President's Report

I am tempted in writing this report to embark on a political rant: the strong measure against psychologists’ involvement in torture has just been defeated by the American Psychological Association (APA), so the APA remains in the enviable position of representing the last and only “humanitarian” justification for torture by the current Administration. This Administration, itself, seems to present a classic case of pathological narcissism writ large on a political scale. But I suspect I'd be preaching largely to the choir; and, anyway, there are matters closer to home, which, while not as important, nevertheless deserve the attention of the readers of this journal.

In my spring report I mentioned the strategic planning process we began earlier this year, in which we sought to appraise how to best serve our mission of strengthening and supporting the practice of psychoanalytic psychology in Northern California. I noted that the original purpose of NCSPP may no longer be as relevant in the current environment: in particular, the need for advanced training in psychoanalysis for non-medical practitioners is well served by the several psychoanalytic institutes in the area. What is coming more into focus as a vital goal for NCSPP is the need to provide organizational and community affiliation for many in the wider psychoanalytic community, including practitioners of all psychoanalytically based therapies. This recognition suggests that we must keep in mind the needs of a clinically diverse group of people, both in terms of level of experience and practice modality. So, we are presented with a series of challenges in terms of how to serve the broad range of our membership. We seek to make a place for beginning clinicians, early-career clinicians transitioning from internships and graduate school, mid-career clinicians, and advanced members of our community. We wish to include those who are affiliated with an analytic institute and those who are not — though we are aware that