Dr. Burness E. Moore, Chairman of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) since 1962, will retire from that position in May. He will be succeeded by Dr. Bernard Pacella, who has served as Co-Chairman for the past year.
During Dr. Moore's tenure, the public information activities of the Association have expanded in both size and scope, an expansion which reflects the philosophy he brought to his task when he accepted the chairmanship. In Dr. Moore's view, the task of the CPI goes beyond the answering of inaccurate public statements about psychoanalysis; it should involve, he has felt, an active effort to convey to the public a realistic picture of the organization, ideas, aspirations and limitations of psychoanalysis. (This goal, it should be noted, has nothing in common with the meretricious process of creating
an “image” which is characteristic of so many “public relations” programs.)
A related aim of the CPI, Dr. Moore feels, is to increase the members' knowledge of the activities of the Association and of happenings in the world of analysis.
In assuming the chairmanship, Dr. Moore set about to expand his Committtee in such a way as to make it more representative of the entire Association (numerically, the Committee was increased from 3 or 4 members to about 12), and to build it into a dynamic group engaged in an ongoing study of the problems of public information. He established liaison with the public information committees of the local Societies, and conducted a series of workshops and conferences involving his Committee and the local chairmen. In order to have professional guidance, particularly with regard to making better contact with news media, Dr. Moore proposed, and ultimately won acceptance for the appointment of a public relations consultant. Mr. Eugene Kone was engaged in 1966; a major tangible result of his appointment was the successful seminar for science writers held in December, 1967 (Newsletter, Feb., 1968). In connection with this seminar, Dr. Moore's Committee, in collaboration with the Committee on Indexing, prepared a Glossary of Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts; the Glossary has attracted interest from many directions and gives promise of becoming a staple item.
To achieve the aim of better internal information Dr. Moore proposed the idea of an Association newspaper. This proposal was in time also accepted by the Executive Council and the Newsletter came into existence in January, 1967. Dr. Moore, as an ex-officio member of its staff, has played an active role in the publication of the Newsletter.
In view of the belief held in some quarters that psychoanalysts isolate themselves behind their couches and have no interest in the mental health problems of the community, Dr. Moore and others felt it important to assemble hard data on the activities of psychoanalysts. A pilot survey of a fraction of the Association, conducted by his Committee in collaboration with the Committee on Social Problems, revealed a high level of community involvement among analysts (Newsletter, Sept., 1967). A survey of the entire membership, by questionnaire, is now in progress.
Association officers, Committee Chairmen and many others with whom Dr. Moore has worked have been impressed with the imaginativeness, energy and dedication he has brought to his work. The concensus is that he has been responsible for the establishment of a vigorous, active program from which the Association will long benefit.