Mon, Apr 20, 2026
7:10 PM - 8:40 PM
Mondays, April 20, 27; May 4, and May 11, 2026 from 7:10 PM - 8:40 PM

Dr. Brandt's Office

4026 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
Target Audience & Level: 

This course is for psychoanalytically oriented clinicians (or clinicians with at least some background in psychoanalytic approaches) who are actively preparing for or adjusting to the private practice setting. This could include post-docs/post-grads, community mental health providers, etc.

Cancellation & Refund Policies: 

Enrollees who cancel at least SEVEN DAYS prior to the event date will receive a refund minus a $35 administrative charge. No refunds will be allowed after this time. Transfer of registrations are not allowed.

Contact Information: 

For program related questions, contact Deia Verghese at drdeiaverghese@gmail.com

For questions related to enrollment, locations, CE credit, special needs, course availability and other administrative issues contact Niki Clay by email or 415-496-9949.

Committee: 

Education Committee

The Education Committee is responsible for the development of a variety of courses and workshops given throughout the year in San Francisco and the East Bay.

Mara Gerson, Psy.D., Chair
Lily Hiott-Millis, Psy.D.
Natasha Oxenburgh, Psy.D.
Deia Verghese, Psy.D.
Early Registration Deadline: 
April 06, 2026
Registration Notes: 

NCSPP offers online course registration and payment using PayPal, the Internet’s most trusted payment processor. All major credit cards, as well as checking account debit payments, are accepted.

Course
CE Credits: 
0.00
Participant Limit: 
9
Tuition: 

$210 General Public
$150 Full Members
$132 CMH Members
$120 Associate Members
$90 Student Members
$90 Scholarship (prior approval required to register at this fee)

Tuition listed above is for early registration ($40 discount off full fee, $15 discount for NCSPP Student Members). For registrations received after the deadline, full tuition will be applied to all registrations.

Tuition does not include the cost of readers.

 

Launching Your Private Practice: Developmental and Frame Considerations
Course Overview: 

The transition into private practice involves subtle shifts in one’s orientation to clinical work, as well as decisions shaped by personal needs, preferences, and interests. This 4-week workshop supports clinicians in the planning or early stages of private practice, focusing on practical and clinical decision-making, particularly around the therapeutic frame. Participants will explore developing the mindset of an independent practitioner, setting fees and policies, conducting initial consultations, screening patients, and ongoing professional development. Attention is given to the complexity of intersectional identities and the cultural meanings embedded in professional choices.

Commitment to Equity: 

NCSPP is aware that historically psychoanalysis has either excluded or pathologized groups outside of the dominant population in terms of age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, and size. As an organization, we are committed to bringing awareness to matters of anti-oppression, inequity, inequality, diversity, and inclusion as they pertain to our educational offerings, our theoretical orientation, our community, and the broader world we all inhabit.

Presenters Response:

This course focuses on a professional development process that is always already loaded with cultural meanings and implications. For example, decisions about fees are rooted in the current economic realities of a therapist's life, our relationships to the communities we serve, and often involve powerful echoes of our personal and familial class histories. The move into private practice also involves a relationship to one's own sense of legitimacy, as well as the legitimacy that is culturally conferred upon us or denied to us. The course will take up the complexity of therapists' intersectional identities, and will problematize the institutional norms and assumptions embedded in our field.

Instructor(s): 

Clara Brandt, Psy.D., is a psychologist in private practice in Oakland, where she works with adult individuals and couples. She teaches and supervises at Access Institute and is the former chair of the Education Committee at NCSPP.