In light of the transformations in psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic training and education, the development and research of concepts are becoming increasingly significant. The first volume of the series "Interdisciplinary Psychoanalytic Forum" is dedicated to "Competence Orientation" - a now central keyword within a cross-disciplinary discussion. In his main article, Herbert Will discusses attempts to identify various competencies within the context of a psychoanalytic attitude. Important representatives from clinical psychoanalysis, empirical psychotherapy research, and critical educational research respond to his position, creating new and deepening perspectives through dialogue: competence is understood as an educational process, the outlines of which must continually be sharpened through critical conceptual work. Main article and reply by Herbert Will, comments by Johannes C. Ehrenthal, Antje Gumz, Jutta Kahl-Popp, Roland Reichenbach, Christoph Türcke, and Rolf-Peter Warsitz.