Psychiatrists choosing psychoanalytic training at mid-career.

Abstract

At one institute 48 percent of physician candidates doing class-work are over 40. This percentage has increased over the past decade, perhaps reflecting new economic constraints and the increased proportion of women candidates. A review of the first training analysis, Freud's, and conversations with some present day candidates indicate that choosing training at mid-career can address specific adult developmental issues, including the "race against time," needs for increased structuring of family life and of creative work and shifts from physical to intellectual play and from being a mentee to mentorship.