The Early Career Professional (ECP) award has been one of the greatest opportunities I have had thus far as a new analyst. As a second year analytic training candidate, I was looking for additional opportunities to learn and network, particularly after two years of feeling isolated from the larger analytic community. While my institute is relational theory based, I had some training in self-psychology and wanted to learn more. I was accepted as an IAPSP ECP in 2022, just when things had begun to feel back to normal, whatever that means, and the entire community was so welcoming and kind. The IAPSP conference in 2022 was the first in-person gathering in two years for many of us, which is where I met my mentor.

The mentorship program was really special. I felt that the ECP committee matched me with a mentor that not only was an excellent fit for my practice, but also my personality. We met remotely or in person once a month, and my mentor helped me to adapt the tenets of self-psychology to my work with children and teens. She was also instrumental in helping me to craft my in-person paper presentation, which I made at the 2023 conference. Her insight was invaluable to me and my learning.

Overall, since becoming an ECP, I have felt incredibly welcome in the IAPSP community. I have made new friends, attended a wide variety of lectures and presentations, and as a result have grown as a clinician. It seems as if the greater IAPSP community really wants to connect with newer members and make us feel welcome. I look forward to the future opportunities that the ECP award will continue to open up.

Ashley Leeds LCSW

Ashley lives with her daughter, dog, and husband in Brooklyn, NY. She is finishing her final year of analytic training at National Institute for the Psychotherapies, and works full time in private practice.