The New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute

In 1945, the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute moved into its newly acquired building. Glass brick, fluorescent lighting, a shiny new auditorium — these were not only fresh and welcome changes, but also symbolic of more significant ones to come. In March, 1946, the Society and Institute acquired new By-Laws. For a number of years, the Society's counsel had been shaking his head over the legal never-never land in which the two organizations existed. According to New York State law, they had to be separately incorporated; so that since the adoption of the new By-Laws they exist as formally independent entities. Actually, of course, membership in the Society is identical with that in the Institute. There are separate officers for each organization and the Institute leases the building from the Society, which owns it. Provisions are made for other types of liaison; for example, if the Educational Committee of the Institute so desires, it may designate one of its members to attend meetings of the Board of Directors of the Society to act in an advisory capacity on educational matters, professional standards, and requirements for the eligibility of members. Essentially, the Society functions in the same manner as any other scientific organization in the field of medical science, while the Institute's primary purpose is analytic training and education.

It is worth noting that provision is made for lay membership on the Board of Trustees of the Institute. This was not consummated without serious misgivings on the part of a number of members, who pointed to the dominant role which laymen have often played in such institutions as hospitals. Such a possibility appears to have been obviated by a provision in the constitution which confines decisions on professional matters to the medical membership of the Board of Trustees. The view that the expanding contact of psychoanalysis with the community at large made lay membership highly desirable finally prevailed