The Intensive Study Program (ISP)

Couples therapy is challenging and deeply meaningful work. PCPG’s two-year intensive study program gives licensed clinicians the theoretical grounding and clinical depth to meet it. Meeting in person on Friday afternoons in Berkeley, you’ll immerse yourself in modern psychoanalytic thinking about couple relationships through paired theoretical classes and case discussions to develop the ballast to stay steady amid the complex dynamics couples bring into the room.

Our curriculum is rooted in over fifty years of groundbreaking work at Tavistock Relationships in London, which extends British Object Relations theory, including that of Klein and Winnicott, to show how unconscious dynamics shape couple relationships. We enrich this foundation with additional contemporary theories, such as relational psychoanalysis, attachment theory, and link theory. You’ll leave with a spacious, dynamic, and creative way of understanding couples at any stage of life, and a stronger foundation for every couple you treat.

We explore a wide range of topics, including Oedipal development on couple functioning, unconscious object choice and shared unconscious anxieties, the role of projection in structuring couple relationships, sexualities, technical application of theory, transference and countertransference in work with couples, as well as special topics such as divorce and separation, affairs, high-conflict couples, narcissism, parenthood, aging and other topics.

PCPG is deeply committed to the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of its work—including teaching, mentoring, community building, and engagement. We offer a scholarship for clinicians who self-identify as a person of color, and another scholarship for clinicians having substantial financial need, in order to make learning more accessible to all. Click this link to learn more about the tuition reduction funds.