The Working with Children & Adolescents: Relational Psychoanalytic Approaches program is specifically designed for mental health professionals who work with children, adolescents, and their families.
Clinicians will learn to engage, assess, and intervene with infants, children, and teenagers through a variety of treatment techniques which include infant-parent therapy, play therapy, the use of transference and countertransference with children and adolescents, overcoming impasses in treatment, and working with parents and the larger systems in which the older child functions.
Clinicians will individualize their assessment and treatment planning for a diverse range of child psychopathology and child strengths. They will learn how to intervene effectively with the child's family at all ages: Using videotaping and feedback sessions with the parent-infant dyad, using family therapy techniques with older children and teenagers. They will consider successful referral and collaboration strategies with auxiliary services. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which socio-cultural factors influence both clinicians and clients.
Although this program does not include a clinical component, students may choose to consult individually or as a group with a child psychology clinical consultant.
Continuing Education
The National Institute for the Psychotherapies is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0018.
The National Institute for the Psychotherapies is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #Psyan-0004.
The National Institute for the Psychotherapies is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education credits for psychologists. The National Institute for the Psychotherapies maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
In 2017.2018, this program will provide 12.5 CE contact hours.
Program Requirements
Participation in weekly classes
Program Length
One year, comprised of three 10-week trimesters (September 2017 through May 2018)
Dates & Times When Courses Are Offered
Wednesday evenings, 6:15 pm to 9:00 pm
Tuition & Fees
Tuition for the 2016.2017 year is $2,616.
The application fee is $75.
Curriculum
The theory courses and clinical practicum which comprise the curriculum of the Working with Children & Adolescents: Relational Psychoanalytic Approaches program provide a solid understanding of child development (infant, child, & adolescent) and treatment from the perspective of relational psychoanalytic theories, brain development, attachment theory, trauma theory, and contemporary infant research studies.
Theory Class Sequence
Child Development I: Infancy Through Age Toddlerhood. This course will provide a solid foundation in early childhood development. Readings will offer the clinician the ability to apply and integrate key concepts from a wide range of relational theories of development: object relations, self-psychology, attachment theory and interpersonal psychoanalysis. Selections from contemporary infant research, dyadic systems studies, affect regulation theory, trauma theory and brain development will be utilized to gain a detailed understanding of the developing infant and child.
Child Development II: School-Aged Children Through to Emerging Adulthood. Candidates will gain an understanding of the physiological, psychological and interpersonal transformations which mark the development of the child from early school age through adolescence to emerging adulthood. Readings are designed to provide a conceptual framework with which to understand the child's emergence into the wider interpersonal world of peer relationships, burgeoning sexuality and the school setting.
Child Development III: Psychopathology and Atypical Neurology. The focus of this course is on the diverse categories of psychopathology encountered by the clinician working with infants, children and adolescents. Candidates will enhance their assessment and treatment planning capacities through an in depth understanding of relational psychoanalytic, attachment theory, trauma theory and DSM perspectives on diagnosis. In addition we will examine neural cognitive disorders including pervasive developmental delay, non-verbal learning disabilities, attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, and sensory integration disorders.
Clinical Practicum Sequence
Clinical Practicum I. Candidates will gain the clinical skills required to meet the challenges of the initial phase of treatment including how to engage children, adolescents and their parents in a therapeutic process; establishing a treatment framework; forming collaborative relationships with other professionals and handling matters of confidentiality. Candidates will also develop the knowledge foundation in relational psychodynamic assessment and treatment planning that will allow them to formulate interventions targeting their client's specific needs.
Clinical Practicum II. This course will provide the skills required to conduct ongoing treatments with infants, children and adolescents. Candidates will learn how to conduct infant-mother dyadic therapy, play therapy with younger children, and talk-oriented therapy with adolescents. Candidates will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of the relational psychoanalytic perspective on treatment including the use of transference and countertransference, overcoming resistance in children and adolescents, the nature of therapeutic action, resolving impasses in treatment and the specialized use of interpretation with children and adolescents. Finally, targeted interventions drawing on problem- solving, cognitive and behavior therapies will be integrated into the clinician's set of skills.
Clinical Practicum III. The focus of this course is on skillful clinical interventions at the systemic levels of dyad, family and community. Candidates will learn how to intervene effectively within the parent-infant dyad through the use of videotaping and feedback sessions. Participants will learn key theoretical models of family-systems therapy and how to integrate these models when including families in the treatment. Candidates will develop the capacity to intervene in the various contexts in which school-aged children and adolescents are situated, especially the school setting and in peer groups. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which socio-cultural factors influence both client and clinician. We will further consider the need for referring to and collaborating with auxiliary treatment modalities. Lastly, candidates will increase their clinical knowledge of the issues and tasks of the termination phase.
Administration, Faculty & Supervisors
Co-Directors
Robin Donath, LCSW
Paulette Landesman, PhD
Instructors
Eric Beers, LCSW
Robin Donath, LCSW
Richard Fulmer, PhD
Jenny Kaufmann, PhD
Paulette Landesman, PhD
Monica Vegas
Consultants
Theresa Aiello, PhD, LCSW
Ruth Burtman, PhD
Robin Donath, LCSW
Amy Joelson, LCSW
Paulette Landesman, PhD, LCSW
Susan McConnaughy, PhD, LCSW
Fred Millan, PhD
Pascal Sauvayre, PhD
Application & Admissions Process
Admission Criteria
Master's degree level social workers, master's or doctoral-level psychologists, physicians, psychiatric nurses with master's degrees, clergy, CASACs, licensed mental health professionals, and other professionals with experience working with children, adolescents, and their families
Application Requirements & Application Fee
- Completed application
- Application fee of $75 (non-refundable)
- 3 letters of recommendation
Once the application and letters of recommendation have been received, the applicant will be asked to participate in an admissions interview.
Applications for the 2017.2018 academic year will be accepted beginning March 1, 2017.
For more information, please contact Emily Dust, Academics and Communication Coordinator, at edust@nipinst.org or 212.582.1566, ext.7722.
