To meet the experience requirement for licensure as a Psychoanalyst, you must complete at least 1,500 contact hours of supervised experience in the practice of Psychoanalysis. The experience may only be completed under a limited permit issued by the Department or as part of the licensure qualifying education program, for experience in New York; experience completed in other jurisdictions must be completed legally in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction. You and your supervisor must submit documentation of completion of a supervised experience of at least 1,500 clock hours providing Psychoanalysis in a setting acceptable to the Department. Supervised experience obtained in the education program required for licensure as a psychoanalyst may meet all or part of this requirement but must be documented by the supervisor on Form 4B.
The practice of psychoanalysis is defined as:
- the observation, description, evaluation, and interpretation of dynamic unconscious mental processes that contribute to the formation of personality and behavior in order to identify and resolve unconscious psychic problems which affect interpersonal relationships and emotional development, to facilitate changes in personality and behavior through the use of verbal and nonverbal cognitive and emotional communication, and to develop adaptive functioning; and
- the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders for purposes of providing appropriate psychoanalytic services.
Not less than 750 clock hours of such required experience, or one-half of the hours in any setting, must consist of direct contact with clients. The remaining experience may consist of other activities that do not involve direct client contact, including but not limited to, supervision, personal analysis and professional development. It is not acceptable to complete direct and indirect activities in different settings under different supervisors and attempt to combine these hours to meet the experience requirement.
Experience for licensure must be completed in a legal manner, under a qualified supervisor in a setting that is authorized to provide professional services. Hour calculations are based on a typical 40-45 hour work week to ensure that the applicant meeting the experience requirement obtains the appropriate supervision, client contact, and supervisor feedback in an educationally sound manner. Obtaining experience in an unreasonable amount of time is not acceptable as it compromises the learning process. In New York State, the experience must be under a limited permit issued by the Department for a specific setting under a qualified supervisor (see below). Experience in other jurisdictions will be evaluated to determined if the equivalent requirements have been satisfied in a legal manner.
You must apply for a license and have your education approved to be eligible for a limited permit. For additional information about limited permits, see the Limited Permits Section.
To be acceptable to the Department, your supervised experience in New York State must meet the following supervision and setting requirements.
Your supervisor must be licensed and registered in New York State to practice Psychoanalysis, medicine, as a physician assistant, psychology, licensed clinical social work, or as a registered professional nurse or nurse practitioner and competent in the practice of Psychoanalysis, or must have the equivalent qualifications as determined by the Department for experience completed in another jurisdiction.
You must obtain experience for licensure while under the general supervision of a qualified supervisor. General supervision means that a qualified supervisor is available for consultation, assessment and evaluation when professional services are being rendered by an applicant and the supervisor exercises the degree of supervision appropriate to the circumstances.
The supervisor must provide at least one hour per week or four hours per month of in-person individual or group supervision where the supervisor:
- reviews your assessment, evaluation and treatment of each client under his or her general supervision; and
- provides oversight, guidance and direction to you in developing skills as a Psychoanalyst.
In addition, the supervisor is responsible for appropriate oversight of all services provided by a limited permit holder under his or her general supervision. No supervisor can supervise more than five limited permit holders at one time.
All supervised experience must be verified by your supervisor(s) using a Certification of Supervised Experience (Form 4B). Acceptable verification should include an attestation by the actual supervisor. In cases where such attestation is not available, the Department may accept an attestation of the duration and frequency of the supervised experience and the qualifications of the supervisor submitted by a licensed colleague.
The setting where the experience is obtained must be a location where legally authorized individuals provide services that constitute the practice of Psychoanalysis, as defined in Education Law, and must be responsible for the services provided by individuals gaining experience for licensure. The setting cannot be a private practice owned or operated by the applicant. If the experience is completed in a setting other than the permit setting, you must submit an operating certificate or certificate of incorporation that indicates the entity is authorized to employ licensed professionals and provide services that are restricted under Title VIII of the Education Law.
An acceptable setting is defined in the Commissioner’s Regulations as:
- a professional corporation, registered limited liability partnership, or professional service limited liability company authorized to provide services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- a sole proprietorship owned by a licensee who provide services that are within the scope of his or her profession and services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- a professional partnership owned by licensees who provide services that are within scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- a hospital or clinic authorized under Article 28 of the Public Health Law to provide services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- a program or facility authorized under the Mental Hygiene Law to provide services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- a program or facility authorized under Federal Law to provide services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis;
- an entity defined as exempt from the licensing requirements or otherwise authorized under New York State law or the laws of the jurisdiction in which the entity is located to provide services that are within the scope of practice of Psychoanalysis.
The setting where the experience is gained is responsible for the services provided by individuals gaining experience for licensure. The setting is also responsible for providing adequate supervision to such individuals and for assigning a qualified supervisor, as defined in this section, to individuals gaining experience for licensure.