The Executive Council at its December 14 meeting continued to press forward in its determination to assume a more significant role in the governance of The American. A series of votes pointed to this conclusion, enlivening a most interesting session.
In her opening statement, President Judith Schachter made a plea for open discussion and encouraged the expression of dissent, which she viewed as essential to The American's growth and continued vitality. Noting that responses to dissent can be intemperate, she expressed the hope that members can learn to listen better and can disagree without impugning the integrity of dissenters. She noted the progress made in computerizing the Central Office and strongly urged that committee chairs and members come on line. This would allow E-mail exchanges, as well as conferencing, a much less expensive and more rapid way of exchanging ideas than in-person meetings.
Taking an extended midday break, many councilors attended funeral services for Helen Fischer, longtime administrative director of The American, a revered figure who after a long bout with cancer died shortly before the meeting convened. The hourlong ceremony was addressed by officers of The American, both past and present, who recalled Helen's many years of committed leadership. She was eulogized as a wise presidential advisor, a stabilizer when leadership changed. She was the steady backbone of The American.
In response to Council requests, the process of preparing budgets for discussion by the Council and the Executive Committee has undergone significant changes. These innovations, instituted by Stephen Firestein when he was treasurer, have been taken up by his successor, Newell Fischer, and by the other members of the Budget and Finance Committee (Allan Compton, Leon Hoffman, Nadine Levinson, and Jonah Schein). Backing them up at Central Office are Nerissa Steele and Ellen Fertig. A rational system of identifying and allocating cost centers is in effect, making it possible to bring income and expense accounting of the same event together, so that true net costs or profits can be quickly determined. With this and other changes, future budgets should be far more clear and informative.
In addition, the Council discussed, but did not act on, a proposal to elect the members of the Budget and Finance Committee rather than have them appointed by the Executive Committee. Further discussion of this issue was promised for future meetings.
The external credentialing issue again took center stage. The previous day, the Board on Professional Standards had voted to recommend discharging the Ad Hoc Joint Committee on External Credentialing, chaired by Allan Rosenblatt, and establishing a committee of BOPS to deal with the issue (see article, page 6). Since the existing body is a joint committee of BOPS and Council, it was expected that the Board's action would lead to the committee's termination. But the discussion in Council took a rather interesting twist.
Rosenblatt, departing from his written report, said his feeling was that some BOPS-appointed members of the joint committee had worked against the original mandate. This view was challenged by Donald Rosenblitt, secretary of BOPS, who felt that the committee had changed its goals in midstream and that this had played a role in the resignation from the committee of four members, all representing BOPS. In the Council debate on continuing the committees authority to explore external credentialing, the argument that BOPS, as a partner in the committee, could only recommend that it be discharged, evoked passionate opposition. Some, led by Rosenblitt and Leon Hoffman, expressed serious concern that the Council was usurping the role of BOPS, which is charged with responsibility in matters involving accreditation. They claimed that the Council was therefore out of order. Lawrence Chalfin, chair of BOPS, cautioned the Council, saying that there are aspects of the problem about which we all know very little and that we must therefore move slowly and deliberately. Anton Kris expressed his concern that such disputes threaten to tear the organization apart. Dorothy Holmes reminded the Council that there are models available from others, such as the American Psychological Association, and that we should be cautious about taking our own accrediting initiatives.
Those in favor of continuing our exploration of accrediting possibilities with other organizations pointed to our growing knowledge and to the desirability of an external credentialing that could accomplish goals we are not likely to achieve on our own. They interpreted the responsibilities of BOPS as limited to the development and enforcement of standards only within The American; the Board's purview, they argued, does not extend to the standards of other organizations, including those of an external credentialing body. George Allison, former president of The American, reminded the Council that two-thirds of the societies and institutes responding to a recent questionnaire on external credentialing voted to continue exploration. Donald Meyers suggested that the underlying issue was really certification, as distinguished from accreditation.
By the end of the debate Chalfin once again declared that BOPS is not acting as an obstructing body. Its concern, he said, has always been with the efforts needed to maintain standards of our choosing. He was concerned that any agreement by The American to join a group that accepts standards lower than its own carries the risk of ultimately lowered standards across the board, including those of The American. This statement indeed appeared to sum up the differences being debated. Those willing to further explore external credentialing expressed the conviction that any agreement with groups having lower standards would not lead inexorably to the acceptance of those standards for our own candidates and graduates. BOPS will certainly continue to control standards in institutes of The American. The Council was reassured that any ultimate action must return to both Board and Council for approval. The Council
then voted to recommend continuation of the joint committee.
Following this vote, the proposed bylaws of the Psychoanalytic Consortium were approved, the only negative vote being cast by John Macgregor, which he asked to be cited specifically in the minutes of the Council.
It was announced that a resolution of the differences between The American's Committee on Government Relations and Insurance and the Coalition for Patients' Rights had been accomplished prior to the meeting of the Council. CPR, an independent body whose focus is on lobbying to protect private practice in mental health, has been endorsed by the Council in previous meetings. The group, whose new president is Sam Rubin, is led by a number of prominent members of The American and enjoys support both within and without The American. The differences between CGRI and CPR were mediated through the efforts of Marvin Margolis and Judith Schachter, who met with the leaders of both groups. The American has hired Marina Weiss, a member of the law firm retained in the past by CPR. She will coordinate the efforts of both organizations.
Margolis, president-elect of The American, made note of the fact that this resolution of conflict and tension between two heretofore adversarial bodies stands in sharp contrast to the divisiveness present over the past few years. The Council then voted to approve the hiring of Weiss. In addition, Elise Snyder proposed that the Council elect its own independent representative to a committee, set up as part of the CGRI-CPR agreement, that will oversee lobbying efforts. The Council agreed, and Betsy Reid was elected without opposition.
The Task Force on Organizational Structure and Functioning, chaired by Robert Pyles, and the Committee on Bylaws, chaired by Anton Kris, reported that they had agreed on a joint report recommending far-reaching organizational changes. They impressed upon the Council that their coming together, after long periods of work along parallel but separate paths, should be appreciated as an act of resolution and unification, in contrast to the centrifugal tendencies exhibited all too frequently by The American. The Council demonstrated its appreciation of their efforts. Jon Meyer was elected chair pro tern of a new Ad Hoc Select Committee on Council Structure and Function, which will study how the Council relates to BOPS, the Executive Committee, and the membership. The other members elected to this committee were Paula Bernstein, Fred Busch, Judy Davis, Henry Kaminer, Dewitt Montgomery, and Elise Snyder (see sidebar).
Discussion then led to concerns about the dissemination of necessary information to councilors. Schachter made a strong plea that counselors come on line in order to take advantage of new technologies for the rapid transmission of information. This effort is finally producing results, with many more members engaging in cyber-communication.
Election results were announced. Robert Pyles won election as president-elect and Newell Fischer as treasurer, while Ralph Engle and Betsy Comstock were elected counselors-at-large. Fischer has taken office immediately, in order to replace former treasurer Stephen Firestein, who resigned to become treasurer of the IPA.
Ellen Fertig has returned to the Central Office of The American as administrative director. She replaces Doris Eder, who has resigned.
Bobbi Fischer, who specializes in media training and relations, has been hired to develop a communications plan for The American.
The stipend for the editor of JAPA was continued for an additional three years, which completes the stipend for the usual five-year period. Also, in executive session the Council elected six new members of the JAPA Editorial Board: Stanley Coen, Enrico Jones, Jonathan Lear, Sydney Pulver, John Munder Ross, and Elisabeth Young-Bruehl.
Stanley Cavell was elected to honorary membership.
Six members of IPA societies applied for membership in The American. Maimon Leavitt, chair of the Membership Committee, reported that five of the six were approved, and one was delayed while further information was being obtained.
As a result of budgetary restrictions, TAP will be reduced in size and focus more on issues of current importance.
President Judith Schachter reported on a meeting of the Executive Committee with American Psychiatric Association leaders Mary Jane England and Melvin Sabshin. The focus of the meeting, which was held at the Waldorf, was on such issues of mutual concern as the environment for psychotherapy and the postponement of the Freud exhibit at the Library of Congress.
Paul Mosher reported to the Council on issues of confidentiality, focusing on the case of Jaffee v. Redmand (see article, page 2) and the Bennett Bill in the Senate. Further information and precise case and bill reports are available from The American's World Wide Web page (). Brian Canty, who supervises computer operations at the Central Office, can assist interested members.
Richard Fox reported the conclusions of his Task Force on Strategic Planning: Membership and Organizational Issues, once again raising questions about the siting of national meetings. He proposed that The American hold one meeting a year in the Boston-Washington corridor and the other elsewhere, distributed on an equitable basis. Asked if he had taken into account the high interest of non-members in attending meetings when they are held regularly in a single location, Fox replied that The American will develop community interest wherever it holds its meetings. The report was approved, with a comment from the president that this report is easy to pass but difficult to enact.
Finally, Sara Tucker, chair of the Committee on Continuing Education, reported her proposal that The American discontinue its joint sponsorship of CME programs. This function takes up excessive amounts of Central Office time, she noted, because societies do not respond with necessary information in a timely fashion. Administrative director Ellen Fertig spoke to the problem. Local societies, she said, are not tapping into available resources, thereby nullifying the efforts of Central Office. Council voted to continue the program, appealing to local societies, which the program is meant to benefit, to learn proper procedures (see article, page 12).