 
 
     |
The Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Training Program
Anni Bergman, PhD, Founding Director
Sally Moskowitz, PhD, Co-Director
Rita Reiswig, MS, Co-Director
Program Description
The Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Training Program began in 1997 at the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of NYFS and in 2006 came under joint sponsorship of the Institute and IPTAR. The program is unique in offering intensive training in parent-infant work to psychoanalysts and advanced psychoanalytic candidates. Applicants with particular interest and experience in research are also considered, as are applicants interested in only the infant observation year.
The three-year training program includes infant observation, the study of the literature on infancy, infant research, dyadic treatment of infants and their parents, and the application of this knowledge to clinical work with children and adults. A three hour seminar led by program faculty is held weekly.
The full program is offered on a three-year cycle basis, a new cycle beginning in September 2009.
Year One: Infant Observation
The first year is devoted to infant observation which establishes the foundation for later theoretical understanding and clinical work. It is the program's belief that the close observation of a parent infant couple forms a strong basis for further psychoanalytic training and work. It provides a unique pathway to gaining deeper understanding of the power and intimacy of the analytic relationship as it unfolds in the transference and countertransference, as well as helping attune us to the nuances and complexity of nonverbal communication. There is a parallel between the observer's role vis a vis the parent-baby pair and the parent vis a vis the baby in processes of containment, affect regulation, and timing, and these elements also can be further thought of as they apply to the analytic situation. Observing the evolution and development of personality in the context of the family, and finding ways to think about this with colleagues is a compelling learning experience.
Each program participant finds a parent-infant pair to observe and makes weekly visits to the home for at least one year. Detailed process notes of the observation are written and presented at the weekly seminar conducted by the program faculty.
Year Two: Psychoanalytic Theory and Research on Infant Development
The second year curriculum begins with the study of recent research in infant neuropsychology and neurobiology focusing on the infant/parent dyad as a biologic entity. The curriculum then moves to psychoanalytic theories of the infancy and the parent-infant relationship, including the foundational work of Freud, Klein, Winnicott, Mahler, Bowlby, and Bion, and contemporary work of psychoanalytic theorists and researchers such as Beebe, Brazelton, Fonagy, Greenspan, Hofer, Sander, Shore, Steele, Stern, Tronick, and Trevarthen. Topics include affect regulation, communication, assessment, attachment theory, separation-individuation theory, and the development of the self. In addition to the program faculty, numerous infant experts from the United States and Europe teach and present their current thinking and research. Program participants also study the literature through an extensive bibliography.
Year Three: Clinical Application
In the third year, program participants concentrate on clinical applications of infant observation and developmental theory, and examine psychoanalytically oriented approaches to parent-infant therapy. They study dyadic treatment of parent-infant pairs and are supervised in their work with parent-infant groups and mother or father-infant couples. For graduation, each student writes a paper which integrates aspects of their three year training and focuses on their clinical work.
Admissions and Tuition
The Anni Bergman Parent-Infant Program is an advanced non-credit elective program open to licensed professionals whose scope of practice includes psychoanalysis and who have completed their training in psychoanalysis or who are advanced candidates in a psychoanalytic training program. Applicants with particular interest and experience in research are also considered for admission. Tuition is $2400 per year.
For further information, contact:
Dr. Sally Moskowitz
212-225-1983
or
Rita Reiswig
212-875-9442
Application Form
The program application, in PDF format, is available for download here:
 |
Application: Parent-Infant Training Program (PDF:24KB) |
Faculty
Anni Bergman, Founding Director
Sally Moskowitz, Co-director
Rita Reiswig, Co-director
Hannah Nadler, Admissions and Advising
Beatrice Beebe, Consultant
Miriam Steele, Consultant
Program Faculty
Phylis Ackman
Christine Anzieu-Premmereur
Beatrice Beebe
Steven Ellman
Ilene Lefcourt
Sally Moskowitz
Hannah Nadler
Miriam Pierce
Karen Proner
Rita Reiswig
Debra Schnall
Donna Roth-Smith
K.Mark Sossin
Miriam Steele
Visiting Lecturers
T. Berry Brazelton
Inge Bretherton
Karl Brisch
Virginia Demos
George Downing
Peter Fonagy
Daniel Freeman
Gyordy Gergely
Karin Grossman
Klaus Grossman
Myron Hofer
Nazir Ilahi
Karlen Lyons-Ruth
Catherine Monk
Johan Norman
Jack Novick
Kerry Kelly Novick
Jonathan Polen
Allan Schore
Stephen Seligman
Susan Sherkow
Joshua Sparrow
Daniel Stern
Mary Target
Frances Thomson-Salo
Edward Tronick
Elizabeth Tuters
The New York Freudian Society (NYFS) was established in 1959 as a membership association of Freudian psychoanalysts committed to the basic principles of Freud’s profound discoveries yet responsive to the need to refine, increase and share our intellectual inheritance. The Psychoanalytic Training Institute of the Society offers training programs in adult, child and adolescent psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the treatment of infants and parents, as well as an introductory program in psychodynamic therapy for beginning clinicians. It is a Component Society of the International Psychoanalytical Association.
The Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR) was founded in 1958 as a membership society for non-medical psychoanalysts sharing an interest in Freud’s theory and technique, and interested in the exchange of ideas about cases and theory. IPTAR’s Training Institute was established in 1960 to offer qualified students from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds rigorous training in Freudian theory and technique. IPTAR is committed to study, training, and research in psychoanalysis. It also offers The Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Training Program, The Respecialization Program, and The Organizational Development and Consultation Program, all based on a contemporary Freudian perspective. The IPTAR Clinical Center provides low-cost psychoanalytic psychotherapy to children, adults, and parents and infants, and provides psychoanalysis to adults. IPTAR is a Component Society of the International Psychoanalytical Association.
back to top