My understanding is that until fairly recently one could only become
clinically practicing  member of the American Psychoanalytic
Association if one had a medical qualification. However, this was
sucessfully challenged in a legal action by clinical psychologists.
Now people regularly become APsaA psychoanalysts at a number of APsaA
centres throughout the country. In addition, there were then and are
now other organizations where people who were not physicians could
train to become a psychoanalyst, e.g., the National Psychological
Association for Psychoanalysis - http://www.npap.org - which was
founded to cater for and train non-medical practitioners who call
themselves psychoanalysts. There is also a Section 39 of the American
Psychological Association for people who practice or are interested
in psychoanalysis.
It is my impression that in America (unlike Britain where its
exclusive use by members of the British Psychoanalytic Society is
currently under challenge) the term is not particularly rigidly
confined to people who have had full psychoanalytic trainings. I
think people are referred to as doing psychoanalysis who actually do
psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Indeed, the practice of most pukka
psychoanalysts nowadays involves lots of psychoanalytic
psychotherapy. Lacanians freely use the term psychoanalyst to
describe themselves worldwide.
The distinction between psychoanalysis ands psychoanalytic
psychotherapy is not clearly drawn, but it usually means 4-5 sessions
of 50 mins per week for psychoanalysis and less for psychoanalytic
psychotherapy. However, I have heard of a US trainng which produces
graduates who have had and have given one session per week, but this
is a very unusual situation.
You will see that all of these categorizations are much-disputed in
some quarters.

Best, Bob

>Can anyone tell me if it is legal in the U.S. for people other than
>physicians to practice psychoanalysis, and if so, what are the
>qualifications for such a practice.
>
>Thanks,
>           Larry D. Lyons
>           [log in to unmask]
>_________________________________________________________________
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Robert Maxwell Young, Prof. Emeritus of Psychotherapy & Psychoanalytic Studies,
Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies, Univ. of Sheffield,
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/
Co-Director, Bulgarian Institute of Human Relations & Honoured Prof.,
New Bulgarian Univ., Sofia. http://www.nbu.bg/bihr/psy.htm
Home: 26 Freegrove Rd., London N7 9RQ. tel. +44 207 607 8306
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