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For Medical Students

Medical Students frequently inquire about how they might learn about psychoanalysis. There are several possibilities for acquiring information, learning, and exploring opportunities.
Feel free to contact any of us with questions, be assigned a mentor or just to talk.

Here are some good places to start:  

• Annual Panel for Yale Medical Students
  Senior Institute faculty participate in an annual panel for the Yale Medical Student Psychiatric Association (YMSPA). These panels present clinical material and discuss how psychoanalysts think and work. A lively discussion follows between panelists and students.
  Contact:
  Catherine Chiles, M.D., for dates, times, and panel topic (Catherine.Chiles@va.gov).
  
  
• Attend our Scientific Meetings
  Medical students are welcome to attend the monthly scientific meetings held at the Institute.
  
  
• Thesis Advisor
  Institute faculty are available as thesis advisors for senior medical students who wish to pursue a psychoanalytically oriented thesis. Contact Us for further information.
  
  
• Learn About Psychoanalysis
  
  
• Personal Analysis
  Some medical students find having their own personal analysis during medical school to be a meangingful and helpful experience. There are a variety of reasons that a student would consider analysis. 
  
  Personal analysis can be beneficial for longstanding problems with anxiety that (may) interfere with performance on examinations or during clinical rotations. Analysis can also help with difficulties around self-esteem that can compromise learning, including for example, problems with receiving criticism from professors or competing with peers. Medical school may also be a time when students begin to explore the possibility of forming lasting partnerships only to discover that inhibitions and conflicts from the past prevent the deepening or sustaining of meaningful relationships. Analysis is especially useful in helping a person explore these old limitations on pleasure and intimacy towards the goal of leading an emotionally freer and more creative life.
  
  If finances are not a concern, we can help you find an analyst in private practice with whom you can consult. But neither financies nor time are obstacles to good analytic treatment. If you are unable to afford private fees, Western New England has a Psychoanalytic Clinic that offers high quality psychoanalysis at flexible cost. A number of Yale medical students have been able to manage their accademic scheudles, whether in the classroom or during clinical rotations, with regular analytic appointments.
  
  If you would like to consult an analyst-in-training from our Clinic or an analyst in private practice, contact:
  Rosemary Balsam, M.D.
  Tel:  203.865.0414
  rosemary.balsam@yale.edu  

You may also sign up to receive notices of events that you are welcome to attend. 

More areas to explore:   

• Scientific Meetings present a lecture and discussion once a month on Saturday afternoons, and may be attended by anyone in the community with an interest in psychoanalytic concepts. Students, trainees, professionals, faculty, and all others are welcome.
• Annual Symposium is a yearly event held on a Saturday morning with several speakers on a topic related to psychoanalysis and attended by all interested in the community.
• The Muriel Gardiner Program offers a monthly lecture series on topics in the Arts and Sciences related to psychoanalysis and attended by all interested in the community.
• American Psychoanalytic Association Fellowship Program provides residents and graduate students with opportunities to be exposed to psychoanalysis at the annual national psychoanalytic meetings or locally.
  
• Yale School of Medicine Calender