Specialty Training Program in Analytic Group Therapy
Martin S. Livingston, Ph.D., Director
The Specialty Training Program in Analytic Group Therapy is a two-year, one-half-day-a week program, which has been offered continuously since 1957 on Thursday mornings.program trains candidates to do analytically oriented group therapy, as well as combined therapy, with a high degree of competence. It also helps candidates develop skills in the teaching and supervision of group therapy in a wide variety of clinical settings. Every effort is made to maintain friendly, collegial working relationships between candidates and faculty.
The Group Therapy faculty continuously seeks to refine and to deepen its understanding of the theory and practice of psychoanalytic group therapy. Such traditional psychoanalytic concepts as identification, transference, multiple transferences, countertransference, individual resistance, group resistances, projective identification, working alliance, working through and acting out are experienced and demonstrated in didactic and experiential work. The program also attempts to clarify the relationship between these concepts and newer developments such as cognitive therapy, communication theory, marathon techniques, short term focused groups, systems theory, object relations theory (British and American), and Self Psychology.
Whenever possible, courses focus on the presentation, both by faculty and candidates, of clearly-delineated vignettes transpiring in group and/or combined individual therapy sessions. To further this aim, an Audio-Visual Committee of the Faculty has been developing, in recent years, a series of videotapes of live and simulated group therapy sessions, which lend themselves to the teaching of group therapy techniques and theory.
Prior to graduation, each candidate is expected to present a formal paper on some theoretical or clinical aspect of psychodynamic group therapy to the entire Group Therapy Department.
Graduation from the Specialty Training Program prepares candidates to provide analytically-oriented group therapy to a wide spectrum of patients ranging in age from adolescence to the later years. The program emphasizes concomitant modes of treatment and candidates are taught how to combine group therapy with individual analytic treatment.
Tuition
The tuition is $3,090 per year. In addition, there is an annual registration fee of $225 that includes membership in the library (our collection is housed at the Newman Library of Baruch College on 26th Street) and the PCMH Candidates’ Association.
Financial Aid
Scholarships covering up to 50% of the tuition and supervision costs are available for candidates with financial need. Prospective candidates need to have completed their applications and be fully accepted into a Training Program before applying for financial aid. A separate Financial Aid form must be completed by July 1st for the following Academic Year.
Curriculum
The curriculum constitutes a unique blending of didactic and experiential learning and meets all training requirements established by the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the National Registry For Group Psychotherapists (NRFGP). Graduates of the program will qualify for the designation of certified group therapists (CGP).