About SAPA’s Psychoanalytical Training

Training to become a psychoanalyst is a deeply personal endeavor. It first and foremost involves undergoing one’s own personal psychoanalysis, coupled with the formal acquisition of knowledge and clinical skills. The training exposes candidates to the depth of psychoanalytic thinking inside a society that is vibrant and member-focused.

The South African Psychoanalytical Association, a component society of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), offers internationally accredited training in psychoanalysis. Participation in IPA activities is encouraged and supported in the training.

The broad requirements of the training are:

  1. Personal Analysis; Four or five-times-weekly personal treatment with an IPA-accredited training analyst in South Africa    

  2. Theoretical Teaching; Completion of the training curriculum that runs over four years. Year one is dedicated to studying Freud and Klein, Year two focuses on psychoanalytic methodology; Year three studies Psychic suffering and Year four Perspectives on Psychoanalysis.  The training takes place on one or two Saturdays per month and in addition, has mid-week seminars on a Wednesday night.    

  3. Control Cases: supervised treatment of two four-times-weekly training cases; the first supervisor is assigned and all supervisors must be IPA members.

  4. Scientific Meetings; Candidates are expected to participate in the scientific life of both SAPI and SAPA. This includes monthly attendance at SAPI clinical seminars, monthly attendance at SAPA scientific meetings, and attendance at the annual SAPI Conference, Education Day, and SAPA Symposium.

Qualification follows a minimum of two years of treatment of a first training case and one year of treatment of a second case, plus a minimum of four years of personal analysis, and completion of the theoretical curriculum, alongside the on-going clinical seminars. Training is offered in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The theoretical component is taught to cohorts alternating years of commencement between Johannesburg and Cape Town. 

Length of training:

Because of the personal character of this training, its specific course must, at least to some extent, be tailored to the needs of the individual candidate. Thus, although the training can often be completed within five years, the exact requirements or duration of training cannot be predetermined.

  • Typically, candidates will be required to be in their personal psychoanalysis for at least a year prior to being given permission to commence seminars.

  • Candidates will join a cohort when it commences in their city of choice, (the theoretical seminars commence a new cycle approximately every 5 years in each city)

  • Typically, candidates will be required to have successfully completed at least a year of seminars prior to being given permission to commence their first control case under supervision.

  • Candidates are typically required to have their first control case successfully in treatment for at least a year before requesting permission for a second control case under supervision.

  • The personal psychoanalysis of candidates will in most cases be expected to continue at least until the first control case is successfully established in supervised treatment.

  • It is unrealistic to expect candidates to terminate with one or both of their training cases before qualifying; for this reason, graduates are expected to, and are required to agree to, remain in supervision (after graduation) with an IPA Training Analyst until at least one of their training cases is brought to a full and successful termination.

Personal Suitability and Readiness

Applicants are selected for training based on their capacity for empathy and self-reflection and their levels of psychological mindedness and insight. Integrity and emotional honesty are sought rather than specific skills or objective abilities. 

An applicant does not need to be a mental health practitioner or to have a background in a mental health profession to apply to the training. 

Given the demands of the training – emotional, financial and in terms of hours spent on the training, applicants should be mindful of the need to have adequate emotional and social support to undergo the training. It is always helpful (although not a requirement) to have had some experience in personal psychoanalysis before applying to train. 

SAPA is committed to fostering and supporting applicants from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Applying to Train with SAPA

The procedure for application is as followins: 

The prospective trainee should write a detailed letter of motivation saying why he or she is interested in training as a psychoanalyst and why they are interested in psychoanalysis in particular as opposed to any other type of training. 

Along with this letter, a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae should be sent. This should include: 

  1. The applicant’s name, address (including email address), place, and date of birth. 

  2. Detailed information about the applicant’s educational and clinical experience. This should include work undertaken as a clinician (types of patients, duration of supervisions, details of Supervisors, etc.) 

  3. Detailed information about any psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytical treatment that the applicant might have undergone or is currently undergoing. This would include the length of treatment, intensity of treatment (number of sessions per week) as well and details of the therapist involved. 

  4. Any publications, involvement in research projects, and other matters of interest. 

  5. Names of two potential referees with whom the applicant has had a professional relationship. 

  6. This information must be sent to the Director of Training who will acknowledge receipt of the application. The Director of Training will arrange interviews at the next available opportunity, please note this may involve some months’ delay.

Admission interviews will typically be scheduled in Cape Town or Johannesburg, but may also be conducted online. The procedure will be as follows: 

  • There will be individual interviews by two or three SAPA colleagues. Each colleague will write a short summary of their interview with some sense of the criteria used in the assessment. The interviewer will also say whether, in their opinion, the applicant should be accepted. 

  • The interviewers bring their recommendations before the Training Committee, where a decision is reached regarding the application. The Committee may ask the applicant to undergo preparatory work (typically meaning personal psychoanalysis) and consider re-applying at some later date. The training committee will provide personal feedback as to the outcome of the application as soon as possible. 

Detailed information on the training programme is available in the Training Manual which can be downloaded here