Explicit certification in psychoanalysis by the Board on Professional Standards, replacing the longstanding but merely implied certification achieved through the membership application procedure, is now available to graduates of those accredited psychoanalytic institutes within the structure of the American Psychoanalytic Association.
The recent By-Law Amendment to this effect was passed by the overwhelming majority vote of the membership, 971 to 48. Thus, it seems clear that the members wished to establish a clearly identifiable certification procedure that would not depend on or demand an obligatory membership in the Association. Eligible individuals may now apply for certification even if they do not wish to become members. However, certification remains (in the sense that the previous membership procedure was an implied certification) a prerequisite for active membership. The American Psychoanalytic Association will continue to be constituted by board certified psychoanalysts (Active Members), psychoanalysts graduated from accredited institutes but not yet certified (Associate Members), and students in good standing at accredited institutes (Affiliate Members).
Understandably, it is hoped that most, if not all, of the eligible applicants for certification will elect to become Active Members once certified. There is an obvious need for the widest possible participation of certified analysts in the thoughtful and dedicated guidance as well as financial support of the Association in its scientific, professional, and educational activities. It seems reasonable to suppose that new graduates will continue to see the importance of certification by the Board as it relates to public and professional accountability and the maintenance of psychoanalytic educational standards.
What does our certification signify and to whom will it have significance? Our new explicit certification, just as our previous implied certification over the past thirty years, is granted after careful examination of an eligible applicant's qualifications by a
panel of experienced psychoanalytic educators from accredited institutes other than the applicant's institute. In its present form, it is a written examination, with essentially one problem posed for the applicant: “Present each of your supervised analytic cases in somewhat condensed form and demonstrate in the course of that presentation your understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice in its application (a) to the selection of the patient as suitable for the usual analytic method and (b) to the competent induction, management, and resolution of the analytic process.” During recent years a personal interview has been introduced in selected instances to resolve questions not answered by the written material alone. This supplemental mode of examination may be expanded in the future as the Certification Committee continues to study the effectiveness of its methods.
Such a certification procedure, adapted to the special circumstances and subject matter of our field, even if still far from perfect, is significant. The Board perceives it as an effective confirmation, by an other-than-local body, of the quality of individual competence achieved and the standards of training maintained at the local accredited institute. The significance to others as well as ourselves of board certification of individuals, as well as the rigorous program of accreditation and reaccreditation of psychoanalytic institutes, finally depends, of course, on the merit that is actually demonstrated rather than proclaimed.
A part of the reality which has determined our particular certification procedures is the fact that many individuals and organizations not related to the American Psychoanalytic Association have laid claim to the name “psychoanalysis” and the individual designation of “psychoanalyst”. We have been, and will continue to be, meticulous in not claiming or seeking recognition as the exclusive certifying or accrediting agency in psychoanalysis. It is apparent that the situation in psychoanalysis is very different from that in most other professional specialties where unanimity in basic concepts and therapeutic techniques might allow a single certifying Board or accrediting authority to represent the field adequately. It should also be noted that graduates of our accredited institutes clearly have the right to hold themselves out to the public as psychoanalysts, just as graduates of approved residency programs properly designate themselves psychiatrists. The explicit certification by the Board on Professional Standards offers the locally graduated psychoanalyst a significantly broader confirmation that his competence has been demonstrated.
A Committee on Certification has now been constituted as a standing committee of the Board on Professional Standards. Applications for certification, including the indication of wish for active membership which is contingent on certification, should be directed to the Committee on Certification. Applications for action by the Board at the Fall meeting must be filed with the Committee by September 1; those intended for action at the Spring meeting must be filed by January 1. Detailed information regarding application by recent graduates as well as pre-1965 graduates (who have until December 1, 1977 to apply under a special Board ruling) is available on request at the Central Office. The Certification Committee will honor remedial recommendations the Membership Committee made with regard to particular deferred applications. Further individual questions may be addressed to the Chairman of the Committee on Certification.
Certification in child analysis is also being instituted at the present time. All graduates, as of May 1, 1977, of Board accredited child analytic training programs of our accredited institutes and all Board recognized child analysis supervisors will automatically receive certification in child analysis. All child analysis graduates after May 1, 1977 may apply for such certification to the Committee on Certification where their qualifications will be examined by a designated Subcommittee on Child Analysis Certification. Eligibility for certification in child analysis includes prior or simultaneous achievement of certification in adult psychoanalysis.
The Committee is composed at present of the following distinguished psychoanalytic educators: Justin Krent, M.D., Chairman, Robert A. Gillman, M.D., J. Cotter-Herschberg, M.D., Daniel S. Jaffe, M.D., Edward Knight, M.D., Burness E. Moore, M.D., Stanley H. Shapiro, M.D., and Edward M. Weinshel, M.D. The Subcommittee on Child Analysis Certification so far includes Jules Glenn, M.D. and Calvin Settlage, M.D.
The Committee on Membership has been retained as a standing Committee of the Board to attend to the several by-law mandated Board responsibilities with regard to membership requirements and membership categories. For example, recommendations must be made each year as to the advisability in individual instances of specific extensions of the three year limit on the Associate Membership. The Committee on Membership will, of course, no longer evaluate applications for active membership as it previously did, since active membership is now essentially automatic, if desired, following certification. The not yet fully constituted committee at present includes Leonard Shengold, M.D., Chairman, and Paul Gray, M.D.
Stanley Goodman
Chairman, Board on Professional Standards