Master of Arts Degrees

MASTER OF ARTS IN PSYCHOANALYTIC COUNSELING

Program description
The new Master of Arts in Psychoanalytic Counseling program provides students with comprehensive master’s level training in mental health counseling with a specialization in psychoanalytic studies. The program provides the coursework and clinical experience necessary to meet pre-master’s requirements for licensure as a mental health counselor in Massachusetts while introducing students to psychoanalytic theory and psychodynamic conceptualization of psychopathology and treatment. The student is exposed to a range of theories and clinical methods in addition to the psychoanalytic model. The program is ideal for the student interesting in practicing as a licensed mental health professional within a psychoanalytic framework at the master’s level. Graduates are prepared to practice in a variety of mental health settings and may apply for further training in psychoanalysis through the Doctor of Psychoanalysis or the Certificate in Psychoanalysis programs.

Qualifying for Licensure as a Mental Health Counselor
The Master of Arts in Psychoanalytic Counseling provides students with the education and clinical experience needed at the pre-master’s level to meet licensing requirements in the state of Massachusetts. Post-master’s requirements include an additional 3200 hours of clinical experience in a setting providing additional hours of supervision as well as successful performance on the licensing exam. While these requirements are similar to those of other states, applicants and students should check the requirements of the state in which they intend to work.

Degree requirements
Graduation requires successful completion of the 68 credit curriculum which includes nineteen courses scheduled over four semesters and a summer; a 100-hour clinical practicum and a 600 hour internship. Coursework includes theories of counseling, basic and comparative psychoanalytic theory, developmental studies, psychopathology, assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, ethics and professional practice, group dynamics, and ethics. Students also undertake a personal analysis as part of their training. Most students complete a Master’s research paper at the culmination of their studies. The program is designed to be completed in two years (including a summer session) of full time study.

Practicum/Internship
The first clinical experience is the 100 hour practicum conducted in a setting where students sit with regressed patients in order to learn about psychosis and primitive mental states. Group supervision emphasizes observing one’s own emotional experience when with these regressed patients and utilizing one’s reactions to understand the patient’s inner states. Individual supervision usually takes place on site.

After a semester in the practicum placement, the student begins their internship experience, placed for a fifteen hours a week in a clinical setting serving adults, children or adolescents for a total of 600 hours. Students continue meeting with the three patients seen in the practicum placement in order to have a long term experience with regressed patients. Group supervision is provided at BGSP; individual supervision with qualified supervisors takes place on site. Placements include clinics, day treatment programs, residential settings, schools, early intervention programs, substance abuse programs.

Research
The research curriculum at the Master's level consists of two methods courses and the completion of a Master's paper or thesis. The Master's paper or thesis demonstrates the student's ability to integrate psychoanalytic theory with empirical data in relation to a research topic. A student may opt to write a Master's paper while taking the Master's Paper seminar in the fourth semester, or choose to write a Master's thesis, usually a more extensive project, under the supervision of two readers.

Bulletin
Official MAPC bulletin.pdf

Research Projects
Abstracts of Masters theses

Location
Boston