturing that freedom is the goal of the writing program at NYUPI. Some components of the program are built into the curriculum, while others are elective.
The Candidate is the actualization of one of these components: an imaginary journal developed in the first-year writing course. During this course, candidates “serve” on the editorial board of a publication dedicated to clinical work, theory, supervision, education, and authority, as well as personal/experiential presentations, critiques of new and classical psychoanalytic literature, and more. First, candidates treat a sequence of well-known psychoanalytic articles as manuscript submissions, accepting or rejecting each one in a letter to the author that details the rationale for their editorial action. Then, papers submitted by the instructors to already existing journals—work that had been revised in accordance with editors' suggestions—are reviewed. Finally, candidates submit their own drafts to the editorial board.
After four years of this energizing, intellectually stimulating educational experience, candidates explored their interest in transforming the imaginary journal into a real one. One guiding idea was that candidates, uniquely situated to provide thoughtful perspectives on and critiques of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic education, seldom write. They may lack confidence in their ideas, feel afraid to write from different theoretical perspectives, or seek to gain faculty approval—whether out of real concerns about graduation or transference—and are, therefore, unlikely to voice their views without significant faculty encouragement. In addition, there is a dearth of literature addressing issues particular to candidates. Candidates and faculty involved in The Candidate hope that this project promotes candidate writing, creates lively dialogues, and strengthens the field of psychoanalysis.
The creation of the candidates' journal required a unique collaboration among faculty and candidates, a coalescing of the varying and, at times, conflicting fantasies of individuals within the institute. Faculty and candidates fantasized about a journal driven by the candidates' interests. While the journal was conceived and will be administered primarily by candidates, its continuity depends upon the faculty's encouraging each new class of candidates to participate and nurturing their intellectual freedom.
In the past six months, the group finalized the journal's mission and determined that an online journal would best serve candidates' interests. The mission statement reflects the shared dream of all involved in the project—making a meaningful contribution to the psychoanalytic community:
The Candidate of NYUPI seeks to engage candidates in the written dialogue amongst psychoanalysts early in their development as analysts. The journal welcomes submissions from candidates in training at any psychoanalytic institute, regardless of affiliation or theoretical orientation. Our goal is to enrich the current training of candidates by representing the diversity of theoretical perspectives in the field.
Rachel Blakeman, J.D., L.C.S.W., and Hilary Rubenstein, Ph.D., are candidates at New York University Psychoanalytic Institute, NYU Medical Center. Donald Moss, M.D., and Arden Rothstein, Ph.D., are faculty at the institute.
In addition to candidate submissions, the journal welcomes non-candidate submissions that address issues of particular interest to candidates, such as training and education. The journal will accommodate a variety of written formats (research and clinical papers; interviews of clinicians; reviews of articles, books, and films). The Candidate seeks both to give voice to the newest generation of psychoanalysts and to cultivate an expanded, intelligent dialogue in an evolving psychoanalytic community.
Content of The Candidate will be edited and determined by candidates from the NYUPI and rotating guest editors from other psychoanalytic institutes.
In the past few months, NYUPI candidate editors have met with the Affiliate Council (the candidates' organization of APsaA) and are collaborating on a panel for the Affiliates' Forum at the Winter Meeting in January 2006. The papers from that panel will be included in the first issue. In addition, journal members will present at Stephen Bernstein's workshop on clinical case writing at the Spring Meeting in Seattle. In January, journal members also met with the Council of Psychoanalytic Journal Editors.
Everyone associated with the journal appreciates the resounding support received from every person to whom they have had the opportunity to present the idea. They look forward to future calls for papers. Questions can be addressed to Rachel Blakeman at , Donald Moss at , Arden Rothstein at , or Hilary Rubenstein at .