An increasingly heard request from our members is that TAP provide additional coverage in the area of health care reform and the ways in which The American is addressing what for us is a growing menace. This issue of TAP covers much of the health care debate that occurred at The Americans Annual Meeting in May.
Philadelphia lived up to its sobriquet, the City of Brotherly Love: a much-sought compromise was reached in the dispute over the direction taken by The American in health care reform. Mel Mandel reports on the dramatic meeting of Council, where an agreement was formalized among The Americans Committee on Government Relations and Insurance, the independent Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR), and a group led by the Southern California Society that wishes to opt out of health care coverage altogether. Michael Gundle writes of the specially expanded Meeting of Members at which Daniel Leach and James Pyles, attorneys for The American and CPR, respectively, presented their work to the membership. The meeting of BOPS presaged the climate of reconciliation. Excerpts from the speech by outgoing chair Marvin Margolis address the role of dissent and democracy within the organization.
Judy Schachter, in her first column as president, writes of the need for unity within our ranks, especially in the current critical period. Larry Chalfin, who succeeds Margolis as chair of BOPS, inaugurates a TAP column and addresses the effects of increased democratization in the organization.
The page one story, written by Jack Miller, previews the upcoming Fall Meeting. Elsewhere in this issue the plenary speakers are profiled, Betty Joseph by Rita Frankiel and Chuck Rothstein by Henry Smith.
Members should take care to read the position statements of the candidates for national office. David Hurst and Alvin Frank are nominated for secretary, and Allan Compton, Ralph Engle, Dorothy Holmes, and Harvey Rich are running for two councilor-at-large positions.
Only a sample of the work of The American's many committees can be included in any one issue of TAP. Highlighted here are five active and very important groups. Nadine Levinson describes the newly created American Psychoanalytic Foundation, a national foundation of The American, while Harvey Rich writes on the recently formed Committee on Foundations, which works to assist local groups. Nathaniel Donson gives an update on the Committee on Public Information and new chair Irene Chiarandini. He reports that the committees revision of The American's popular brochure, “About Psychoanalysis,” will be out this fall in a press run of ten thousand. Another recent development is the formation of the Candidates Council, reported on here by Joan Liebermann. Finally, Elise Snyder checks in with news of the successful Resident Fellowship Program. The work of all these groups confirms the remarkable change in our organization: The American has moved from the confines of the consulting room to confront the world outside.
A report on plans for the 1995 IPA Congress in San Francisco begins our coverage of psychoanalysis outside The American. A guest column by Jerry M. Wiener, president of the American Psychiatric Association, follows. Himself a trained analyst and a member of The American, he reflects on the evolving relationship between psychiatry and psychoanalysis in the context of impending health care reform legislation. As already noted, CPR has become a major player in our health care reform strategy, and we are fortunate to have Bob Pyles, a member of its steering committee, weigh in with an article about the organization. Although historical archives are thought of as generally dull, analysts seem to have the ability to make any topic contentious; here Joseph Reppen reports on a lively conference held in London: “Memory: The Question of Archives.”
The Special Section on Child Psychoanalysis, edited by John Macgregor, continues in this issue. Harriet Basseches's interview with Stanley Greenspan reveals much about the man and his research into child development. The section concludes with articles about two outstanding child programs. Donald Cohen and Ted Becker write of the New York Psychoanalytic Institute's program, which was begun in the 1930s, while Anne-Marie Sandler writes about the Anna Freud Center, which was started after World War II.
Fred Busch, who served on The American's Committee on DSM-IV, uses that privileged perspective to provide us one of the earliest reviews of this highly influential text. Our second interview, conducted by Scott Carder, features the prominent French analyst Didier Anzieu, a recipient of the prestigious Mary S. Sigourney Award. Barbara Deutsch writes on the history of the COPE Workshop on Issues for Women in Psychoanalytic Education, an early proponent of diversity and organizational flexibility in The American. The workshop is not yet consigned to history, however; its concerns and work remain vital. TAP concludes with a somewhat different view of women, as Henry Smith deftly summarizes “Spouses and Partners in Shakespeare,” a panel held before a rapt audience at the May meeting.
In keeping with the quest for diversity, we are pleased to announce the appointment of a new set of editors. David Hurst of Denver is National Editor; Michael Gundle of Seattle is West Coast Editor; Lynne Moritz of St. Louis is Mid-America Editor; and Elise Snyder of New Haven is East Coast Editor. Mel Mandel of Los Angles continues as Associate Editor. Finally, an appreciative thanks to John Macgregor of New Orleans, who has completed his term on the editorial board.
William D. Jeffrey