Early Career Testimonials

By Priti Doshi, ECP Award winner, 2022     

The IAPSP Early Career Professional (ECP) award has been a special opportunity for me to deepen and expand my study of Self Psychology as well as join a welcoming and warm community of like-minded people invested in inviting newer faces and voices into the organization.

One of the benefits of the award is the mentorship program. My mentor, Elizabeth Carr, challenged me and taught me how to think theoretically and clinically apply the ideas and concepts of Self Psychology. Elizabeth is a thoughtful, encouraging and overall a great teacher. I really enjoyed working with her.

The other benefit was the invitation to attend an IAPSP conference. I can still recall my first impression of IAPSP members.  I was nervous and hesitant walking into a room full of new people.  My fears were alleviated immediately when I was greeted and embraced by a few senior analysts while also being introduced to other ECP winners.  

The conference panels have been thought provoking and I continue to learn how to utilize Self Psychology both theoretically and clinically to our contemporary times.  In addition to these valuable offerings, I have been hopeful for IAPSP’s commitment to diversify the organization and ultimately the larger analytic community. I have felt intimidated and isolated in other analytic spaces. IAPSP is  an international organization that has connected me to analysts from different countries and cultures.  The recent Rome conference is one example. One of the Plenary discussions was, “The Condition of Tragic Person In
Different Cultures Today” presented by analysts from around the globe. I also attended a panel discussion about the application of twinship when there is challenge to bridging differences in the analytic room.

Lastly, I have learned that self psychologists are not only smart, deep thinkers but they also know how to throw a good party! I’ve met new peers and colleagues that I’ve grown close to and continue to see both at professional events and socially. I’m extremely grateful for the early career program which enriched my experiences. IAPSP has become my analytic home.

Priti is a South Asian, first generation female analyst who works with the Asian/South Asian population. She resides in New York City with her husband, a“spunky” 3 year old daughter and 4 cats!  She has a private practice in the West Village. Priti transitioned her career of being a lawyer to becoming an analyst. She graduated from the National Institute of Psychotherapies’s License Qualifying Program in 2017.