The Training
SIPPI’s training program offers a structured path into the core ideas of interpersonal psychoanalysis. The curriculum combines theoretical depth with practical understanding of human relationships and psychological development.
The 100 Concepts Program
At the heart of the SIPPI training is a structured curriculum built around 100 core psychoanalytic concepts. These concepts form a practical map for understanding human emotions, relationships, and the inner life of the mind.
The program is designed to make psychoanalytic knowledge accessible, systematic, and applicable to real human interaction. It combainces professional method and personal practice.
Rather than approaching psychoanalysis only through long academic study, SIPPI organizes the field into a clear sequence of key ideas that gradually deepen the practitioner’s understanding of psychological processes.
Why 100 Concepts?
The 100 Concepts are organized into five major theoretical traditions within psychoanalysis. Together, they offer students a structured path through the historical development of psychoanalytic thinking — from Freud to contemporary relational and diagnostic approaches.
Each category introduces a different intellectual tradition and offers a small selection of concepts as an entry point.
Freud and the Orthodox Approach
The foundations of classical psychoanalysis were developed by Freud and the early analytic tradition.
Examples:
• Unconscious
• Oedipus Complex
• Transference
Ego Psychology and Object Relations
Later developments in psychoanalytic theory expanded Freud’s ideas to focus on the ego, internal objects, and early relational experience.
Examples:
• Repression
• Splitting
• Projective Identification
Winnicott, Bion, and Self Psychology
These approaches explore the development of the self, emotional containment, and the importance of empathic understanding in human development.
Examples:
• True Self / False Self
• Container
• Empathy
Interpersonal and Relational Psychoanalysis
Contemporary relational theories emphasize dialogue, mutual influence, and the co-creation of psychological experience.
Examples:
• Intersubjectivity
• Recognition
• Enactment
Psychoanalytic Diagnosis
Concepts that help clinicians understand personality organization, defensive structures, and different patterns of psychological functioning.
Examples:
• Extreme withdrawal
• Depression
• Narcissistic Personality
