Supervision
For questions about any aspect of the Supervision component of psychoanalytic training, please contact Supervising Analyst Committee Chair Holly Gordon, DMH (hollygordon4@gmail.com).
Over the course of training, candidates conduct three or more supervised psychoanalyses in order to gain a variety of different clinical and supervisory experiences. Each treatment meets at least three times per week, and candidates are strongly encouraged to see their supervised cases at higher frequency (four or five times per week) whenever feasible in order to maximize immersion.
Each psychoanalysis must be in supervision with an SFCP-approved Supervising Analyst, usually from SFCP’s Directory of Supervising Analysts. Any analyst who is an SFCP member and who has sufficient training and experience may become an SFCP Supervising Analyst via a straightforward and efficient process (see ‘Applying to Become an SFCP Supervising Analyst’), should a candidate wish to work with a supervisor not yet on this list. In addition, candidates may also request supervision from qualified analysts outside of SFCP (See ‘Applying to Become an Adjunct Supervising Analyst’). Please contact the Supervising Analyst Committee Chair for more information.
Supervision fees are separate from tuition, and in most cases, the candidate pays the supervisor according to the following reduced-fee schedule:
| Per-session fee paid by candidate’s patient |
Per-session fee paid to supervisor by candidate |
| Greater than $150 | $150 |
| $50-$150 | Same as fee paid by candidate’s patient |
| <$50 | $50 |
In accordance with SFCP’s commitment to making psychoanalytic training more affordable and accessible to individuals affected by race-based and class-based systemic inequities which have previously served as barriers to pursuing analytic training, SFCP is now offering affordable supervision ($25 or less) to help cover costs of analytic training for BIPOC candidates and candidates with financial need. To learn more, please see a more detailed description of the Affordable Training Analysis and Supervision Program on the SFCP Website or contact Supervising Analyst Committee Chair, Holly Gordon, DMH (hollygordon4@gmail.com), with any questions.
Supervised training cases emerge from the candidate’s existing practice or via referrals from colleagues. Most cases begin treatment in a less intensive frame and progress to psychoanalysis when candidate and patient together decide to meet more frequently. Candidates receive support in facilitating this process of deepening treatment via first-year courses, including Deepening Treatment & Beginning Psychoanalysis as well as the Year 1 Case Conference; via free weekly mentorship focused on developing cases; and via beginning supervision with a Supervising Analyst at the reduced-fee structure shown above.
Graduation does not require supervised cases to have terminated, since the duration of psychoanalysis often is longer than the duration of psychoanalytic training. However, each case must have been supervised for at least two years prior to graduation, and there is an additional requirement for some immersive work, e.g., for more than one case to be in treatment concurrently.