As is true for many institutes, the Chicago Institute has been expanding its borders. A greater number and range of training opportunities have been offered, such as supervised practicum placements for social work and psychology students and mentorship programs for recent mental health graduates. Through this effort, we hope to further increase the number of individuals who are acquainted with the value of deeper forms of treatment and to stimulate their enthusiastic consideration of psychoanalytic training. Developing a very low fee for grant-based outpatient treatment programs serving hundreds of children in several locations in the city has been another way we reach out to the community.
Now, we plan to add a distance learning program to our offerings in the fall of 2013. We appreciate the fact that there are many individuals who practice psychotherapy or psychoanalysis in remote areas of the country. They may have little contact with fellow practitioners and few opportunities to discuss their cases or receive complex feedback.
To that end, the distance learning program is conceived as an online, virtual classroom. It will be presented weekly for three 10-week quarters and qualify for continuing education credit. This program is intended for mental health professionals (social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists) who live beyond a 150-mile radius of the city of Chicago. Participants must produce evidence of their graduate degrees, licensure, and liability insurance.
The format for this virtual classroom will be a clinical case seminar. As we survey the online offerings in our field, we recognize that they are mostly didactic in format and content. As practicing psychoanalysts, we realize the value and importance of avoiding a professional and collegial vacuum. Thus, each participant will have an opportunity for “floor time” on a rotating basis to present a clinical case about which they have questions. The discussant and other members of the class will be able to offer feedback. The discussant will be an experienced faculty member and will change each quarter There is likely to be some alternation across the academic year between adult and child analysis discussants to meet the needs of a particular class. Cases must be well disguised and meet confidentiality guidelines. We speculate that in addition to the discussant's contributions and the class discussion, class members will find benefits in increased collegial contact and possible opportunities for networking. We also hope the experience will enhance their experience and appreciation of psychoanalytic thinking.
The cost of this program will be $650 per quarter, or $1600 for three quarters. To request an application call Chris Susman at (312) 922-7474. Further questions about the program can be addressed to me as chair or committee members John Perri and Molly Wittin by calling the above number or e-mailing me at .
Nancy Lawrenz, Psy.D., Distance Learning Program chair, is a licensed clinical psychologist and adult analyst on the Chicago Institute faculty, Admissions Committee, and board of directors. Lawrenz and her committee have initiated and developed this Distance Learning Program.