Scholarship Program

Scholarship Process Groups

In addition to attending workshop offerings, scholarship recipients take part in one of two dedicated process groups, co-facilitated by senior AAP group leaders. This 10-hour training offers early career and mid-career practitioners in-depth learning about ethical self-care, authentic self-expression, and many therapeutic styles of interaction, all in an experiential learning format.

Uniquely AAP

We invite psychotherapists of all disciplines to submit applications by the June 1^st deadline. A core mission of our scholarship program is to invite a diverse group of applicants. Recipients are notified by July 15^th, allowing them time to register for the conference, make travel arrangements, reserve a room at the hotel and, if desired, select a roommate.

We are passionately committed to the idea that the person of the therapist is central to successful therapy, rather than a specific technique. We believe in the compelling role of countertransference and we value personal development as essential to becoming a master therapist. Our goal is to introduce new professionals to the AAP community, while helping them develop a commitment to their personal and professional development. We hope that, with this experience, scholarship recipients will feel supported and welcomed into this professional community.

Many scholars and newcomers have noted that AAP meetings are different from other professional conferences they have attended. AAP values relational workshop experiences over lecture formats, and encourages authentic interaction. To this end, interpersonal workshops and therapy demonstrations are featured, in addition to more traditional training formats and panel discussions. Master clinicians offer experiential intensive training institutes as well. AAP members also have the opportunity to join long-term peer groups of Academy members that are designed to promote ongoing interpersonal learning and life-long collegial connections. In an increasingly technical and manualized treatment climate, AAP maintains a commitment to personal engagement, respect for the unconscious, and attention to current developments in the field of psychotherapy.

Selection Process

Criteria for selection include: clinical work experience, level of education and post-graduate training, life experiences related to becoming a therapist, well-developed application essays, and references. We are looking for a diverse group of individuals who are open to process-oriented and relational therapeutic approaches. Experience in group therapy and training groups will count in your favor. Each year our scholarship recipients reflect a wide range of age and life experiences, cultural backgrounds, geographic locations, gender, and ethnicities.

Former Scholarship Reflections

“Several weeks out I am continuing to process and absorb experiences from the week. I have felt transformed in my work as a therapist, in my relationships, in my own therapy.”

“The community is wonderful! It’s difficult to find a community where people are so open and vulnerable in their sharing…The community is also friendly and a lot of fun! After the five days were over, I felt very much more alive, more intimately connected to others, and was able to more deeply and intimately feel myself.”

“Being a scholar was life-changing and amazing. It was the nurturing I needed and craved. It energized me in a powerful way.”

“I feel so much more ready to be part of the Academy than I have in the seven years I have been [attending AAP events].”