Given the proliferation of interest in training programs in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in it would be seem to worth our efforts to consider the history of this endeavor and place it in historical context.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy must have been practiced without necessarily being-so-named from the earliest days of the psychoanalytic era. It might be well to acknowledge that we are discussing preparation for what has been come to be known as “an impossible profession,” the practice of which encompasses not only the infinite vagaries  of the human mind but also the fact that our own psychology and personality are so much involved in the pursuit of our technical tasks. The integration of the knowledge and skills acquired during training demands a long period of seasoning. The best-planned and organized program cannot preempt the new learning that comes from experience.