Jill Scharff,M.D., F.A.B.P.  & Caroline Sehon, M.D., FABP, As Published in International Forum of Psychoanalysis 

Volume 29, 2020 - Issue 4:  Voices of psychoanalytic education

This publication describes a simple recurrent writing task called the “Two Page Paper Exercise,” designed to enhance candidates’ learning of analytic theory and technique. The task is set in the context of other analytic institutes’ writing programs and show that this exercise is unique.   

Our educational philosophy is that, as candidates confront multiple perspectives in contemporary psychoanalysis, this writing task develops their ability to conceptualize, reflect on their learning, integrate affect and cognition, and express their ideas to others in written form and in discussion with peers. The candidate group develops cohesion that reduces writing anxiety.  As individuals they develop a writing habit that supports the eventual duty to develop the field of psychoanalysis through publishing.

We present raw data from candidates’ writing for readers to make their own assessment of the usefulness of the task as a measure of candidates’ integration of learning, development of analytic sensibility and synthetic capacity, and communication of experience and ideas to others.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of Flora Barragan, Ryan Garcia, Stefanie Minen, Andi Pilecki, Matthew Rosa, and Karen Sherwood of the International Institute for Psychoanalytic Training.