Dr. Edward D. Joseph became President of the American Psychoanalytic Association on May 5, 1984. In a recent conversation, he discussed plans for his term of office. The new President is relieved that the recent polarization of the membership over the issue of nonmedical training is, for the time being, no longer in the forefront. Having determined at the recent Annual Meeting that we have done all we can for now, our institutional energy can now be diverted into other channels.
Dr. Joseph is particularly interested, for example, in the nationwide survey which will be undertaken by a joint committee of the Executive Council and Board on Professional Standards into the courses and programs in psychoanalytic psychotherapy being given to therapists who are neither analysts nor candidates. He and Dr. Homer Curtis, Chairman of the Board, would like to learn the variety and extent of such training programs being offered by our institutes and societies. Dr. Joseph wonders how often students in such situations are, or believe that they are, in a formal training program or, alternately, that they are taking occasional courses for information or CME credit. The American's own program for nonanalysts, for example, is clearly in the latter category by intent and goal. Naturally, no conclusions or recommendations can be made until the survey is complete. (A summary of the initial Board deliberations on this subject appears in this issue of the Newsletter. See p. 1)
Dr. Joseph believes that the survey may, importantly, help to clarify and differentiate psychoanalysis and analytic psychotherapy, or at least stimulate efforts toward this goal. Since most analysts also practice psychotherapy, he wonders whether, at some point, institutes should consider teaching psychotherapy. He recently edited a work with Dr. Robert Wallerstein which bears on these important questions, Psychotherapy: Its Impact on Psychoanalytic Training.
Research is another issue to which Dr. Joseph would like to devote attention during his tenure. The National Institute of Mental Health, over the next several years, is providing funds for studies in the area of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The new President believes that the survival of psychoanalysis, both scientifically and economically, is dependent on an increase of sound psychoanalytic research; he, therefore, hopes that more analysts will get involved in this area. The studies should provide solid data which will be of great scientific value and will complement the case material that is usually presented. Directors of the Fund for Psychoanalytic
Research have expressed their willingness to supply supplemental funds for such projects and other support. Dr. Joseph adds that traditionally there is a great deal of prestige associated with being a training analyst. He believes that psychoanalytic researchers deserve an equally prestigious position within our field.
The new President is also interested in the American obtaining a permanent home. With constant escalation of rents and an increasing uncertainty of obtaining adequate space, he suggests that it is advantageous that the American acquire “a home of its own.” A search is on for a suitable purchase within the resources of the Association. The Treasurer, Dr. Bernard Pacella, is working on various means of financing such an undertaking.
Dr. Joseph looks forward to closer cooperation with the American Psychiatric Association during the next two years. Their current President, Dr. John Talbott, and the President-Elect, Dr. Carol Nadelson, are both certified analysts. To date, a number of conferences have been held between the two Executive Boards, and plans are under way to have five or six such conferences each year. Joint scientific meetings between the two Associations will resume in Dallas in 1985. In Washington, D.C. in 1986, and thereafter, the two groups will meet in the same city, as was traditional until recent years. In addition, there are hopes that a scientific body will be established which will include members of the American Psychoanalytic Association to review publications of the American Psychiatric Association prior to publication.
A collaborative approach with the American Psychiatric Association, which has professional staff and expertise, would also be helpful in the area of public relations, Dr. Joseph believes. With the recent increased cooperation, there is every expectation that this will occur. In addition, he believes that occasional conferences for science writers at our meetings would be of value.
Dr. Joseph was also President of the American in 1972-1973 for the then one-year period, and he looks forward to his current two-year term. Two years as President-Elect and two years as President give an individual the opportunity to understand the organization and to move some projects to fruition. He recalls that when there was only a one-year term, one could barely learn one's way around before it was time to step down.
President of the International Psychoanalytical Association from 1977-1981, Dr. Joseph points out that the American is an important and respected component of the International. He believes that in the United States we sometimes lose touch with the international dimensions of the field. Study groups are beginning, for example, in such diverse locations as Korea and Costa Rica. Dr. Joseph believes his Presidency of the International has given him a broader perspective of psychoanalysis and the way it differs in different countries. “The way we do it is not the only way to do it.”
The American Psychoanalytic Association is fortunate that its new President is a man of multiple capabilities. He has been a Training and Supervising Analyst at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute since 1963 and a Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine since 1968. A prolific researcher and author, his newest work, edited with Dr. Daniel Widlocher, is Identity of the Psychoanalyst, published as a monograph of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Talented as a clinician, teacher, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Joseph brings a wealth of expertise, experience, and energy to his present position. The Association is fortunate indeed to have Dr. Joseph and his many capabilities working for us for the next two years.