President's Report

During this past year, I have observed NCSPP's collaborative mission in action throughout the organization. I have witnessed this spirit through many meetings and e-mail chains, where an idea is developed through conversation and no one needs to take credit. This mindset is equally true in the committees; these work groups produce programming that brings new forms of analytic thinking to our course offerings. Observing this creative group process during the year has been a very enjoyable part of my tenure.

This collaborative effort is pursued in NCSPP's most important relationships. NCSPP values its long-standing partnership with the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC), the Psychoanalytic Couples Psychotherapy Group (PCPG), as well as the emerging presence of the Reflective Spaces/Material Places (RSMP) project. It is my belief NCSPP most completely fulfills its mission in these creative partnerships, where the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts.

NCSPP's partnership with PINC is critical to success of both organizations. While their histories are intertwined, each can contribute to the other. Both organizations bring their unique qualities to this relationship (now 25 years old) that has built a multilayered community conversation. This same outcome is found in NCSPP's alliance with the Psychoanalytic Couples Psychotherapy Group. Lead by Shelley Nathans, this association is now in its seventh year. Recently, PCPG hosted the Tavistock Clinic's Andrew Balfour, who talked from a psychoanalytic perspective about working with couples in older age, an issue that is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in clinical practice.

The RSMP work group continues to develop its important focus on the under-served, under-resourced, and underrepresented members of the Bay Area community. While RSMP has already widened the envelope to reach those in need, the future scope of their social impact and the creative options for service could be significan