President's Report

As I write this, I am aware of how the psychoanalytical landscape is changing and has been changing in the Bay Area. I am hearing very often these days, “Drew, could you do something about how many classes and workshops and lectures there are out there? I don't know which ones to attend or which to let go!” Or, something like, “Drew, my weekends are hard enough to protect, my time is already so stretched, why is it that everything seems to fall so closely together in terms of events? I would like to do it all, but if I have to choose, sometimes I choose to stay home.” Obviously this message from members of the community is a mixed blessing: we are far from the days when psychoanalytic educational programming was scarce; now we have an abundance of courses, lectures, and symposiums from which to choose (some dare to say, “an overabundance”).

When I reflect on where NCSPP has been and where it is going, I have optimism that as an organization — in conjunction with other organizations and societies — we are in a unique position to help keep the psychoanalytic Weltanschauung vital and alive. But the role of NCSPP is changing and has changed. NCSPP is obviously alongside other entities in offering courses and trainings for psychoanalytic practitioners. Our 2007 strategic planning process helped us redefine our goals and reflect on our programming in order to better meet the challenges of the changing environment of abundant learning opportunities. We canvassed our constituency, our constituency spoke, and we listened. We decided to think more about creating a welcoming space for beginning and early-career clinicians. We agreed to enhance and specifically fashion less esoteric and more fundamental and useful curriculum choices for mid-career clinicians and advanced members in our constituency. Our 2007 vision and achievement was mentioned specifically and in detail in the Fall 2007 fort da by my predecessor, Adam Kremen, and does not have to be detailed here, but suffice t