Welcome to APSP

The Association for the Psychoanalytic Study of Psychopathology (APSP) is a professional organization dedicated to the psychoanalytic understanding and treatment of mental disorders. Founded in response to the growing divergence of psychoanalysis from its clinical foundations, APSP affirms that the original and primary purpose of psychoanalysis is the treatment of psychopathology.

We believe that psychoanalysis must remain engaged with the empirical realities of mental illness—particularly in the areas of personality disorders and other complex psychiatric conditions. As such, APSP serves as a home for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and scholars who are committed to integrating psychoanalytic theory with contemporary clinical science.

APSP supports a vision of psychoanalysis that is both humanistic and evidence-based: a discipline that honors the depth of the inner world while remaining grounded in diagnostic clarity, therapeutic effectiveness, and scientific accountability.

We aim to promote a psychoanalysis that speaks to the real suffering of patients and contributes meaningfully to the field of mental health.