The following are selected items from The Board on Professional Standards and the Executive Council during the December 1979 meeting in New York. Other items appear separately elsewhere in this issue.
Dr. Leonard Shengold, chairman of the Committee on Membership reported to the Board that, as of December 1, 1979, there were 1,522 Active Members, 457 Associate Members, and 633 Affiliate (Candidate) Members. In the six years since these membership categories were established, and especially since certification procedures were adopted in 1977, an increasing percentage of graduates have expressed the wish to be certified. The Committee is considering the idea of recommending some kind of non-voting affiliation for those with partial training as well as those with full clinical training who do not wish to be certified, but believes that the primary need is to support the certification process.
The Board heard several formal and informal proposals to alter membership requirements so as to make membership more accessible to eligible applicants, to extend Associate Membership indefinitely or make it automatically renewable. Most speakers, however, including Dr. Hall, new chairman of the Board, objected to such proposals, feeling that premature alterations in the By-laws might be harmful.
The Board was privileged to hear Dr. Stanley Goodman, outgoing chairman, make a presentation on the basic structure of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Dr. Goodman pointed out that the Board on Professional Standards is of central importance and that proposals to modify it or weaken it by altering the membership or certification processes were short-sighted and ill-informed. “We must not,” he said, “be distracted from the pursuit of quality by excessive preoccupation with the relatively secondary goals of increased membership, broader professional alliance, or popular approval … I believe that we are prepared to continue with the necessary effort to retain the genuine authority we now possess, the authority of excellence.”
The single most active item on the Council agenda was a proposal submitted to the President, Dr. Solomon, by 12 members of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society for an amendment to the By-laws which would permit Associate Members to request extensions of their membership every three years for an indefinite period of time. Dr. Robert R. Nunn, who presented and elaborated on the proposal, pointed out that the Chicago Society was particularly interested in soliciting an expression of opinion on the issue from other societies and from the membership at large rather
than seeking an urgent decision, and he asked that the discussion be continued. Council was in agreement with this request, and Dr. Solomon gave assurance that the discussion would be resumed at the Spring Meeting in San Francisco.
Dr. Herbert S. Gaskill, chairman of the Committee on National Issues, announced the retention of a legislative consultant, Mr. Allan Fox of the law firm of Leighton, Conklin and Lemov of Washington, D.C. Mr. Fox will work cooperatively with Mr. Jay Cutler of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Gaskill recommended and the Council approved a $30 per member assessment to support the retention of the legislative consultant.
Dr. Gaskill next asked that the status of the Committee on National Issues be changed from an Ad Hoc to a Standing Committee of Council, and this proposal was also approved.
Dr. Richard Isay reported that he and Dr. Theodore Jacobs, editors of the Newsletter for the past three and a half years, were retiring, to be succeeded by Dr. Peter Hartocollis. While Dr. Isay was thankful for the many gratifying experiences he and Dr. Jacobs had had in this job, he also felt puzzled and disappointed at the reluctance of the membership to express in writing their views on the many important concerns facing the organization and psychoanalysis as a profession. Dr. Isay reiterated his suggestion that the Newsletter be used as a medium for informing the membership of the background and qualifications of candidates for national office in the Association.
Dr. Jerome Karasic, chairman of the Committee on Social Issues, outlined their many activities over the past three years, including work on such issues as the vulnerable child and the child at risk, teenage pregnancy, foster care, maternal and child welfare, midlife, aging, drugs and alcohol. The Committee on Social Issues will be working closely with Dr. Gaskill's Committee on National Issues and Mr. Allan Fox, new legislative consultant.
Dr. Warren S. Kennison, chairman of the Committee on Insurance Programs, reported that their questionnaire on issues of insurance and confidentiality is now ready for distribution to Affiliate Societies. Replies to the questionnaire are to be by discussion rather than “yes” or “no” answers. Results are expected to be available at the Spring Meeting.
Dr. Jerome S. Beigler, chairman of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Confidentiality, reported that he and his committee members have continued to follow closely the APA-CHAMPUS Project, the APA-Aetna Project, the so-called “Privacy” bills of President Carter and Senators Javits and Ribicoff, and an important Federal District Court case in Hawaii, ramifications of the Zurcher case, and derivatives of the Tarasoff decision.
Dr. David Kairys, chairman of the Ethics Committee, requested that the chairmanship of this Committee be changed to a three-year term in lieu of the present one-year term. Since this is a Joint Committee of Board and Council, both Board and Council gave their approval.