The President's Page

This is my swan song message to our membership as the president of our organization. I count it a rare privilege to have had this opportunity and am deeply appreciative to have had so many personal contacts with many of our members and thus to deepen ties of friendship with them. I regard this office as a signal honor conferred upon me, but in addition I have felt a very keen sense of obligation and responsibility in it.

Through the unselfish investment of time and effort by many of our members, we have made progress in the last two years. At great personal sacrifice a group of our members originated and is writing and editing this Bulletin for us. I am convinced of its enormous value to the Association. I am also indebted, as is the entire association, to another group of our membership for serving as committee chairmen and committee members. They have organized in the last two years to further the practice and application of psychoanalysis. I owe a special personal debt to the Program Committee and feel that the change which it has instituted in our meetings by organizing panel discussions has been very well received by our membership. In the first group of personal letters I received from the membership two years ago, the most frequent complaint concerned the programs of our annual meetings. The panel method has made it possible for many more members to participate in these meetings. Our committee on Standards and Policies has made very real progress during the past two years. Undoubtedly, the opening of a permanent office in New York, with even the part time help of an administrative secretary, has greatly increased the efficiency of our organization. I regret that the recommendations in my presidential remarks were not made earlier so that those which are acceptable might have come to fruition within my term of office. On the other hand, some of them have already been partially implemented and the others will receive serious and thoughtful considerat