The American Psychoanalytic Association celebrated its 75th Anniversary in the Nation's Capital in May. Attendance was strong and enthusiasm high. Among those who spoke to us at the Convocation on Friday morning were The Honorable Marion Berry, Jr., Mayor of Washington, D.C.; Shervert Frazier, Director of the National Institutes of Mental Health; Donald McDonald, Director of the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation and Mental Health Administration; Carol Nadelson, President of the APA; Melvin Sabshin, Medical Director of the APA; Robert Wallerstein, President of the IPA; Victor Aiza, President of the Latin American Federation; and Masahisa Nishizono, Director of Education of the Japanese Psychoanalytic Institute.
Tribute was paid to past Presidents of the American, many of whom were present for the occasion, including, among the most senior, David Beres and Bernard Bandler. Tribute was also paid to important figures in the scientific and educational realm of affiliated institutes. At this same meeting, grateful recognition was given to outgoing President Edward D. Joseph and his wife, Harriet, who was invited to share the podium with him.
The gavel was passed to Richard C.
Simons, the current President, and the Executive Committee was introduced, including the new President-Elect, Homer C. Curtis; Shelley Orgel, Chairman of the Board on Professional Standards; George H. Allison, Secretary of the Board; Bernard L. Pacella, Treasurer of the Association; and Austin Silber, Secretary of the Association.
The Plenary Speaker, Charles Brenner, was introduced by Jacob A. Arlow, who characterized Brenner as a generous teacher and a renowned psychoanalytic clinician and author. He noted that only Freud had sold more psychoanalytic books than Charles Brenner. Brenner's retrospective and personal view on psychoanalysis deeply involved his audience. He observed that after Freud's heroic and singular invention and elaboration of psychoanalytic theory, it was not clear to analysts in the ′40s and beyond, which trends and which contributors would be lasting. At that time it looked as if the field belonged to psychosomatic medicine, with Flanders Dunbar and Franz Alexander holding sway, and with psi phenomena and ethological studies also holding promise. As it turned out, Brenner noted, the future belonged to Anna Freud, Otto Fenichel, and Heinz Hartmann. Brenner then surveyed the current scene in the American with the wry question: Who can tell which of our present contenders, structural conflict, self psychology, object relations, or the developmentalists, will be viewed as central to analysis at the 100th Anniversary celebration?
After the two afternoon scientific panels on Recent Advances in Psychoanalysis and Contributions of Psychoanalysis to American Intellectual Life, the 75th Anniversary Ball was held at the New Federal Reserve Building. The setting was splendid, suitable for such an auspicious occasion, and the capacity crowd was in high spirits, enjoying the dancing, socializing, and lighthearted after-dinner speeches. The only cause for complaint was the long line for the food, offset for the most part by the humor the wait engendered.
The rest of the weekend was devoted to serious and creative panels, papers, and discussion groups, illustrating the vigor and strength of the American Psychoanalytic Association on the occasion of its 75th birthday. Congratulations and many more!