Terms of Use
Acceptance of Terms
These Terms of Use and Disclaimer govern access to and use of the American College of Psychoanalysts, available at https://americancollegeofpsychoanalysts.com.
By accessing or using the website, visitors acknowledge these Terms and agree to use the website in a lawful manner consistent with its academic, educational, intellectual, and editorial purposes.
These Terms should be read together with the Privacy Policy and any specific notices presented on individual pages.
The American College of Psychoanalysts is presented through this website as an international academic-editorial project dedicated to advanced psychoanalytic knowledge, scholarship, research discussion, education, and intellectual development.
THE NAME “AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PSYCHOANALYSTS” DOES NOT, BY ITSELF, REPRESENT THAT THE WEBSITE IS AN ACCREDITED UNIVERSITY, A STATE-AUTHORIZED DEGREE-GRANTING COLLEGE, A PROFESSIONAL LICENSING BOARD, OR AN INSTITUTION RECOGNIZED TO ISSUE ACADEMIC DEGREES OR PROFESSIONAL LICENSES.
Any representation concerning accreditation, degree-granting authority, institutional recognition, academic credit, licensure eligibility, certification, or governmental approval must be supported by documentation applicable to the specific representation.
Dr. William Carter is presented as an editorial persona associated with the website. No additional professional license, board certification, academic appointment, or institutional credential should be inferred solely from that presentation.
Educational and Informational Nature
The website may publish articles, essays, academic-style analyses, historical materials, bibliographies, research commentary, educational resources, and other materials relating to psychoanalysis and related fields.
Its content is provided for educational, academic, intellectual, cultural, and informational purposes.
References to psychoanalytic theory, clinical concepts, schools of thought, or historical case material are intended for study and discussion.
AN EDUCATIONAL EXPLANATION OF A PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPT IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOANALYTIC INTERPRETATION OF THE READER.
Different psychoanalytic traditions may use concepts and terminology differently. The website should distinguish, where relevant, among Freudian, Kleinian, Winnicottian, Lacanian, relational, interpersonal, contemporary, and other theoretical traditions.
Where a topic intersects with empirical psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, medicine, or another scientific field, theoretical psychoanalytic interpretation should be distinguished from empirical evidence and medical claims.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER AND CLINICAL LIABILITY NOTICE
ALL CONTENT CONCERNING MEDICINE, MENTAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOANALYSIS, NEUROSCIENCE, MEDICATION, DIAGNOSES, SYMPTOMS, THERAPY, OR TREATMENT IS PROVIDED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PSYCHOANALYSTS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS, PSYCHOANALYTIC TREATMENT, PSYCHOTHERAPY, DIAGNOSES, PRESCRIPTIONS, TELEHEALTH SERVICES, CLINICAL SCREENING, OR INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT.
READING AN ARTICLE OR IDENTIFYING WITH A PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPT DOES NOT ESTABLISH A DIAGNOSIS, PERSONALITY STRUCTURE, MENTAL DISORDER, OR NEED FOR TREATMENT.
DO NOT START, STOP, SUBSTITUTE, OR CHANGE MEDICATION, PSYCHOTHERAPY, PSYCHIATRIC CARE, OR OTHER TREATMENT SOLELY BECAUSE OF CONTENT PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE.
THE WEBSITE SHOULD NOT BE USED TO DIAGNOSE FAMILY MEMBERS, PARTNERS, COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS, PUBLIC FIGURES, OR OTHER PEOPLE.
Persons experiencing symptoms, persistent psychological distress, or concerns regarding their mental or physical health should seek evaluation from an appropriately qualified professional.
EMERGENCIES AND CRISIS SITUATIONS
THIS WEBSITE IS NOT AN EMERGENCY SERVICE, CRISIS CENTER, SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE, OR SUBSTITUTE FOR IMMEDIATE PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE.
If you or another person is in immediate danger or experiencing a medical emergency in the United States, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 for crisis support in the United States.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 in the United States.
- 911: use for immediate danger, medical emergency, or circumstances requiring emergency response.
- International resources: people outside the United States may consult local emergency services and international directories such as befrienders.org or findahelpline.com.
DO NOT RELY ON EMAIL, COMMENTS, CONTACT FORMS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, OR ORDINARY WEBSITE COMMUNICATIONS WHEN IMMEDIATE SAFETY IS AT RISK.
Crisis service availability and procedures may change and should be confirmed with the respective service when necessary.
Content Accuracy and Editorial Review
The American College of Psychoanalysts seeks to maintain high standards of factual accuracy, conceptual precision, source attribution, scholarly transparency, and human editorial review.
Psychoanalytic Scholarship
Psychoanalysis includes multiple historical and contemporary schools whose conceptual assumptions may differ.
The website should identify important theoretical context when attributing a position to a particular author or tradition.
A POSITION ADVANCED BY ONE PSYCHOANALYTIC SCHOOL SHOULD NOT AUTOMATICALLY BE REPRESENTED AS AN UNCONTESTED POSITION OF ALL PSYCHOANALYSIS.
Scientific Evidence
Where an article makes empirical, psychological, psychiatric, neurological, or medical claims, the editorial process should distinguish theoretical interpretation from scientific evidence.
When relevant, sources should be evaluated for research design, population, sample size, controls, limitations, conflicts of interest, replication, and strength of evidence.
A single study should not be presented as scientific consensus unless sufficient evidence supports that characterization.
Correlation should not automatically be represented as causation.
Quotations and Historical Sources
Quotations attributed to Freud, Jung, Klein, Winnicott, Lacan, Ferenczi, or other historical figures should be verified in an appropriate source before being presented as verbatim quotations.
A QUOTATION CIRCULATING WIDELY ONLINE SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS AUTHENTIC MERELY BECAUSE IT IS POPULAR.
Paraphrases should not be formatted or described as verbatim quotations.
Academic and Institutional Claims
Claims concerning faculty, academic positions, accreditation, affiliations, publications, degrees, programs, institutional partnerships, academic credits, or professional recognition should be supported by evidence appropriate to the claim.
THE TERMS “COLLEGE,” “ACADEMIC,” “INSTITUTE,” “ADVANCED EDUCATION,” OR SIMILAR LANGUAGE MUST NOT BE USED TO CREATE A FALSE OR MISLEADING IMPRESSION OF ACCREDITATION, DEGREE-GRANTING AUTHORITY, GOVERNMENTAL APPROVAL, OR PROFESSIONAL LICENSING AUTHORITY.
If the website offers educational programs in the future, disclosures should accurately distinguish non-degree education, continuing education, independent study, certificates of completion, academic credit, professional continuing education credit, and accredited degree programs.
A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION MUST NOT BE PRESENTED AS A LICENSE, ACADEMIC DEGREE, OR PROFESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION UNLESS THAT CHARACTERIZATION IS LEGALLY AND FACTUALLY CORRECT.
Responsible Mental Health Communication
For content involving suicide, self-harm, or mental health crises, the website seeks to observe responsible communication practices recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Such content should avoid sensationalism, romanticization, glorification, unnecessary description of suicide methods, simplistic causal explanations, or presentation of suicide as a normal or inevitable response to adversity.
Where appropriate, content should emphasize help-seeking, coping, support, prevention, hope, resilience, and recovery.
Reference to WHO recommendations does not imply sponsorship, certification, endorsement, or institutional affiliation with the World Health Organization.
The website may correct, update, supplement, archive, or remove content when material errors, unreliable sources, significant new evidence, or important contextual changes are identified.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE WEBSITE IS NOT LIABLE FOR MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, PSYCHIATRIC, PSYCHOANALYTIC, THERAPEUTIC, OR PHARMACOLOGICAL DECISIONS MADE SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF GENERAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE.
THE WEBSITE DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT A PARTICULAR PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY, INTERPRETATION, EDUCATIONAL APPROACH, OR RESEARCH POSITION REPRESENTS UNIVERSAL CONSENSUS.
THE WEBSITE DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT PARTICIPATION IN OR COMPLETION OF ANY FUTURE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY WILL CREATE A PROFESSIONAL LICENSE, GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORIZATION, ACADEMIC DEGREE, EMPLOYMENT RIGHT, VISA ELIGIBILITY, BOARD CERTIFICATION, OR ADMISSION TO ANOTHER INSTITUTION UNLESS SUCH OUTCOME IS EXPRESSLY AND LEGALLY DOCUMENTED.
THE USE OF THE NAME “AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PSYCHOANALYSTS” DOES NOT ITSELF CREATE ACCREDITATION OR DEGREE-GRANTING AUTHORITY.
THE WEBSITE DOES NOT GUARANTEE UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS, COMPLETE ABSENCE OF TECHNICAL ERRORS, OR PERMANENT ACCURACY OF HISTORICAL MATERIAL.
NOTHING IN THESE TERMS EXCLUDES LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE DISCLAIMED OR LIMITS NON-WAIVABLE RIGHTS PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE CONSUMER, PRIVACY, EDUCATION, OR OTHER LAW.
External Links and Third-Party Websites
The website may link to universities, journals, libraries, professional organizations, educational resources, publishers, researchers, governmental agencies, or other external websites.
A link does not automatically constitute partnership, accreditation, endorsement, sponsorship, certification, or approval of all content or services offered by the destination.
If an advertising, sponsorship, affiliate, or other material commercial relationship exists, that relationship should be clearly disclosed when relevant to the user's understanding.
The website does not continuously control the security, accuracy, privacy policies, prices, accreditation status, or practices of external services.
A LINK TO AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PSYCHOANALYSTS IS THE PROVIDER, ACCREDITOR, DEGREE-GRANTING ENTITY, OR LICENSING AUTHORITY FOR THAT PROGRAM UNLESS EXPRESSLY STATED AND DOCUMENTED.
Visitors should independently review the policies and representations of third-party websites.
User Content
If comments, submissions, academic discussions, questions, or other participatory features are made available, users remain responsible for the content they submit.
Users may not submit unlawful, threatening, defamatory, discriminatory, fraudulent, infringing, or privacy-invasive material.
USERS MUST NOT PUBLISH IDENTIFIABLE PSYCHOTHERAPY NOTES, PATIENT RECORDS, PSYCHOANALYTIC SESSION TRANSCRIPTS, DIAGNOSES, OR OTHER CONFIDENTIAL CLINICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIRD PARTIES.
Clinical terminology should not be used as a means of harassment, stigma, or unsupported public diagnosis.
Comments and submissions must not be used to request emergency care, prescriptions, individualized diagnosis, or psychoanalytic treatment.
The website may moderate, decline, restrict, or remove material that violates applicable law, intellectual property rights, privacy, confidentiality, these Terms, or appropriate editorial standards.
Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise stated, original articles, educational materials, analyses, compilations, editorial organization, branding, and other original content published through the American College of Psychoanalysts are protected under applicable intellectual property law.
United States copyright protection is governed principally by Title 17 of the United States Code.
Public access to the website does not transfer copyright ownership or other intellectual property rights to the visitor.
Fair use and other limitations and exceptions remain available to the extent established by applicable law.
Works, images, translations, publications, trademarks, excerpts, and other content owned by third parties remain subject to the rights of their respective owners.
The fact that an older author's underlying work may be in the public domain does not necessarily mean that every modern translation, edition, commentary, photograph, or compilation is also in the public domain.
Unauthorized systematic reproduction, commercial republication, removal of attribution, or other infringing use may be restricted or challenged according to applicable law.
DMCA and Copyright Notice Procedure
Copyright complaints concerning content on the website may be submitted to dr.williamcarter@americancollegeofpsychoanalysts.com.
Where the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applies, notices may be processed in accordance with 17 U.S.C. section 512 and other applicable copyright law.
A notice should, where legally appropriate, identify the copyrighted work, the allegedly infringing material and its location, the complaining party's contact information, and the statements and signature required under applicable law.
The website may request additional information when a complaint is materially incomplete.
A complaint does not automatically establish infringement where the material is licensed, authorized, in the public domain, protected by fair use, or otherwise lawfully used.
If the operator seeks reliance on a DMCA safe harbor for user-generated material where applicable, it should separately evaluate the statutory requirements, including designation of a DMCA agent and corresponding registration requirements.
User Conduct
Users agree not to:
- attempt unauthorized access to administrative systems or accounts;
- exploit security vulnerabilities;
- introduce malware or malicious code;
- conduct abusive automated activity that materially disrupts the website;
- engage in fraud or identity impersonation;
- unlawfully collect personal information;
- disclose confidential patient or client information;
- present editorial content as an individualized diagnosis;
- publicly diagnose third parties without an appropriate basis;
- fabricate scientific studies or scholarly references;
- fabricate authors, DOI numbers, ISBN numbers, or quotations;
- fabricate educational accreditation or governmental approval;
- falsify academic degrees or professional licenses;
- misrepresent a certificate as a professional license or degree;
- fabricate faculty affiliations or institutional partnerships;
- publish false endorsements or testimonials;
- infringe copyright or other intellectual property rights;
- use the website for unlawful purposes.
Use by Health Professionals
Physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, researchers, educators, students, and other professionals may consult the website as educational or scholarly material.
The website does not replace primary scientific literature, clinical judgment, professional supervision, formal training, ethical codes, licensing requirements, or applicable professional standards.
GENERAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT SHOULD NOT BE THE SOLE BASIS FOR CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OR PATIENT CARE.
Professionals remain responsible for verifying sources, methodology, evidentiary strength, current standards, and relevance to the specific professional context.
IDENTIFIABLE CLINICAL CASES USED IN EDUCATION, PUBLICATION, OR PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSION REQUIRE APPROPRIATE ATTENTION TO CONFIDENTIALITY, PRIVACY, PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, CONSENT WHERE REQUIRED, AND APPLICABLE LAW.
Nothing on the website grants a medical, psychological, psychotherapy, psychoanalytic, or other regulated professional license.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in Editorial Production
The American College of Psychoanalysts may use artificial intelligence systems as supporting tools in selected stages of editorial production.
Such systems may assist with preliminary research, thematic organization, drafting support, language review, translation, classification, document comparison, summarization, or visual-content development.
FINAL EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY MUST REMAIN HUMAN.
Scholarly Verification
Artificial intelligence systems may produce convincing but inaccurate information, including nonexistent publications, quotations, authors, page numbers, DOI numbers, and institutional relationships.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MUST NOT BE USED TO FABRICATE RESEARCH, AUTHORS, QUOTATIONS, DOI NUMBERS, ISBN NUMBERS, ACADEMIC DEGREES, PROFESSIONAL LICENSES, ACCREDITATION, FACULTY POSITIONS, OR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.
Material factual claims generated or suggested by AI should be verified using appropriate sources before publication.
Psychoanalytic Sources
Quotations attributed to historical psychoanalytic authors should be verified rather than relying solely on a generative model's recollection.
AI-generated summaries of psychoanalytic texts should be reviewed to ensure that theoretical positions are not incorrectly attributed to authors or schools.
Scientific and Medical Content
AI MUST NOT BE USED TO INVENT CLINICAL STUDIES, PATIENT OUTCOMES, SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS, MEDICAL GUIDANCE, OR CLINICAL CASES PRESENTED AS REAL.
Scientific and health-related claims produced with AI assistance require appropriate human verification.
Privacy
IDENTIFIABLE PATIENT RECORDS, PSYCHOTHERAPY NOTES, PSYCHOANALYTIC SESSION TRANSCRIPTS, OR OTHER CONFIDENTIAL CLINICAL INFORMATION MUST NOT BE ENTERED INTO GENERAL-PURPOSE AI SYSTEMS AS AN ORDINARY EDITORIAL PRACTICE.
If personal information must exceptionally be processed through an AI system for a legitimate purpose, the applicable privacy basis, necessity, security, provider terms, retention, confidentiality, and international transfer issues should be evaluated before processing.
Transparency
Where artificial intelligence has played a substantial role and disclosure is material to understanding how content was produced, an appropriate transparency notice may be provided.
Use of an AI tool does not eliminate human responsibility for publication decisions.
Indemnification
To the extent permitted by applicable law, a user whose unlawful conduct, intentional infringement, fraud, unauthorized disclosure, security attack, or other wrongful conduct causes demonstrable loss may be responsible for resulting damages according to applicable law.
Indemnification is not automatic and remains subject to applicable legal requirements, causation, defenses, and non-waivable rights.
This provision does not transfer to users legal responsibilities that remain with the website operator under applicable privacy, consumer, education, intellectual property, or other law.
Termination of Access
Access may be restricted or blocked where there are reasonable indications of fraud, attempted intrusion, malicious automation, infringement, unlawful disclosure of information, or another material violation of these Terms.
The website may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, security, technical updates, or editorial reorganization.
Articles, research discussions, faculty descriptions, institutional information, or educational materials may be corrected, updated, archived, or removed because of factual, legal, academic, scientific, or editorial developments.
Information concerning accreditation, partnerships, academic programs, or credentials should be promptly corrected if it is discovered to be inaccurate or materially misleading.
Previous publication does not create an obligation to keep content permanently available.
Governing Law and Forum
These Terms will be governed, to the extent legally permissible, by applicable federal law of the United States and the laws of the State of California, without overriding non-waivable rights available under another applicable jurisdiction.
For disputes in which a contractual forum selection is legally enforceable, courts of competent jurisdiction located in California may serve as the agreed forum.
This provision does not waive statutory rights, mandatory consumer forums, regulatory jurisdiction, or other jurisdictional protections that cannot lawfully be waived.
Where GDPR, UK GDPR, Brazilian LGPD, Peruvian Law No. 29733, or another foreign law has mandatory application to a specific operation, its applicable protections will remain effective notwithstanding this governing-law clause.
General Provisions
If a provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the maximum extent permitted by law.
A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not constitute a permanent waiver.
These Terms may be updated in response to legal, regulatory, academic, scientific, technological, or editorial changes.
The current version will be made available through the website.
ACADEMIC PRESTIGE MUST BE BUILT THROUGH VERIFIABLE SCHOLARSHIP, ACCURATE ATTRIBUTION, REAL PUBLICATIONS, TRANSPARENT INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND RELIABLE SOURCES — NOT THROUGH UNDOCUMENTED CLAIMS OF ACCREDITATION, DEGREE AUTHORITY, PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, OR GOVERNMENTAL RECOGNITION.
ADVANCED PSYCHOANALYTIC EDUCATION DOES NOT, BY ITSELF, CONFER A MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOTHERAPY, OR OTHER REGULATED PROFESSIONAL LICENSE.
The website may adopt additional editorial, academic integrity, citation, research, correction, artificial intelligence, authorship, conflict-of-interest, or educational disclosure policies.
Legal Contact
Legal, copyright, privacy, or institutional inquiries may be submitted to:
American College of Psychoanalysts
Website: https://americancollegeofpsychoanalysts.com
Editorial contact: Dr. William Carter.
Email: dr.williamcarter@americancollegeofpsychoanalysts.com
Nature of the website: international academic-editorial and educational project focused on psychoanalytic knowledge and scholarship.
Primary jurisdiction: USA.
Last Updated
Original effective date: March 17, 2020.
Legal consolidation of this version: August 31, 2026.