N.Y. Education Law § 8405: Psychoanalysis

§ 8405. Psychoanalysis. 1. Definition of the practice of

psychoanalysis. The practice of the profession of psychoanalysis is

defined as:

(a) 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

(b) 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.

2. Practice of psychoanalysis and use of the titles "psychoanalyst"

and "licensed psychoanalyst". Only a person licensed or exempt under

this article shall practice psychoanalysis or use the title

"psychoanalyst". Only a person licensed under this article shall use

the title "licensed psychoanalyst" or any other designation tending to

imply that the person is licensed to practice psychoanalysis.

3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license

as a "licensed psychoanalyst", an applicant shall fulfill the following

requirements:

(a) Application: File an application with the department;

(b) Education: Have received a master's degree or higher from a

degree-granting program registered by the department or the substantial

equivalent and have completed a program of study registered by the

department in a psychoanalytic institute chartered by the board of

regents or the substantial equivalent as determined by the department.

The program of study in a psychoanalytic institute shall include

coursework substantially equivalent to coursework required for a

master's degree in a health or mental health field of study. The

coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas:

(i) personality development;

(ii) psychoanalytic theory of psychopathology;

(iii) psychoanalytic theory of psychodiagnosis;

(iv) sociocultural influence on growth and psychopathology;

(v) practice technique (including dreams and symbolic processes);

(vi) analysis of resistance, transference, and countertransference;

(vii) case seminars on clinical practice;

(viii) practice in psychopathology and psychodiagnosis;

(ix) professional ethics and psychoanalytic research methodology; and

(x) a minimum of three hundred hours of personal analysis and one

hundred fifty hours of supervised analysis;

(c) Experience: Have completed a minimum of fifteen hundred hours of

supervised clinical practice satisfactory to the department and in

accordance with the commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience

obtained in an entity operating under a waiver issued by the department

pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be

accepted by the department, notwithstanding that such experience may

have been obtained prior to the effective date of such section

sixty-five hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity having obtained a

waiver. The department may, for good cause shown, accept satisfactory

experience that was obtained in a setting that would have been eligible

for a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from the department or

experience that was obtained in good faith by the applicant under the

belief that appropriate authorization had been obtained for the

experience, provided that such experience meets all other requirements

for acceptable experience;

(d) Examination: Pass an examination in psychoanalysis satisfactory to

the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations;

(e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age;

(f) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the

department; and

(g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial

license and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each triennial

registration period.