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The role of the psychoanalyst in relation to his society is an important one particularly when the analyst ventures outside of his consulting room and views the multitude of problems in society. The social responsibility of the psychoanalyst has been recognized in recent times by actions of the American Psychoanalytic Association, by its panels dealing with different aspects of the relationship of the psychoanalyst and the community, by the formation of its Committee on Social Problems under the chairmanship of the late Joseph J. Michaels, and by actions such as its position statement on the Joint Commission report, Action for Mental Health.
The Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry with its Committee on Social Issues has for twenty years brought forth a series of reports and symposia dealing with important social problems. Besides psychiatrists and psychoanalysts the membership of GAP has included sociologists, anthropologists, and other scientists.
The reports and symposia deal with the relationship of psychiatry to desegregation, to international relations, to the area of forceful indoctrination, and finally to the threat of nuclear war. Data have been collected from a variety of fields, including sociology, anthropology, economics, and the physical sciences. These data are examined in an attempt to determine dynamic processes involved in intra- and intergroup relations. An effort is made to understand the specific group psychological phenomena as well as the role of individual psychological processes in determining the forces at work and the ultimate outcome. The reports point the way toward the