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
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…
Sunday, February 22, 2026 | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
WBCP Psychoanalytic Institute Zoom Open House
Sunday, February 22, 2026 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Via Zoom* Learn more about the Psychoanalytic Studies Program, meet faculty, and ask questions about the curriculum, application process, and student expe…
Friday, February 27, 2026 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Psychoanalytic Takes On Cinema: Session 3 of 3: Discussion of the film “Please Stand By”- Karen Weise, PhD
*** Film must be viewed prior to event. *** Discussion of the film “Please Stand By” Friday, February 27, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Via Zoom 2023 (93 min) Director: Ben Lewin Discussant: Karen Weise, PhD…
Saturday, February 28, 2026 | 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Annual Colloquium (Members Only Event)
Saturday, February 28, 2026 9:00am–1:00pm In-person event Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville Founders Hall 100 Welsh Park Dr, Rockville, MD 20850 3.5 CME/CE 9:05am–10:30am Roundtable…
March
Saturday, March 7, 2026 | 9:45 am – 11:30 am
Observational Studies Open House
Observational Studies Program for In-Person Students – Open House The Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis is offering a two-year training program in Observational Studies. The program is co…
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.
Seeing Red
Many countries that have colonized indigenous populations have issued subsequent apologies for earlier atrocities. Since 1999, Denmark has issued three apologies to Greenland, the most recent in 2025, when, in an emotional speech, Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen apologized to the Inuit population for the 1960s forced contraception of thousands of indigenous girls, many as young as 12, denying them the right to decide to have children or not.
So Near and Yet So Far
In a Rockville, Maryland, churchyard near the site of Chestnut Lodge, the defunct psychoanalytic mecca, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, lie buried. Inscribed on their shared tombstone is the final sentence of “The Great Gatsby,” which encapsulates the theme of his novel and evokes the challenge of analytic treatment: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Loop of Familiarity
I went out for a walk today. The air was still, heavy with that strange quiet that sits between reflection and loneliness. I thought of him—the person who adds activity to my life but not depth. We run together, try new restaurants, and share banter that fills the silence. He pushes me out of my physical comfort zone, but not my emotional one.
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