Two important modifications in the May, 1975 proposals for a Certification Board were advanced by the Joint Ad Hoc Committee and discussed by the Board and Council at the December meeting of the Association. Too few responses had been received by the Committee for a detailed report of the reactions of societies and institutes to the original proposals, but concern had been expressed by a few about the possible effect of a Certifying Board completely independent of the American on the functions of some committees of the Board on Professional Standards. It was also thought by some that an independent Board, if established by the A.Psa.A. alone, might exacerbate tensions with other psychoanalytic groups who would want to have a voice in setting standards and procedures.
The Committee therefore recommended that the certifying body should be an autonomous structure of the Board of Professional Standards, and not, as previously suggested, to become ultimately independent of the American. Such a national certifying board, with examiners from institutes other than the applicant's, would not present a conflict of interest, whereas the practice of local institutes of bestowing certification upon graduation is definitely open to this charge.
An exclusively A.Psa.A. Certifying Board would not be comparable to the usual medical specialty boards and therefore might fail to achieve the same degree of recognition initially by governmental and other outside agencies, but it would best meet the Association's primary objective of maintaining standards and insuring the competency of future training and supervising analysts. Moreover, it would serve the purpose of protecting fully the interrelated functions of the BOPS.
Although the Membership Committee has functioned somewhat like the proposed certifying board in the past, the equation of certification with membership has created confusion. Under the new plan, certification of competency in psychoanalysis would be separated from the other functions of a Membership Committee. A graduate of an approved institute might apply for and obtain certification even without intending to become a member of the American.
A second modification was that changes in membership categories, proposed in the May, 1975 report, be considered separately after the establishment of a certifying board. Such changes are not integral to consideration of certification, and a forthright responsibility for certifition should be taken without the issue being tied to automatic membership. After certification is established, changes in membership categories and the criteria for various categories could be considered. The Committee proposed a step-by-step approach, with sequential consideration of the separate issues.
To set up a certifying board within the Association, specific by-law changes would be proposed to establish its composition, the method of selection of its members, its responsibilities, and its authority. Such changes would necessarily eliminate certification by local institutes, whose graduates would instead receive a diploma signifying that they have completed the course of training at that institute. Like graduates of other specialty training programs, they would be qualified to practice, but certification in psychoanalysis would have to be achieved through examination by the national board.