Psychoanalysis for the 21st Century
The WBCP brings over 75 years of commitment and innovation to the field of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic training. Welcome.
What are you interested in?

Psychoanalytic Fellowship Programs
Learn foundational psychoanalytic principles. (9 months).

Psychoanalytic Studies Program

Psychoanalytic Training Programs
We at the WBCP are committed to examining all aspects of diversity in the composition of our membership, our client systems, and our teaching. We are committed to redressing failures of the past through furthering our own education and sensitivities to issues of diversity. We aim to create a welcoming atmosphere that is open to discussion and change, one that approaches past failures with non-defensiveness, accepting responsibility and committing to improvement. We aim to grow.
WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE SAYING
Public Programs Calendar
October
Friday, October 13, 2023 | 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Washington Case Conference – October 13, 2023 – Michael Krass, PhD, and Ellen Klosson, PhD
Date: Friday, October 13, 2023 NEW TIME: 12:00pm- 2:00pm ET Presenters: Steven Van Wagoner, PhD, Michael Krass, PhD, Ellen Klosson, PhD, Jennifer Natalya Fink, PhD, William Pinney, PhD, Greg Barber,…
Saturday, October 14, 2023 | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Cultural Competence Conference
Gender Diversity and Reproductive Justice: Connecting the Dots Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023 9:00am – 12:00pm ET Presenters: Jack Drescher, MD and Catherine Mallouh, MD Opening and Closing remarks:…
Friday, October 27, 2023 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Psychoanalytic Takes on the Cinema (The Invitation)
Discussion of the film The Invitation 2015 (104 min) Director: Karyn Kusama *** Film must be viewed prior to event.*** Discussant: Alex Smith, Psy.D. Date: Friday, October 27, 2023 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET …
November
Friday, November 10, 2023 | 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Washington Case Conference – November 10, 2023 – Jennifer Natalya Fink, PhD
Date: Friday, November 10, 2023 NEW TIME: 12:00pm- 2:00pm ET Presenters: Steven Van Wagoner, PhD, Michael Krass, PhD, Ellen Klosson, PhD, Jennifer Natalya Fink, PhD, William Pinney, PhD, Greg Barber…
December
Friday, December 1, 2023 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Psychoanalytic Takes on the Cinema (The Matrix)
Discussion of the film The Matrix 1999 (136 min) Director: Lana Wachowski *** Film must be viewed prior to event.*** Discussant: Celeste Kelly, Psy.D. Date: Sunday, December 1, 2023 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET…
Read on …
WBCP publishes essays and articles on this website in two collections.
PsychBites offers monthly tapas-sized reads designed to spark interest and provoke thought.
While Beyond the Couch delivers periodic posts focused on bringing community back into psychoanalysis.
PsychBytes
Tapas-sized reads designed to spark interest and provoke thought.

Rhythms of Baseball (Re-issue)
The rhythms of baseball are the rhythms of analytic therapy are the rhythms of life.

Up Close and Personal
Biennially, the National Portrait Gallery fosters a competition where artists around the country submit intimate portrayals of a human being – sometimes themselves. In this video portrait, 2013 award winner Bo Gehring presents Esperanza Spalding (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OeZxytSV3M)

No Words
On a recent trip to Germany, I was very interested to see their modern art, to see what sense the people are making of who they are. Contemporary psychoanalytic thinking holds that some facts of human existence cannot be said but rather shown, as expressed in the arts.
Beyond the Couch
Thoughtful posts bringing community back into psychoanalysis.
A Grand Experiment in Community Mental Health: The DC Institute for Mental Hygiene
After graduating from Catholic University, I inquired where people went to get the best training in psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory and practice. The Washington School of Psychiatry and the DC Institute for Mental Hygiene were named repeatedly.
I knew nothing about the Institute’s stellar history when I began working in one of the three branches of what was typically called DCIMH. I am only now fully aware of its incredible backstory. Dr. Harold Eist was appointed the Medical Director of the tiny Institute in 1969 with a handful of staff members seeing less than a total of twenty patients. Harold was the genius behind creating

Faraway Voices: Healing Through Writing
The early morning sun shines through the window of my home office as I open the Zoom link to connect with 6 young women who have just finished their evening meal–10 time zones away–in Bangladesh. One by one they arrive in their little video boxes; many in colorful headscarves, all smiling and offering warm greetings to me and one another. They place themselves wherever they can find the best Wi-Fi connection. One is in the library, surrounded by books, another in an outside courtyard dotted with tropical plants. Several are in dorm rooms, often with curious friends peeking into the

The House of Ruth
In her essay about her years as a board member at the House of Ruth, Carolyn Gruber does a beautiful job describing the work done in this incredible “house” where women, children and families are “empowered to rebuild their lives and heal from trauma, abuse and homelessness”. For those of you who don’t know Carolyn, besides her volunteer work as a consultant and volunteer throughout the Washington area, she is quite accomplished as a leader, teacher, clinician and writer. Carolyn is adjunct faculty at the Smith College School of Social Work and had been on the faculty of
News + Updates
Stay informed and read the latest news from WBCP.

Congratulations to the 2023 WBCP Graduates and Award Recipients
Over the last few years, the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis and Howard University Department of Psychiatry have been building an affiliation.

WBCP and Howard University Department of Psychiatry Affiliation
Over the last few years, the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis and Howard University Department of Psychiatry have been building an affiliation.