(Editor's Note—At the specific request of the Executive Committee, which considers an account of the philosophy, policies, and activities of the Committee on Public Information timely, the feature section of this issue of the Newsletter is devoted to a report from Dr. Burness E. Moore, Chairman of the Committee. Future articles will report on the long-term activities and plans of other standing committees, and on other matters of national interest in the field of psychoanalysis.)
Psychoanalysis has had to struggle for acceptance continuously for more than half a century, and the struggle continues. Indeed, there is indication of increasing derogation of analysis in the past few years. For this reason it is desirable that our members be informed about the public information and public relations policies and activities of the Association.
In earlier years the Committee on Public Information (CPI) established an open press policy in connection with the scientific meetings, operated a press room, and facilitated the access of reporters to papers and authors. Until 1962 these services were considered adequate.
Since 1962 the Executive Committee has fostered a more dynamic philosophy for the Committee on Public Information. In addition to its service activities, the CPI was to carry on a continuing investigation of the public information and public relations problems of our Association and the means by which they may be improved. A closer working relationship with the officers and the central office was established to facilitate prompt action.
Through the Executive Council the appointment of local committees on public information in affiliate societies was encouraged to meet the needs at that level and to provide a feedback of information from across the country. Representatives of the local committees were invited to meetings of the national committee and two workshops on common problems have been held.
Specific policies were formulated with respect to press relations at meetings, answering attacks, and cooperation with various news media. To help coordinate activities on the national and local levels, these decisions were made available to the local committees. The national committee serves as a clearing house for information concerning experiences and programs throughout the country and offers assistance to individuals and groups of members.
Out of the meetings and workshops a clearer definition of the objective of the Committee has been formulated: to disseminate accurate information to the professional and lay public about psychoanalysis and the activities of psychoanalysts.
A haphazard and indiscriminate mass effort directed to the public at large is not indicated, the CPI believes. Instead, attention should be directed to the psychologically gifted young people in their college, medical school, and residency years, and to the intellectual community which influences them. The importance of communicating psychoanalysis to scientists in other disciplines has been stressed.
Some reorientation of our attitude is necessary if we are to achieve these goals. Many psychoanalysts have been relatively unaware of the public informational and public relations aspects of their activities and have been content to pursue their investigations quietly, ignoring the outside world.
For this reason, while attempting to correct a somewhat distorted impression of psychoanalysis on the part of the public, the major effort of the Committee has been directed toward awakening an interest within the Association in regard to the nature and importance of public information activities.
It is gratifying to note that the Committee, which has had the support and sometimes active collaboration of the Executive Committee, is now receiving reports of increasing interest and activity by affiliate societies and members.
Recognition of the need for better communication between the administration and members led to the recommendation of a Newsletter, now an accomplished fact. The CPI had also long felt that expert public relations assistance could be of value in bringing the Association and its principles and activities into more effective communication with the scientific community and with governmental agencies interested in mental health and related matters. After careful exploration, Mr. Eugene Kone, who represents the Rockefeller University and the American Institute of Physics, was appointed public relations consultant to the Association. His appointment, which took effect in May, 1966, has already been productive.
A general canvassing of outside opinion led Mr. Kone to conclude that science writers in this country are surprisingly unsophisticated about psychoanalysis. Since these writers influence the public's impression of any science, their lack of knowledge has led to much general misinformation. Special effort is indicated to inform them more adequately, and Mr. Kone is planning to arrange a seminar on psychoanalysis for science writers.
From time to time the CPI has encouraged individual members to cooperate with various news media in the preparation of articles and programs about psychoanalysis.
It has been difficult, on the whole, to find authoritative members who are willing to write articles on psychoanalysis for other than psychoanalytic journals, even when respected publications are involved.
On the other hand, people outside the mainstream of psychoanalysis have, by our default, become the popular spokesmen for psychoanalysis, sometimes to our detriment.
What to do about attacks in the press against psychoanalysis has been a constant concern of the Committee. Whenever attacks have national distribution, as in the case of the September 5 editorial in Medical Tribune and the February issue of Harper's, the national committee takes appropriate action after consultation with the President and Executive Committee.
Situations in various parts of the country may not reach the attention of the CPI until it is too late for effective action, and members in each community should be alert to the need for prompt and appropriate counter measures. The CPI is glad to consult with local groups about these matters, and in any event, appreciates information about the problem and the action taken.
A hopeful sign is the increasing participation of our members in countering the harmful effect of such attacks. In letters to the Editors of various publications a number of distinguished colleagues have corrected misinformation. Discretion is indicated, however, since answering scurrilous attacks often results only in calling attention a second time to the objectionable article which would otherwise soon disappear from view.
The most worthwhile counter measure is news of the positive value of psychoanalysis.
During a necessary period of preoccupation with organizational matters, including the firm establishment and maintenance of standards, procedures of the Association have been too slow for timely and effective organizational participation in the social trends of the times. Although the analytic ideal that careful study and investigation should precede action is desirable, the contributions which psychoanalysis could make have sometimes been impeded by delay.
In 1962 the CPI recommended and has since pressed for greater participation by psychoanalytic organizations as opposed to individuals (who are often not identified as analysts) in approaches to social problems. Specifically advocated were studies of the appropriate role of psychoanalysis in relationship to community psychiatry, of the national mental health program, and of preventative measures which might be derived from psychoanalytic knowledge.
The Committee on Social Problems, which adopted the recommended project of collating psychoanalytic knowledge relating to prevention, has worked in close collaboration with the CPI on other mutual interests. Recently the Executive Committee asked the Committee on Social Problems to explore the concepts and practices of community psychiatry.
An important project of the CPI has arisen from the need to collect data on the professional activities of analysts outside their immediate field. Under the joint sponsorship of the CPI and the Committee on Social Problems, a pilot survey of the activities of members has been completed and is now being considered by the Executive Council. Some of the findings of the survey will be reported in the next issue of the Newsletter, and copies of the survey may be obtained from the Central Office.
The survey provides concrete evidence of the extraordinary activity of analysts in the education and training of mental health workers and of the services they give to hospitals and agencies in their communities. It will help correct some of the common misconceptions about psychoanalysis, and furnishes evidence of the strength and vitality of the Association.
In conclusion: The work of the CPI involves a study of our position in the modern world, and of the way in which we, as individuals and as an organization, function in that world. Hopefully, it may result in a better relationship between Psychoanalysis and Society.