Two historic proposals for amending the by-laws of The American moved forward as a result of actions taken by the Board on Professional Standards and the Executive Council at the winter meetings in Miami. The first proposal, to be submitted to the membership for vote in February, will extend active membership to all graduates of accredited institutes without the requirement for certification. The second, which will be further considered by the Board and Council at the May 1991 meeting and presented to the membership for vote soon thereafter, will extend eligibility for clinical training without the requirement for a waiver to nonmedical applicants holding doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, mental health, or clinical social work.
Both proposals grew out of actions in the Executive Council, the first at the 1988 New York meeting; the second, from the 1990 Council in New York. If two-thirds of the voting members approve of the proposals, they will become by-laws.
Marvin Margolis, who assumed chairmanship of the Board at this meeting, following the untimely death of Justin Krent, called this “a time of accelerated change and considerable risk for our Association. While the delinking of membership from certification would act to immediately include our graduates in the affairs of The American, we would have to find alternative ways to enhance the role that certification plays in the development of psychoanalysts.” George Allison, President of the Association, added, “The need for change is urgent. Should the delinkage proposal fail, other means must be undertaken to bring young people into the Association and to meet today's challenges to psychoanalysis in all its aspects.”
Edith Sabshin, who succeeded Dr. Margolis as Chair of the Task Force on Amending Active Membership for Non-Certified Graduates, presented the recommendations of the task force to both Board and Council in Miami. One version of the proposal had been circulated to institutes and societies prior to the meetings. However, as presented to the Board and Council, the proposal had been altered to provide for separate membership committees in Board and Council. Graduates of accredited institutes would apply for active membership, which would be automatically
granted once credentials were verified by the membership committees.
Regarding the relationship of the two membership committees, Dr. Sabshin explained that membership applications would be simultaneously submitted to the two committees. The Board committee would render to the Council committee an opinion as to whether or not an applicant met the established educational, character, and ethical requirements for membership. The Council Committee on Membership would consider the opinion of the Board committee in its review but would alone be empowered to render a decision on the application. Dr. Margolis explained to the Council that, by this arrangement, the Board would surrender some of its power with respect to membership, but would be better able to accumulate knowledge about the educational process as conducted by institutes around the country. Homer Curtis noted to the Council that this arrangement would change the character of the Association by shifting the responsibility for judging competence from the national organization to the level of the local institute.
The proposed amendment would create a two-tiered voting system wherein only certified members would be allowed to vote on Board-related issues. Dr. Margolis clarified that this compromise provision is intended to provide time for The American to assess the impact of the amendment on the membership of the Association. Particularly at issue is whether delinking membership from certification would deemphasize the importance of certification as a highly valued professional step for the membership at large. Dr. Margolis stated, “The two-tiered system is intended to be a temporary measure. As soon as we could be certain that certification was maintaining its position among our members as a sought-after credential, we could drop the two-tiered voting system and establish full voting rights for all members. I believe that we would find ways to strengthen certification in the near future.”
Current Associate or Extended Associate Members of The American would be granted automatic membership upon request. Other (nonmember) graduates would follow established application procedures.
Both Board and Council overwhelmingly approved of the form of the proposal. On the principle of delinkage of certification and membership, the Board voted 31 in favor and 25 opposed; on the details of the proposed amendment, however, it voted 42 in favor and 9 opposed. The Council voted 30 in favor of the proposal, 6 opposed, and 1 abstention.
President Allison, on behalf of the May 1990 Executive Council, appointed a committee to draft an amendment to the by-laws that would expand eligibility for training. Homer Curtis, who was appointed chair of this task force, presented his committee's preliminary amendment. Automatic eligibility for training would be granted to qualified nonmedical applicants in the professional categories of Doctors of Clinical Psychology (PhD) and PsyD), Doctors of Mental Health (DMH), and Doctors of Clinical Social Work (PhD and DSW).
In his presentation to the Council, Dr. Curtis described the gradual evolution of eligibility requirements within The American and the rationale for the current proposal. Although the committee had considered automatic eligibility for MSW social workers, committee members felt that a doctoral degree requirement would provide the best possible assurance of equivalence of academic and clinical skills to those of other candidates. Dr. Curtis also noted the current trend toward doctoral programs in clinical social work. Social workers who have received additional clinical didactic experience beyond the MSW degree would continue to be eligible to apply through the Committee on Non-Medical Clinical Training (CNMCT) for waivers for training.
Allan Rosenblatt, who had spearheaded the effort to expand eligibility, emphasized that the proposal is not intended to be exclusionary; rather, it is intended to provide automatic eligibility for certain categories of applicants while preserving access to training for other suitable individuals who wish to apply.
Dr. Curtis asked that the Councilors present the details of the proposal to local institutes and societies for debate so that his committee could refine the proposal in time for deliberations by Board and Council at the May 1991 meetings in New Orleans. If approved by the Board and Council in May, this proposed amendment to the by-laws will be submitted to the membership for vote, possibly as soon as June 1991.
Owen Renik was approved by the Board to serve as its incoming Secretary upon the nomination of Dr. Margolis. In the Executive Council, David Hurst was elected to the office of Councilor-at-Large. Drs. Hurst and Anna Wolff, who were candidates for the office in the last election, agreed to stand again for election to fill the unexpired term of Dr. Margolis.
Of 36 applications reviewed for certification, 19 were approved (see p. 23). Seven new training and supervising analysts were approved from seven different institutes. Thirteen of fifteen waiver applications were approved by the CNMCT, and two CORST (Committee on Research and Special Training) waivers were granted for research candidates.
Among other actions, in response to misinformation printed in the Psychiatric News, the Executive Council reaffirmed its stand against discrimination on the basis of homosexuality. An official statement will be issued to this effect. The Council also approved a plan for Soviet-American educational exchange. This plan will include the education of Soviet mental health professionals both in the Soviet Union and in the United States, joint scientific programs, and publication of psychoanalytic literature in the USSR. Under the plan, selected Soviet candidates will be imported for full psychoanalytic training at U.S. institutes, and courses will be developed for the teaching of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the Soviet Union.
Of special note was the memorial tribute to Justin Krent, Chairman of the Board on Professional Standards, whose untimely and tragic death in August 1990 has deeply saddened the Association. President Allison led a special tribute prior to the convening of the Board in Miami, with Mrs. Krent attending as an honored guest. Morris Peltz and Jacob Jacobson spoke in memory of Dr. Krent's many professional and personal contributions.