About SPSI

The Seattle Psychoanalytic Training Center was established in 1946. In 1964, the Seattle Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (SPSI) gained independent status with the Institute of the American Psychoanalytic Association. SPSI is one of 33 educational institutes approved by the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA).

In chaotic times, promoting better mental health is essential to not only our individual well-being, but that of our families, social circles, and broader society. Daunting global challenges, political polarization, and the erosion of fact-based civil discourse are seriously disorienting and, if we don’t deal with anxieties and stresses, can lead to a feedback loop which makes things worse. Psychoanalysis is a healing practice that starts with the individual, but its effects ripple outward in far-reaching ways and provide a deeper antidote to the entropy we face.

SPSI’s mission is to train professionals from diverse backgrounds to better serve those looking to find relief from inner pain and trauma. We have programs in Adult and Child Psychoanalysis as well as Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and introduced the new Integrated Child and Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (iCAPP) program last year. We are eager to ensure that our students and Clinical Associates learn the valuable skills to treat young people in need.

SPSI in the Community

SPSI helps connect people to needed mental health services through our Referral Service. In 2019, our Referral Service received more than 150 direct requests for assistance by phone, voicemail, and email. After a brief phone interview, those in need are given referrals to providers associated with SPSI or our colleagues in the larger health community.

SPSI continues our efforts to reach out to the Child Psychiatry Fellows at Children’s Hospital to encourage interest in psychoanalytic thinking and its use in helping children. Our current Director, Sheri Butler, has met with Childrens’ Child Psychiatry Fellowship Director to strengthen our ties with them and to assess their educational needs in psychodynamic psychotherapy.

SPSI provides free programming throughout the year with our SPSI Scientific Sessions and cultural and arts events. The Scientific Sessions are a huge draw; our first event of this academic year— Maxine Anderson’s “Protecting Our Humanity in the Midst of Tribal Warfare”—had all its seats reserved a full two weeks out from the event, and we had a packed house. We’re offering four more events through the summer of 2020 on topics such as broadening our diversity and working in depth with children.

Why we need you

SPSI accomplishes all that work and more with a single staff member and a dedicated volunteer faculty. Our Administrator, Zan Christensen, continues to review our regular expenses to reduce costs and ensure that the generosity of donors goes to the greatest benefit. He has been modernizing our equipment and processes in ways that will save SPSI money and perform better, including shifting to digital records and finding new ways to share information. The new SPSI website, launched this fall, is not only an informational resource for SPSI, but helps enable members to better connect with patients and colleagues. It also hosts a suite of tools for instructors, clinical associates, and students so that they can share syllabi and readings and communicate more easily. 

Our faculty members donate their time and effort, serving on our committees and the Board of Directors, teaching courses,  leading case conferences, and giving lectures in the community. Without the generous gift of their time, the activities SPSI undertakes would not be possible.

We hope that you will join them in supporting SPSI with your tax-deductible contribution by December 31st, to help psychoanalysis continue to thrive. Buying books through our book sale and making direct contributions to SPSI enable us to continue our work..