New Directions in Psychoanalytic Thinking

Writing and Critical Thinking from a Psychoanalytic Perspective

New Directions is a three-year postgraduate training program for clinicians, academics, and writers seeking a richer understanding of modern psychoanalytic perspectives and their application to professional and personal work.

Students, alumni, teachers, and guest faculty gather for seasonal weekend conferences and optional summer and winter retreats. Topics have included memory, gender, trauma, infancy, evil, dreams, the body, creativity, mourning, projective identification, and the psychology of the therapist.

The program places special emphasis on writing. Participants range from experienced, published authors to newer writers, and the program welcomes a variety of ages, backgrounds, and perspectives. Its structure allows people from across North America and overseas to participate.

Weekend Conferences

Three conferences are generally held each year in fall, winter, and spring. Each examines a subject of contemporary psychoanalytic interest with support from local and national faculty members who have expertise in the selected field.

Conferences are designed to strengthen rigorous psychoanalytic thinking and writing. Activities include lectures, large-group discussions, small-group meetings, writing workshops, and brief writing assignments.

Weekend sessions typically run from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon and include one evening session. Each weekend offers approximately 18 hours of continuing education credit. Conferences are held in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

Original Writing

Alongside brief conference essays, participants may undertake larger writing projects. These can include books, substantial papers, shorter essays, or work intended for oral presentation. Participation does not require a formal writing project.

Writers pursuing a project may work with a consultant selected from an international roster of contemporary psychoanalytic thinkers. Each participant and consultant determines an appropriate working arrangement, which may take place in person or through remote correspondence.

Summer and Winter Retreats

Optional retreats provide concentrated time for writing and discussion. Summer retreats combine writing workshops with small-group consideration of ongoing projects while allowing time for recreation. Winter retreats focus on participants’ writing through individual mentoring and evening small-group review.

Program Focus

New Directions integrates close reading, critical thought, psychoanalytic inquiry, and sustained writing. It is intended for experienced clinicians, academics, researchers, and writers who want to deepen both their understanding of psychoanalytic ideas and their ability to communicate them.