The final report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Policies and Problems of Membership, chaired by Dr. Jay Katz, was submitted at the Fall Meeting of the Association held in December, 1971. Preliminary versions of this report had already stirred wide interest and extensive controversy. The final report, ending with seven recommendations, was discussed at length in both the Board on Professional Standards and the Executive Council. The members of the Committee (Drs. Sidney Levin, Gerhard Piers, Jerome L. Saperstein, Herbert J. Schlesinger, and Jay Shorr) along with its Chairman, concurred unanimously in five of the seven recommendations. Dr. Shorr submitted a minority report dissenting from two of the recommendations.
The seven recommendations in condensed form are as follows:
That ways be found to stimulate interest in psychoanalysis during the undergraduate and graduate phase of education.
That candidates be accepted for training earlier in their professional careers.
The creation of a formal membership status for candidates.
The elimination of the two year waiting period between graduation from an Institute and eligibility for acceptance by the Association, and, at the same time, modifications in the entire application procedure conducted
by the Membership Committee.
That membership should not depend on prior professional labels.
That there be four categories of membership, (a) regular membership, (b) affiliate membership, (c) scientific associate, (d) candidate membership.
That the APsaA endeaver to make membership more meaningful to its members.
Dr. Shorr's dissent applied to recommendations 4 and 6.
Although the Ad Hoc Committee had had consultative advise from two members of the Board on Professional Standards, it was a committee of the Executive Council and it was in the Council that the vote was taken on the Committee's recommendations. Council's decision was to accept recommendations 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7, and to refer the other two recommendations to a new joint committee of both Board and Council for further study. A similar motion had been passed by the Board the previous day. It was noted by Council in taking this action that recommendation 3, advocating formal membership status for candidates, had already been accepted and was under study by an Ad Hoc Committee (see page 4).
There was a desire in the Council that the report be made available to candidates and graduates. In view of its length, Council moved that an abbreviated form of the report be prepared and that this be available on request.