Since my last report, many significant developments have taken place in the matters brought to your attention then.
Our international initiatives have all advanced specific plans for meetings with foreign colleagues. Our psychoanalytic “Mission to Moscow” will take place in April.
Plans for the meeting with the European Psychoanalytical Federation are set for July 20-22 in Cork, Ireland. We will have the opportunity to compare our theoretical and technical approaches by presenting clinical cases in small discussion groups.
The weekend meeting with our Latin American colleagues of FEPAL, following a format similar to that of the EPF, will take place in Miami on the weekend prior to the mid-winter meeting of the American.
Those of you who attended the recent meetings of the American in New York are aware of several important developments in Board and Council. Jay Krent, in his report of the Chairman of the Board, will describe more fully the evolution of the CNMGT process with the decision of the Board to grant the institutes responsibility for assessing nonmedical applicants' personal suitability and clinical competence. The CNMCT will continue to evaluate eligibility to apply and the completeness of the institutes' applications for waiver.
The Executive Council heard the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Membership and Organization, which had been appointed to study the proposal to remove the requirement of certification for active membership. The Committee had studied the relevant history and gathered opinions from all the societies and institutes, as well as from many individuals. The varied and strongly held positions of those sources were reflected in the Committee itself, which recommended further study of the consequences and risks of such a major change in our organization.
Several hours of debate in the Council revealed a polarization of opinions, one position stressing the potential for erosion of standards and the other the potential for a stronger organization by virtue of full inclusion of those graduates who do not undergo the certification process. The Committee decided against recommending further study and, instead, approved a motion to amend the by-laws “to provide for a class of voting membership for which any graduate of an institute accredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association is automatically eligible.”
In consideration of the potential for encroachment on the Board and on educational standards, the motion specified that only certified members may serve on the Board and its committees, be appointed as training and supervisory analysts, and vote on by-law amendments relating to the Board.
Although there was strong disagreement abut the wisdom of such a major change, there was also unanimity of concern about safeguarding Board functions and standards and about the value and prestige of membership. This concern was expressed in different ways, ranging from reassurances that removing the certification requirement from active membership need not affect standards, to warnings that such a move would provide momentum for increased organizational focus on professional matters at the expense of education and standards.
The Executive Council's action approved general principles of the separation of certification and membership. The exact wording and placement in the by-laws of the specific changes required will be work out by a task force consisting of Marvin Margolis, Chair; Mike Leavitt, Larry Chalfin, Edith Sabshin, and Bud Heijn. The charge to the task force, reflecting the Council's action, is to provide an amendment first to remove certification as a prerequisite for active membership; and, second, to build into that amendment appropriate safeguards for Board functions and standards. This amendment will be brought back to the Council in May for its approval.
Because of the significance of this proposed amendment, it is vital that the membership participate in this process. I encourage you to discuss the amendment with your Executive Councilors and Fellows personally or in special meetings, both before the May meeting and afterwards.
Homer C. Curtis