Psychoanalysis | Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy at SFU

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Specialisation in Psychoanalysis at SFU

The specialisation in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund Freud Private University (SFU) offers a comprehensive, theory-based and clinically oriented training in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The programme combines classical psychoanalytic concepts with contemporary theoretical developments and places particular emphasis on integrating theory, clinical practice, personal analysis, and supervision.

The Distinctive Character of Psychoanalytic Training at SFU

Psychoanalysis is a theory of the unconscious and a practice of listening. It is founded on the assumption that human experience and action are fundamentally shaped by processes that elude immediate conscious awareness – and that it is precisely within this realm of concealment that something essential about the subject can be understood. Since its beginnings in Vienna, psychoanalysis has been not only a clinical method but also a distinctive way of questioning the world and our culture.

The training programme in Psychoanalysis at Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna combines academic rigour with the living tradition of psychoanalysis in its city of origin, Vienna.

The programme is fully integrated into the University’s teaching and research activities, with clinical practice, theoretical development, and research systematically informing and enriching one another.

At its core lies an intensive engagement with the foundational texts of psychoanalysis – not as a canon to be mastered, but as a living space for thought and reflection. Another defining feature is the close integration of theory, personal experience, and clinical practice. A minimum of 300 sessions of training analysis and 90 sessions of group self-experience provide the personal foundation for future clinical work. This process is continuously supported by 600 hours of psychotherapeutic practice under supervision, including 200 hours of case supervision.

The mandatory clinical placement comprises 550 hours, of which at least 150 hours must be completed in a clinical psychiatric setting (in accordance with the Austrian Psychotherapy Act 1990, § 6 para. 2 no. 2 in conjunction with § 8 para. 1). Among other options, the placement may be undertaken at SFU’s Psychotherapy Outpatient Clinic. This enables students to experience clinical work within a psychoanalytically informed framework from the very beginning of their training. Demonstrations of initial consultations are embedded in the curriculum from the first semester onwards, ensuring that clinical thinking and theoretical reflection develop hand in hand from the outset.

Application Requirements

A prerequisite for application is fulfilment of the formal criteria in accordance with the current Austrian Psychotherapy Act. More detailed information on admission requirements can be obtained from the Study Service Centre (andrea-renate.egger@mail.sfu.ac.at) and the coordinator of the psychoanalytic specialisation, Univ.-Ass. Mag. pth. Herbert Geyer (herbert.geyer@sfu.ac.at).

Application and Admission

Applicants for the psychoanalytic specialisation should register with Andrea Egger (SSC Administration, andrea-renate.egger@mail.sfu.ac.at). Once the basic admission requirements have been reviewed by the SSC, applicants arrange an admissions interview with two members of the programme’s leadership team. Following successful completion of both interviews, applicants may register for the admission seminar (please indicate that you wish to register for the psychoanalysis admission seminar: ptw@sfu.ac.at).

Please note that for an intended start of training in the autumn of a given year, a certificate of completion of the psychotherapeutic propaedeutic programme must be submitted by 31 August of that same year, and both admissions interviews as well as the admission seminar must be successfully completed.

Costs for Admission & Entry: €550

This includes processing of documents, two interviews, participation in a seminar (or three interviews), information sessions, credit transfer procedures, etc.

Contact Finance & Controlling:

Email: ptw-accounting@sfu.ac.at
Phone: +43 1 798 40 98 304
Office and telephone hours: Mo-Thur: 10 am  – 3 pm / Fr: 10 am – 3 pm (Fridays by telephone only)
Address: Freudplatz 1, 3rd floor, room 3002

Costs (as of winter semester 2026/27):

Fee for the training programme per semester: € 6.359
Admission fee: € 550

Contact Finance & Controlling:

Email: ptw-accounting@sfu.ac.at
Phone: +43 1 798 40 98 304
Office and telephone hours: Mo-Thur: 10 am  – 3 pm / Fr: 10 am – 3 pm (Fridays by telephone only)
Address: Freudplatz 1, 3rd floor, room 3002

• General payment modalities

More information will follow soon…

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Lecture series ‘Psychoanalysis in Discourse’
We are pleased to draw your attention to the public event series ‘Psychoanalysis in Discourse’. The lectures take place on Thursdays at 7 pm at the Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna, admission is free. Registration is requested.
→ Info & Registration

Psychoanalytical Research Colloquium
The Psychoanalytical Research Colloquium takes place once a semester across all faculties. It is intended to be a place for question-oriented exchange on psychoanalytically orientated qualification work and research projects.
→ Info & Registration WiSe 2026/27

Lecture Series “Figurations of the Unconscious”
A lecture series that brings contemporary psychoanalytic research into critical discourse, organised by Esther Hutfless and Elisabeth Schäfer.
→ Info & Registration SoSe 2026 (Website SFU Linz)