Dr. Andrew Klafter is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, Training and Supervising Analyst, and Director of the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute (CPI). Dr. Klafter provides treatment for adolescents and adults; clinical consultation and supervision for psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists; and second-opinion diagnostic consultations for patients and collaborating clinicians. He is frequently sought out for his expertise in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, treatment-resistant mood and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and diagnostic assessments for complex clinical problems. His primary clinical location is in Cincinnati, OH, but he also treats patients and consults with clinicians in the greater New York City metropolitan area and New Jersey. Dr. Klafter has held numerous leadership roles at both local and national levels in his work as an advanced educator in training programs for psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, and psychiatrists. He also serves as an expert witness, professional speaker, and consultant to organizations facing challenges with governance and leadership.

Dr. Klafter grew up in upstate New York. He attended college at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton and received his medical degree from the SUNY Buffalo College of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Klafter has also spent time overseas studying philosophy, religious law, and medical ethics. He completed his residency training in adult psychiatry in Philadelphia, PA, where he also served as Chief Resident. In 2000, he was recruited to the University of Cincinnati to teach psychodynamic psychiatry to medical students and psychiatric residents. During his eight years as a full-time faculty member, he served as the Assistant Training Director in the Department of Psychiatry’s residency training program. He also served as Medical Director for the department’s outpatient multidisciplinary practice. Dr. Klafter completed his training as a psychoanalyst at CPI in 2011, and in 2012 joined the CPI faculty.

As a psychoanalyst, Dr. Klafter is certified by the American Board of Psychoanalysis and was appointed as a Training and Supervising Analyst by the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute (CPI) and the American Association for Psychoanalytic Education. At CPI, he serves as the Track Leader for the Analytic Training Program’s technique curriculum, and for over a decade directed CPI’s training program in Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. As a therapist and psychoanalyst, he specializes in intensive treatments for complex mental disorders, including narcissistic and borderline personality organization, and complex developmental trauma (including dissociative disorders). As a general psychiatrist for adults and adolescents, he specializes in psychotherapy and medication treatments for treatment-resistant depression, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. As a psychoanalytic and psychotherapy educator, he is a six-time winner of the University of Cincinnati’s prestigious Golden Apple Award for his lectures and supervision in psychodynamic psychotherapy. He also received the 2024 American Psychoanalytic Association’s Esther Sabshin Teaching Award for his innovative approaches to teaching psychodynamic therapy. Dr. Klafter has lectured and published nationally and internationally on psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, religion, and organizational dynamics. He particularly enjoys professional speaking engagements as opportunities to explore complex clinical and psychological questions with colleagues and trainees, and has also participated in educational programs and scholar-in-residence events for synagogues and religious organizations.

As Director of the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute, Dr. Klafter is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Institute’s governance, educational training programs, programming, outreach, and committees. He has held leadership positions in other mental health organizations as well, including the NEFESH International Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals and the American Psychoanalytic Association. In addition to his work as a clinician for patients and supervisor for psychotherapists and psychoanalysts, he is an experienced forensic consultant serving as an expert witness for litigation related to mental health malpractice, mental competency, personal injury, guardianship, child custody, and divorce.

In his personal life, Dr. Klafter is an accomplished musician and photographer. He is interested in cinema and popular music, and frequently assigns movies, television shows, and songs to his patients as a way of illustrating the universal nature of the psychological and interpersonal issues they are dealing with in their lives and exploring in their psychotherapy or psychoanalytic treatments. He has lectured nationally and internationally on the relevance of popular media to psychotherapy and mental health, and the impact of music, television, film, video games, and social media on the development of children and teens.