Training Institute of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society

Training psychoanalysts has always been a central task of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. It also offers additional training in psychoanalysis/psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children and adolescents.

The VPS is a founding member of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), established in 1910, and has been a state-approved specialised training institution since the Psychotherapy Act became effective (1991).

In the pioneering days of psychoanalysis no formal training existed: Anyone interested took part in the discussions, the available literature was read and intensely debated, and people interpreted each other‘s dreams. After World War I, training was organised according to certain criteria. It became a prerequisite for becoming a professional psychoanalyst to undergo a personal analysis and take part in training courses. In 1922, the first training courses were held within the Vienna Psychoanalytic Outpatient Clinic. Eventually, in 1924, a training institute in its own right was established, that was committed to the IPA‘s international training standards from the beginning.

To this day, the training institute is an organ of the society and is responsible for training psychoanalysts. Current training regulations and all psychoanalysts trained in the VPS are listed on the VPS website.

The seminars are held in German, taking part in the training requires a good command of written and spoken German.