Administrative Director Helen Fischer this year celebrates her twenty-fifth year with the American Psychoanalytic Association. To commemorate the anniversary, The Newsletter recently interviewed her.
In 1956 Mrs. Fischer was an unemployed, certified New York City public school teacher. She and her husband, William, (now a systems management consultant) had just returned from a three year stint in Saudi Arabia, where they had been employed as teachers by the Arabian-American Oil Company. Assuming that her license was still valid, she intended to return to teaching in New York. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Ficher, however, the Board of Education had a rule that one had to teach 30 days a year to retain a teaching license. “To hell with you,” Mrs. Fischer said (or thought) and promptly accepted a position as secretary to the Executive Secretary of the American Psychoanalytic Association, Mr. McVeigh. At that time, the American's full time staff consisted of three—Fischer, McVeigh, and a bookkeeper.
When Mr. McVeigh became ill, Mrs. Fischer performed more and more of the Executive Secretary's duties. It should be noted that, 25 years ago, the title “Executive Secretary” meant a secretary who functioned on an executive level, similar to the secretary of a corporation. The meaning is currently in use in Great Britain.
After Mr. McVeigh became too ill to work and eventually died, Mrs. Fischer became Acting Executive Secretary and then Executive Secretary. During the Presidency of Dr. George Pollock, it was decided to change Mrs. Fischer's title to the more familiar Administrative Director.
From the small three-person organization that Mrs. Fischer joined in 1956, the full time staff of the American has grown to a group of 10. In the intervening years, the structure of the American has also become much more complex and Mrs. Fischer's position much more demanding. Twenty-five years ago, the Association was much more of a scientific club. Many of the external pressures which we take for granted, had not yet appeared on the scene. Third party payers, insurance companies, PSRO's, and government agencies were either less intrusive or did not exist.
When queried about the future of psychoanalysis, Mrs. Fischer felt secure that the American will be maintained as a national association. “It is an excellent organization,” she said, “—very strong, very committed to its membership and not corrupt, as a number of organizations tend to become. The American is highly democratic. The officers are real people who are deeply interested in the membership.” In Mrs. Fischer's opinion, “The American will continue to provide a national scientific forum for psychoanalysis to represent the profession of psychoanalysis in the soiety at large.”
The above quotations illustrate the enthusiasm and dedication that Mrs. Fischer has for the American. She is very interested in the current questions before the Association, including whether to increase the number of non-medical analysts and whether to have a permanent category of membership for all institute graduates, regardless of certification. Although Mrs. Fischer implements but does not establish policy, she usually tries to ascertain what is best for the American.
Vital, attractive, and energetic, Helen Fischer is looking forward to many more productive years with the American Psychoanalytic Association. We at The Newsletter offer her congratulations and best wishes for the future.