The Aim of the Training Analysis

Although the training analysis is considered by many to be the most important element of a candidate's analytic training, its aim remains unclear. Some think of the training analysis as being a strictly therapeutic tool, while others assign it a more frankly educational role. This paper reviews the literature on this topic from Freud to the present, discusses the problems that lack of clarity about the aim of the training analysis generates for psychoanalytic education, and proposes future research in this area.