Fund for Psychoanalytic Research

The Fund for Psychoanalytic Research, which was established in 1976, is dedicated to the support of psychoanalytic research and scholarship, while nurturing the development of psychoanalytic investigators.

The Fund receives its support from donations of APsaA members and through a regular allocation in the yearly budget of the Association. The Committee of the Fund is comprised of members of APsaA who are involved in psychoanalytic research as primary investigators or as consultants and informed scholars. The Committee is augmented by the participation of consulting researchers and scholars who are not members of APsaA and who may or may not be psychoanalysts.

Goals

  • To support basic and applied research involving psychoanalytic perspectives and observations
  • To support young scholars interested in psychoanalytic research
  • To provide psychoanalytic scholars an opportunity to consult with experienced investigators around an idea, methodological issue, or existing dataset

Scope of Research

The Fund conceives of psychoanalytic research along the broadest lines, including: scholarly and empirical investigative contributions that can advance knowledge of psychoanalytic theory, practice, and links between psychoanalysis and neighboring disciplines such as developmental psychology or neuroscience. The scope of this research includes (but is not limited to):

  • Systematic research into psychoanalytic treatment processes and outcomes (including the development of reliable and valid measures of appropriate variables related to process and outcome)
  • Developmental studies including both experimental and naturalistic investigations of infant and child development or of adult development;
  • Psychophysiological and other experimental studies, other relevant social science studies, intellectual history, philosophical studies, and scholarly applications of psychoanalysis in fields such as history and literature.

The Fund also invites applications from multiple methodological points of view.  While the Fund for Psychoanalytic Research is especially supportive of work directly relating to what is distinctive about psychoanalysis, it is understood that research relating to psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy may also advance the understanding of psychoanalysis.  This link should be made explicit in the research proposal as part of the discussion of the specific aims and significance of the proposed study.

Application & Additional Information

Research Links