Seminar & Training

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The Pittsburgh Seminar of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (IRSJA) Training Program

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The Pittsburgh Seminar of the IRSJA, a local training center for the training of Jungian
analysts, has been in existence at its present site since 1980, and in the Jungian
tradition, has graduated analysts from a variety of backgrounds. It follows the general
training tenets of the IRSJA but has specific requirements of its own, some of which are
outlined below.

Our specific philosophy of training and vision of becoming a Jungian analyst requires
the attainment of a high level of clinical competence, of intellectual and personal
development, an ethical sensitivity, and the capacity to work symbolically in depth. Our
Seminar believes in the fundamental importance of the personal analysis as the basis
for all analytic learning; second, the importance of a sound and broad curriculum,
grounded in Jung’s Collected Works and amplified by archetypal material including
world religions, philosophy, mythology, folklore, and a general sense of the symbolic life
and relationship to the objective psyche and its numinosity; and in addition, an exposure
to the wide range of post-Jungian ideas as they impact the theoretical foundations of
Jungian psychology. The Seminar focuses on helping candidates to integrate this
material and to find their own personal style of doing analysis, under careful
supervision, which is required from the first year of training.
Perhaps most importantly, we encourage the development of individual, creative
thought based on this tradition, as well as the importance of the personal integration of
all of the above aspects of training.

While a main focus of the program is the assimilation of the Jungian heritage and
tradition, candidates will also be expected to have a working knowledge of the
developments in the broader psychoanalytic field in relationship to a varied appreciation
of the history of ideas. Our focus beyond the general requirements is to tailor a program
to the candidates’ individual needs, and in order to do so, it at times is necessary to
require specific other work to complement what might be missing in a particular
candidate’s professional background.

We reserve the right to hold a candidate in any phase of training until his/her training is
judged to be adequate. As per the IRSJA guidelines, we expect that our candidates will
be prepared to meet the requirements of the laws of practice in their place of residence
at the point of their graduation.

John White is the current Coordinator of Training for the Pittsburgh Seminar, and all
of of our members participate on the training faculty. For information about Training,
contact John. 

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