Exam Preparation - ISAP Zurich

Propaedeuticum Exams

If you study analytical psychology, you will likely want to obtain accreditation. In order to graduate, you'll need to fulfil certain requirements. Exams are one of these requirements. At ISAP Zurich and the C.G. Jung Institute they are called propaedeuticum exams (preparatory exams for future work, gateway to client work).

At ISAP Zurich, there are currently eight exams at the time of writing this post:

• Fundamentals of Analytical Psychology and Psychotherapy

• Psychology of Dreams

• Psychology of Myths and Fairy Tales

• Developmental Psychology

• Comparison of Psychodynamic Concepts

• Fundamentals of Psychiatry and Psychopathology

• Religion & Psychology

• Ethnology & Psychology

The exams last less than an hour—usually 40–50 minutes each. In order to begin the exams, you must first fulfil several requirements:

• 120 hours of personal analysis (70 hours with an ISAP analyst, 50 with an IAAP-accredited analyst)

• Your symbol paper accepted

• At least one month of clinical internship completed

(You can find further requirements in the official regulations available on the institute’s website.)

Once these requirements are fulfilled, you can begin the exams. The earliest you can start is your third semester. You can complete all eight exams at once or split them across multiple semesters. However, you will still need to pay for all exams at once (1.4k francs), even if you take them over several semesters.

The earliest you can transition into the Diploma Candidate stage is at the beginning of your fifth semester, assuming you receive approval from the admissions committee.

Exams structure

Some examiners will require you to write a paper beforehand, which will then be used as a basis for questions during the exam. Others conduct the exam in a more conversational format, based on what you know.

Propaedeuticum exams are oral, meaning you will not need to write a test during the exam itself. You also receive your grade immediately at the end of the exam. There are always two examiners present, which I personally find useful in case one examiner happens to be biased.

Study Strategy

If you are a studious student and attend most lectures and seminars, you should be able to gain a decent grasp of the fundamentals, fairy tales, and dreams. The other subjects often require more self-study, as they are less extensively covered in lectures and seminars.

So far, I find the developmental psychology exam to be the most profound, both in terms of what I discovered there and the number of theories involved. I was triggered multiple times while reading the material, which made me question whether I truly want to be part of this journey.

There is a lot to cover. Learning about 15–20 developmental psychologists and their major contributions is no easy task, but I believe it will serve any aspiring therapist well.

A useful strategy may be to read overview books that introduce multiple psychologists and their theories. A few examples include:

• The Adult Development of C.G. Jung — John-Raphael Staude

• Jung and the Post-Jungians — Andrew Samuels

• Psychoanalytic Theory, Therapy and the Self — Harry Guntrip

These are only a few examples, but they may lead you further down the rabbit hole.

Other exams, such as ethnology and religion, feel more like explorations of particular cultures or aspects of religion from a psychological perspective. These are often based on written papers that you then discuss during the exam.

Dream and fairy-tale analysis is frequently covered during classes, so attending those lectures will likely be helpful.

Reflections on Analytical Psychology Training

I see analytical psychology (AP) as a field that touches two major areas. First and foremost—the mystery, or so I thought. Reality seems more along the lines of mystery being pushed to the side, or sometimes ignored completely. In my opinion, what was supposed to be a unique, sometimes dangerous and uncomfortable adventure through the unknown lands of the unconscious in pursuit of finding your own path often becomes a more comfortable route of following someone else's tracks.

It seems that many, consciously or not, take the easier route of following Jung's path, proudly calling themselves Jungian—as if that were something to celebrate—while trading their own unique journey for someone else's. This is something Jung himself warned about on multiple occasions. Perhaps for good reason, the road of mystery is not for everyone, even if it may seem like a birthright to live one's own unique blueprint. In this day and age, it sometimes feels like a privilege available only to a select few.

The other area of analytical psychology is the clinical one, for which these exams exist—to assess your readiness to work with others. This side involves a significant amount of theory and practice, primarily focused on psychotherapy, analysis, and psychiatric elements. All of these aim to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the client and their material, with the hope of creating a healing container.

In analytical psychology terms, this container supports ego strengthening through shadow work and anima/animus integration, encouraging a more balanced life. The exams, in a way, help examiners assess your ability to collect, synthesize, and apply clinical and theoretical knowledge.

Beware: some examiners will press you, and you may feel triggered by it—or in analytical psychology terms, a complex may be constellated—to observe how you deal with that situation. So brace yourself for uncomfortable questions, and remember that they are there for a reason.

Since I haven’t taken the exams yet, I’ll write another post later with more explicit details about my experience.

Stay tuned—or not. Who am I to tell you what to do. ;)