Article archive / September 1, 2013
Originally published: . Volume 5, No. 1. Source pages: 10.
Dr. Carolyn Weyand, licensed psychologist, psychoanalyst, and faculty member with the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Institute, is taking on the duties as President-Elect for the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance.
The Alliance, called CAPA, is a non-profit organization with professionals from all over the world, including Mexico, Canada, Australia, France, Great Britain. Over 200 experienced psychotherapists from around the Western are involved in teaching, supervising and treating Chinese trainees, with the goal of helping them become independent and self- regulating, explained Weyand to the Times.
As the current President-Elect, Weyand shadows founder Elise Snyder, MD, who will be stepping down as president in June, 2014. Snyder founded CAPA eight years ago (at age 71) in response to requests for training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from Chinese psychiatrists and psychologists. “She has the energy and stamina of a hurricane,” said Weyand.
CAPA sponsors an annual fall tour for mental health professionals to teach and supervise in person. The group begins in Beijing with some sightseeing and hold an academic conference at The Beijing University of Forestry.”
“The tour goes to Xi'an to commune with the Terracotta Warriors,” she said, “then we are off to Chengdu, the capital of Szechuan Province.” The academic conference and graduation are held at the Southwest University of Forestry and Economics, explained Weyand.
CAPA is working with Chinese professionals to organize local groups into CAPA China for mutual support, networking and creating a forum for furthering their training for themselves, explained Wegand. “Organizing is a concept that is very new to them.”
The demand for mental health education in China is very strong,” Weyand explained. “The Chinese government sees a need for the training and supports it.”
Dr. Carolyn Weyand at a recent conference. She is the new President-Elect for the China-American Psychoanalytic Alliance.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.