THE FREE ASSOCIATION CLINIC FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS Post-Doctoral Training Program
Training at the Free Association Clinic isn’t just about building clinical skills—it’s about coming together, forming real connections, and being part of a community that values deep conversation and shared exploration. Here, learning happens in an environment where friendships grow, ideas flow, and curiosity is always welcome.
The FREE ASSOCIATION CLINIC FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS Post-Doctoral Training Program offers training in existential psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is affiliated with the NEW SCHOOL FOR EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOANALYSIS (founded by Free Association, Inc.), a San Francisco certificate-based two-year virtual training program with faculty spread throughout the world, and shares many of the same faculty as the NEW SCHOOL.
Application Process:
1. Initial Inquiry: Interested applicants are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Michael Guy Thompson at michaelguythompson@mac.com or Dr. James Norwood at jamesnorwoodpsyd@gmail.com to schedule an initial discussion. This discussion will allow you to learn more about the Free Association Clinic for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.
2. Application Materials: Following the initial discussion, if you are interested in applying, please submit a curriculum vitae(CV)/Resume electronically to the same email addresses listed above.
3. Individual Interview: Shortlisted candidates will be contacted to schedule an individual interview with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Dr. James Norwood. This interview will provide an opportunity to discuss deeper into your qualifications and experience.
4. Final Interview with Clinical Presentation: Final-stage candidates will participate in a final interview with both Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Dr. James Norwood. During this interview, you will have the opportunity to present a clinical case and engage in discussion with them
FREE ASSOCIATION CLINIC offers supervision and clinical case conferences by seasoned psychoanalytic practitioners, as well as weekly didactic seminars in psychoanalysis. The didactic portion of our training is designed to help students develop a clinical practice in psychoanalysis from an existential perspective. Seminars include instruction in the seminal contributors to psychoanalysis, including Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, Wilfried Bion, Jacques Lacan, D. W. Winnicott, R. D. Laing, and others, as well as classical texts by existential philosophers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, and others.
Our aim is to provide our interns with an intensive introduction to existentially oriented psychoanalytic treatment of a wide variety of patients referred to our Clinic, suffering from varied symptoms, personal crises, and psychological malaise. Supervision and Clinical Case Conferences are provided by our clinical staff, led by James Norwood, PsyD. Didactic seminars are primarily led by Michael Guy Thompson, PhD, world renowned psychoanalyst and author of seminal texts on existential psychoanalysis, including The Truth About Freud’s Technique (1994), The Ethic of Honesty: The Fundamental Rule of Psychoanalysis (2004), The Death of Desire: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness (2017), Essays in Existential Psychoanalysis: On the Primacy of Authenticity (2024), and others.

Once students complete their requisite supervised hours and acquire a clinical license they may be eligible to apply to the New School for Existential Psychoanalysis for a more thorough training culminating in a Certificate in Existential Psychoanalysis.