Analysts should feel at home in Washington, D.C. Washington is about history, past and present. It is about freedom and democracy. It is also about social responsibility. Walking through this distinguished city reminds us that dreams turned into reality can have far-reaching effects for generations to come.
Everything about our capital is monumental: the grand boulevards; the Potomac; the museums; the Jefferson, the Lincoln, the FDR, the Vietnam memorials; the White House; the Capitol Building; and the Supreme Court. Washington is like no other city in the United States.
We are privileged to have our Eighty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association this May 10–16 amidst such history. Though remaining committed to our scientific and educational programs, the American is taking advantage of this special venue to expand the focus of the spring meeting. We are holding a political action forum on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 10–11.
We are encouraging analysts to temporarily leave their consulting rooms and actually meet with their representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. It is important for us to take an active stance, to make our voices heard on issues that are fundamental to the practice of psychoanalysis. The meeting will include workshops on media training and lobbying to increase our effectiveness in advocating for our patients' rights to privacy and confidentiality.
Those attending will be briefed on the current issues and bills affecting psychoanalysis that will soon be coming before Congress. Paul Mosher and Norman Clemens will conduct a discussion group that examines the implications of Jaffee v. Redmond. On Friday morning, May 14, there will be a breakfast briefing on Capitol Hill, where a panel including several members of Congress, members of the press, Bob Pyles, and Harvey Rich will discuss the loss of civility in the legislative process (see page 36).
In a continuation of our efforts to outreach psychoanalytic ideas, a number of symposia have been included in the official program: “Dialogue Between Diplomats and Psychoanalysts,” “The Privacy Crisis,” and “Psychoanalytically Informed Principles for Intervention in Violent Communities and Organizations.” Several of our discussion groups will tackle the problem of violence, and our two-session film workshop will look at violence in the films Boyz 'n the Hood and Taxi Driver. The “In-Depth: Art, Culture, and Politics” program (formerly the Program for Spouses) will present “Women in Politics: The Difference They Make.”
We have not forgotten that our members are clinicians first and foremost. Our four panels and many of the discussion groups will concentrate on the clinical aspect of analytic work. The first panel will study a phenomenon of interest to analysts today: “Long Analyses.” It will meet on Friday afternoon, May 14.
Sander M. Abend will be the chair; panelists will be Eva P. Lester, Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer, and Alan B. Zients; and Judith Fingert Chused will be the discussant. On Saturday morning, May 15, Arnold D. Richards will chair a panel on “What in the World Is the Relationship?” Speakers will include Jody M. Davies, Arnold Goldberg, Kenneth M. Newman, and Arnold Rothstein. Saturday afternoon Ben Kilborne will chair a panel on “Shame-Contempt Interchanges: A Frequent Component of the Analyst-Patient Interaction.” The panelists will be Joseph D. Lichtenberg, Barnet D. Malin, Andrew P. Morrison, and Leon Wurmser. Sunday morning, May 16, Fred Busch will chair a panel on “Modern Defense Analysis: Three Perspectives on the Same Clinical Hours.” The panelists will be Steven H. Cooper, Emanuel Furer, and Dorothy E. Holmes.
Glen O. Gabbard will give the plenary presentation “On Gratitude and Gratification” (see page 2). This spring's meet-the-author presentation will feature Richard A. Isay, author of Being Homosexual (1989) and Becoming Gay: The Journey to Self-Acceptance (1996). There will also be special programs for psychiatric residents and for graduate students in psychology and social work.
Whether you are interested in politics, applied psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic theory, or American history, the spring meeting is certain to be exciting. Hope to see you in Washington, D.C.