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
November
Saturday, November 15, 2025 | 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Psychoanalysis Creativity and the Arts: Session 2: “Creativity and Resiliency”
Session 2 of 3 “Creativity and Resiliency” Presented by Rosa Aurora Chavez, MD, PhD, FABP Saturday, November 15, 2025, 12:00 – 2:00pm (2 CME/CE) Presentation and Discussion via Zoom Presentation:…
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cultural Competence Conference: Misogyny Then and Now: Implications for Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Misogyny Then and Now: Implications for Psychoanalytic Perspectives Presented by Special Guest: Filmmaker Jennifer Reeves, Margarita Cereijido, PhD, Paula Ellman, PhD, David Joseph, MD, Janice Lieberm…
December
Sunday, December 7, 2025 | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Stacia I. Super Memorial Ethics Conference: Analyst Losses: Illness and Life-Changing Events And Their Effects on Treatment
Stacia I. Super Memorial Ethics Conference Please join us for a panel discussion on Analyst Losses: Illness and Life-Changing Events And Their Effects on Treatment Presented by: Paula L. Ellman, PhD,…
January
Friday, January 30, 2026 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Psychoanalytic Takes On Cinema: Session 2 of 3: Discussion of the film “Me Before You”
*** Film must be viewed prior to event. *** Discussion of the film “Me Before You” Friday, January 30, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Via Zoom 2016 (120 min) Director: Thea Sharrock Discussant: Katherine Mars…
February
Friday, February 6, 2026 | 8:00 am – Sunday, February 8, 2026 | 5:00 pm
New Directions: Swimming In Space: Strange Conversations In The Therapeutic Dyad
Weekend Conference What happens in the therapeutic dyad when regular reciprocal conversations are not possible, when our patients communicate with us in strange and at times incomprehensible ways? How…
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.
Repetition Compulsion: America’s Gun Ritual
In a quiet Minneapolis church, children bowed their heads in prayer. By the time they lifted them, two were dead and seventeen wounded. Annunciation Catholic Church joins America’s grim roll call of mass shootings—a list so long it numbs more than it shocks. This was the 286th in 2025 alone.
An Analyst Does Yoga
Warrior two is a strong, balanced, yet flexible pose–a neutral stance, grounded to reality, allowing for grace.
I first need to root down but not be locked in. I must be able to straighten and bend. By imagining that I am pulling my feet toward each other, I enter the isometric, generating force while remaining still. Ideally, I become immovable in the face of distractions. With my arms I reach in both directions and encompass. I face forward but bend backward to be greeted by a heart-opening surprise.
W. H. Auden on Sigmund Freud: A Eulogy and a Warning
W. H. Auden’s 1938 poem, “In Memory of Sigmund Freud,” takes on renewed relevance today. He extolls Freud as “no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion.” Yet he also warns that this “climate” is vulnerable to powerful interests who see it as a threat.
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
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
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
News + Updates
Stay informed and read the latest news from WBCP.
Cultural Competence Conference: Misogyny Then and Now: Implications for Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Misogyny Then and Now: Implications for Psychoanalytic Perspectives Presented by Special Guest: Filmmaker Jennifer Reeves, Margarita Cereijido, PhD, Paula Ellman, PhD, David Joseph, MD, Janice Lieberman, PhD Saturday, November 22,
Psychoanalysis Creativity and the Arts: Session 2: “Creativity and Resiliency”
Session 2 of 3 “Creativity and Resiliency” Presented by Rosa Aurora Chavez, MD, PhD, FABP Saturday, November 15, 2025, 12:00 – 2:00pm (2 CME/CE) Presentation and Discussion via Zoom Presentation: In
Psychoanalytic Takes On Cinema: Session 1 of 3: Discussion of the film “The Thing”
*** Film must be viewed prior to event.*** Discussion of the film “The Thing” Friday, November 14, 2025 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Via Zoom 1982 (109 min) Director: John