St. Louis
As organized psychoanalysis prepares for the next century, whether we like it or not we must recognize that this is an era of rapid and major change. If we are to maintain the presence of psychoanalysis as a visible and respected discipline and profession, the American must acknowledge and be an active participate in that change—analysts must not “circle the wagons” or merely talk among ourselves about “the good old days.”
Given some of the issues that confront the American, there is an urgent need for creative and imaginative thinking and collaboration, accompanied by expeditious action, to face and resolve our problems. In the past this Association has been unable to seize the initiative, has spent important energy in prolonged debate, and has failed to take advantage of opportunities we now wish we had again.
We need to modify our self image as an elitest organization while simultaneously maintaining standards of excellence. Without lowering standards we should find a way to separate membership in the American from the process of certification (analogous to the American Psychiatric Association). The American ought to negotiate alliances with other psychoanalytic professional groups so that analysis as a discipline may speak with a stronger voice. In our educational and organizational policies,
the organization needs to encourage and support psychoanalytic careers that offer alternatives to the ego-ideal of the training analyst, and thus recognize the many other valuable contributions in psychiatric residency and medical school educational and research programs, so that our active presence serves as a model of how and why psychoanalysis is important to psychiatry. We should try to find ways more actively to participate in the political processes involved in the emerging changes in the health care delivery system, lest we be devalued or ignored. And we need to improve our image and the awareness of our relevance and competence to the general public at large.
These are but some of the issues confronting us as a professional association today. Effective adaptation will require individual and group efforts, and the type of leadership that can forge a consensus. Our energies must result in the type of creative change that will ensure the growth and vitality of psychoanalysis for the future.