Judith S. Schachter, M. D.

Judith S. Schachter, M. D., served as the fifty-eighth president of the American Psychoanalytic Association from 1994 to 1996. During her term, she initiated or facilitated an extraordinary series of activities within the American that have been a significant part of the renewed openness, vigor, and leadership we have all experienced.

Judy was born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Radcliffe, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received her medical degree from New York University. She did her psychiatric residency at the New York Psychiatric Institute and her psychoanalytic training at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, where she became a supervising and training analyst before moving to Pittsburgh. At the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute she completed child analytic training and was again appointed a training analyst. She also served as medical director of the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center.

Judith Schachter was well prepared for her role as president of the American, having long had a deep interest in political process, a passion for good causes, and the capacity to be both eloquent and outspoken, even blunt. It was already apparent during Judy's term as treasurer of the association that she was a clear thinker, understood the need for setting priorities, and had the courage to fight for what seemed right, even if it was initially unpopular. Her tenure as president included many achievements, but perhaps most notable was the realization of the first steps toward “delinkage” after a long and often bitter fight. That term, a cliché by now, may not carry great meaning to younger members of the American, who may not be aware that not so long ago the right to full membership in the association was limited to those who had been approved through the certification process; graduation from an approved institute was considered an insufficient credential. Residues of that battle continue, as noncertified members still do