Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (SF-PPTP)

CLASSROOM ATTENDANCE COMMITMENT

Trainees who are accepted into the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (‘SF-PPTP’) or Foundations of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (‘Foundations’), will be asked to make two kinds of commitments regarding attendance.  

SF-PPTP/Foundations Trainees Commit to Attending Classes Consistently

SF-PPTP and Foundations consider consistent class attendance throughout the program to be crucial for developing each trainee’s coherent understanding of clinical and theoretical material, as well as for the development and maintenance of each cohort’s group cohesion and identity.  Therefore:

• Enrollment in SF-PPTP requires each trainee to commit to attending consistently throughout two academic years, taking first-year classes from September 2025 through mid-June 2026 and second-year classes from September 2026 through mid-June 2027.
• Enrollment in Foundations requires each trainee to commit to attending classes consistently for the one academic year from September 2025 through mid-June 2026.

If minimum class attendance requirements are not met for a particular course, a student will need either to complete make-up work for that course or to pause participation in the program until the following year, when that course can be re-taken before continuing onto subsequent courses.  The online SF-PPTP Manual contains complete information about how the program tracks seminar attendance and case conference attendance.

Before applying, please consider whether — barring unforeseeable and unlikely circumstances — you can make a firm attendance commitment as described above.  Circumstances that have posed a challenge to attendance in the past include (1) professional responsibilities such as planned application to fellowships, demanding jobs, or call schedules that would prevent Tuesday-evening attendance more than occasionally; (2) time-consuming or unpredictable personal commitments; and (3) personal circumstances such as travel plans, planned leaves of absence, or a partner’s relocation away from the Bay Area. If you anticipate that these or similar circumstances may prevent you from beginning the program or from attending consistently throughout the program, please contact Acting Program Chair Maria Longuemare (click to email) to discuss your situation before you apply.

SF-PPTP / Foundations Trainees Commit to Attending Classes in Person at 444 Natoma in San Francisco

SF-PPTP / Foundations courses are held in-person at SFCP in San Francisco.  As compared to the remote curricula of the pandemic, we have found that in-person courses enrich individual learning, group cohesion, and a sense of community.  We invite and encourage anyone concerned about viral transmission to wear a high-quality mask in the building. 

SFCP does have high-quality hybrid equipment in each classroom.  Students may join in-person classes via Zoom when the following exceptions apply:

• Students for whom the trip to SFCP would take 2+ hours by public transportation or car are required to be present in San Francisco for 9 out of 36 Tuesday evenings in each academic year (once per calendar month) and may attend remotely the rest of the time.
• The program requires students to attend remotely if they have symptoms of a viral illness or if there is another reason to think they might have an increased risk of transmitting viral illness.  SFCP’s Covid-19 FAQs contain more detailed guidance.

Students may attend remotely on rare occasions when they are unable to attend in person because of obstacles that are unpredictable and unforeseen (e.g., personal or family illness or emergency) or occasional and idiosyncratic (e.g., being on call).