Revision of Procedural Code on Training
29 July 2024

Also available in French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. 

The following proposals apply to all training models.
 
Preamble
The IPA’s mission statement (revised version approved by the IPA Board of Representatives on 26 March 2024) includes the following:

The International Psychoanalytical Association … is the world’s primary accrediting and regulatory body for the profession. Its mission is: to specify foundational training principles for psychoanalysts…

A proposed revision to the Procedural Code on psychoanalytic training is the culmination of four years’ work by two Task Forces and the Board of Representatives, and many membership conversations and discussions. It is clear that there is a very wide spectrum of views such that it is at this time impossible to produce new worldwide training regulations which would completely satisfy all IPA members. However, in the Board’s view these revised regulations reflect the best compromise possible of the diverse views across the profession at this moment in time. 

This Procedural Code reflects what the IPA considers to be the most appropriate regulation for right now. For more than a century the profession has developed and grown, with advances in the clinical field enabling more sophisticated responses to mental health. That process has not stopped.  We would therefore expect this procedural code to continue to develop in the light of our increasing experience about clinical treatment in different frames, research findings, and what the best approach to psychoanalytic training entails. 

Reference standard: 
Clinical psychoanalysis depends on regularity, frequency, and consistency of location. For IPA training analyses and supervised training cases, the reference standard is:

• in-person sessions;
• 3 to 5 sessions a week;
• sessions on different days of the week. 
   

Particular circumstances, variations, and exceptions:
The reference standard is not possible in every situation: there may be particular circumstances in which a different approach is indicated.
 
There is a range of acceptable exceptions to the reference standard: some of these may be characterised as relatively small variations to the reference standard, and individual institutes can decide if the particular circumstances of a case justify adopting one or more of those variations.
 
There are particular circumstances that may require more significant variation to the reference standard: those will require an institute to obtain IPA approval through the Psychoanalytic Education Committee (PEC). 

These different categories of variations may be grouped into, respectively, Ordinary Variations and Extraordinary Variations. 
 
Ordinary Variations:
An individual institute may decide that particular circumstances justify a variation from the reference standard. The following variations may be approved by the institute itself:

• Some in-the-room sessions may be replaced by tele-sessions provided that throughout the entire analysis there are more in-the-room sessions than telesessions.
• For periods of time not to exceed half the total analysis, two in-person sessions in any week may be taken on the same day, but there must be a gap between those sessions.
  
  

Extraordinary Variations:
Where an institute decides that particular circumstances justify a larger variation from the reference standard, they must apply for approval to the PEC with a justification for the proposed variation. PEC will be expected to respond within a month of receiving the application. Such variations may include:

• In special circumstances such as geographical constraints (extraordinary distance from training analyst for in-person meetings), telesessions may be approved across the whole analysis as long as in-the-room analytic sessions constitute at least 25% of the total sessions. 
• Up to two in-person sessions per day may be permitted throughout the analysis, provided there is always a gap between sessions.
  
  

Other Circumstances:
IPA societies and institutes are obliged to make "reasonable adjustments" to training programmes to ensure that analysts in training with disabilities can be accommodated (this also applies to trainees with incapacitating illnesses or illnesses that require isolation).


Guidelines for Personal Analysis and Training Cases:

Timing of Telesessions:
Whenever possible, in-person sessions precede the introduction of telesessions.

Training Cases: 

• At least two control cases under regular supervision are obligatory. 
• Analysts-in-training must conduct one of the control cases with a majority of sessions in-person. 
• If the local institute decides it is appropriate, the analyst-in-training’s other case(s) may include telesessions as long as in-the-room analytic sessions constitute at least 25% of the total sessions. 
  

 

Supervision of Training Cases:
As many supervisory sessions as possible will be in person. The local institute can decide that telesupervision is acceptable and to what extent.

Seminars:
Seminars should be in person or hybrid. The local institute may decide when online seminars are additionally necessary.

Telesession Instruction:

• Institutes should provide instruction in the use of telesessions during psychoanalytic training.
• Faculty should have instruction in use of telesessions before functioning as supervisors of telesessions in control cases or as instructors of online seminars.
  
  

Developing Institutional Life:
The experience of group learning and the development of a sense of institutional belonging are both important elements of a rounded psychoanalytic training. Institutes and societies should seek to foster these objectives.

Transitional Arrangements

• This Procedural Code came into effect on 29 July 2024. 
• Anyone accepted for training after that date will do so on the basis of these new IPA training regulations. 
• Anyone accepted for training before 29 July 2024, even if their training starts after that date, may do so on the basis of the IPA training regulations in place before 29 July 2024, unless they and their institute both agree to adopt these new regulations. 
• The Regional Association (APsA) remains exempt from these IPA training requirements for any training they undertake with someone who, for the duration of their training, resides within the United States of America. For any period of time that person does not reside within the United States of America, their training must be compliant with IPA training requirements. 
• Immediate plans to research outcome of training that occurs in differing frames will be adopted by the Board and assessed with annual reports to the Board.
  
  

Review Clause
This Procedural Code should be reviewed after a period of 3 to 5 years to ensure it remains relevant and effective. This review will be conducted by a panel of experts appointed by the IPA Board, taking into account the latest research and feedback from the international psychoanalytic community.