On May 1 of the year I assumed the office of the President of The American. I feel awed by the importance of the office and the many decisions to be made from day to day. Our Association, after all, as the most respected psychoanalytic organization in the world, stands as a bastion of psychoanalytic strength; its decisions reverberate throughout the analytic world.
In this, my first column as President, I will touch on only a few of the most pressing issues facing us, leaving other questions for future consideration.
A major task confronting every incoming President is a review of the committees of the Council, as well as the joint committees of Board and Council. This may well be the best exercise for a new President, as it forces a study of the current concerns of the organization. Do our committees cover all of the areas in which The American should at present have an interest? What additional priorities must we consider? Are there concerns—scientific, professional, or organizational—we are not covering? In the composition of committees have we considered special talents, geographical representation, and age and gender diversity? Have we rotated the committee slots in a timely way, giving more of our members the opportunity to serve? In short, I am reviewing our committee structure to see where it can be improved, simplified, and made more efficient and responsive.
I am grateful to the Committee on Appointments, cochaired by Allan Rosenblatt and Owen Renik. Dr. Rosenblatt has surveyed the societies and provided us a data base regarding the current composition of committees and potential committee appointees throughout the country. Since appointments to standing committees are tenured, I will have only a limited number of slots to fill, but I certainly intend to consult the information Dr. Rosenblatt so assiduously collected.
From my particular vantage point in The American, having served for nine years on the Executive Committee (first as Treasurer and then as President-Elect), I have been impressed by the dedicated efforts of those who serve on its committees. Only through the enthusiasm and interest of members can the organization continue in its preeminence. In most cases, important and essential work in committees is conducted quietly, with little fanfare, by talented members with strong feelings about the Association and its importance.
Many of our members know a good deal about computers and their application to the cataloguing and storage of data, information retrieval, communications networking, desktop publication, and financial records and projections. It is imperative that we move rapidly toward the full computerization of the Central Office. To that end I have asked Paul Mosher, Chair, and our President-Elect, Judith Schachter, Co-chair, to undertake a study of our needs in this regard, and to recommend software professionals who can formulate plans to be implemented as soon as possible. Helen Fischer, our Administrative Director, will actively assist this effort. The eventual cost of such a program will be substantial—perhaps a quarter of a million dollars, according to some estimates—but it will be worth every penny. As this is a high-priority and a high-pricetag item, we must closely monitor our expenditures in all areas, which means a significant reduction of budget outlays for some activities of lower priority.
Lee Brauer has produced interesting data regarding the relatively small number of psychoanalytic patients seen by some members. The public, by far and large, do not seem to understand the value of psychoanalysis, nor do third-party payers recognize its cost-effectiveness. We are fortunate in having Dr. Brauer continue as chair of the Committee on Private Practice, while our former President Mike Allison, continues as chair of a joint committee of Council and Board dealing with a broad variety of practice issues.
The Committee on External Credentialing, Donald Burnham, Chair, is at present developing a proposal that would invite psychoanalytic organizations in the U.S. that are affiliated with the IPA to confer with us, at the committee level, to explore standards of training and criteria for certification, the latter to be undertaken by a credentialing body independent of The American or any other association. This would in no way interfere with The American's own Committee on Certification. There has been some discussion as to whether some type of loose association of the various organizations should be undertaken, and I hope we can have further discussions and some input from the membership and from our societies and institutes.
I was particularly gratified by the overwhelming vote in favor of delinkage—792 in favor and only 111 opposed. I strongly supported the bylaws eliminating associate and extended associate membership, and am pleased to report that the current Executive Committee unanimously supported delinkage. I might add that Donald Meyers, current Secretary of The American has spent many years arguing for this bylaw change in the Executive Council.
A very favorable effect of this change will be to eliminate the tension between active and associate members. This “in-gathering process,” to include all graduates of accredited institutes of The American, can only strengthen us and stimulate our creativity. The membership committees of Council and Board, chaired respectively by Mike Leavitt and Bud Heijn, have worked out procedures to implement the new amendments to the bylaws. Dues will not be increased in 1992 for associate and extended associate members who this year become active members, and they will be able to vote in this December's election of officers.
I wish to emphasize, in closing, that the Central Office has only limited space and personnel with which to conduct a daunting number of tasks. The establishment of even one new committee increases these tasks (communication, information storage, arrangements for meetings, etc.), as well as expenses (mailings, long distance phone calls, personnel from temp agencies, etc.). The Central Office staff has devoted itself to these tasks with great efficiency, and all of us should be appreciative of their efforts.
Finally, it should be noted that this newsletter has completed its third year under the
skilled editorship of Dr. Arnold Richards. During this time he has lent his energies unstintingly to producing a readable, newsworthy, and attractively designed publication. It has acquainted (or reacquainted) us with our psychoanalytic heritage, courageously and evenhandedly presented controversial issues, introduced nominees for national office to the membership, and removed many of the veils of secrecy—often unintended—that in the past obscured the actions of our national leadership. On behalf of the Executive Committee and the membership, I want to express my thanks to Dr. Richards for his admirable and prodigious efforts, and to his skilled and effective staff. I am particularly gratified that he has accepted another two-year term as editor.
I invite members to write to me with any concerns or suggestions they may have. In the meantime, I wish my colleagues a very pleasant summer.