One year ago in this newsletter [see “Forging Associations for Psychoanalytic Thought,” TAP 32/4], Gail Halem Trivedi, co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Psychotherapy Associates, described that committee's efforts to create an organizational structure for local societies as a forum where individuals interested in furthering their understanding of psychoanalysis could meet. These Associations for Psychoanalytic Thought, or APTs, were intended as affiliate organizations of local societies with their own executive boards, offering programs in clinical and applied psychoanalytic topics. At present there are eight APTs — in Baltimore-Washington, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Michigan, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Southern California — with several others in the planning stages. Other programs have not developed separate APTs but have included psychotherapists within the society (the Wisconsin Society has done this).
In her description of APTs, Trivedi outlined a typical formative process. Here I will describe the formation and developmental of our group in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Psychoanalytic Institute was founded in the early 1950s and has supported an active analytic community. In addition to scientific meetings, symposia and extension courses, a Friends of Psychoanalysis group, sponsored by the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Society and composed of non-analysts, regularly presents public meetings on topics in applied psychoanalysis. Beyond this cohesive core of professionals and others with a committed interest in psychoanalysis, there is a large number of unaffiliated clinicians with a deep interest in psychoanalytic theory and practice. Previous attempts by members of specific professional groups, such as psychoanalytically oriented psychologists, to organize psychoanalytic groups have failed.
In the summer of 1998, Jane Belkin, a member of the Psychotherapy Associates' Ad Hoc Committee and the liaison to the APT from the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Society, contacted a group of individuals who agreed to work at creating a local APT. This multidisciplinary group, which included social workers, nurses, and psychologists, met monthly.
The first major hurdle was to understand just what an APT is. These are not branch chapters with a central governing body, but rather highly localized groups whose primary affiliation is with a psychoanalytic society. The next hurdle was to create a set of by-laws. The planning committee met monthly to review and revise the by-laws of other APT chapters; it completed its our own set in December 1998.
Our purpose is defined in these by-laws as follows:
The Association for Psychoanalytic Thought is an organization of individuals committed to exploring psychoanalytic principles in clinical work, the arts and humanities, and contemporary social issues. The Association seeks to enrich the personal and professional lives of their members by providing a center and forum in which individuals can gain a broader and deeper grasp of the applications of psychoanalytic thought.
Annual dues were set at $40 a year for members and $10 a year for students. We celebrated finalizing our by-laws by hosting a wine and cheese “birthday party” in conjunction with an arts program sponsored by the local society.
After adopting the by-laws, the members of the planning group assumed the functions and titles of the executive committee. The committee continued to meet monthly, and these meetings developed a more formal quality, with agendas, approval of minutes, treasurer reports, and new business. Our main concerns were planning for programs and increasing membership. The most vexing question we heard during this period was, “What do we get for our money?”
We knew that our credibility as an organization lay in offering programs that were unique and not an imitation of other talks. Although fall 1999 was projected as our start date, Trivedi encouraged us to offer a program earlier in the year. By that time we had decided to organize a series of talks on psychotherapy/psychoanalysis and pharmacology. Scott Dowling inaugurated the series with “Psychoanalysis and Pharmacology: Friends or Foes,” in July. The success of the talk and ensuing discussion encouraged us, and we moved forward with a fall schedule. Robert Furman presented his paper “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: An Alternative View” in September. Dan Badal spoke on “The History of Medication in Psychoanalysis” for our December meeting.
Our January and March meetings drew on the resources of the larger community. Atwood Gaines, an anthropologist with a specialty in cross-cultural mental health, spoke on “Meaning and Medication: Self, Motive, and Culture in Contemporary Healthcare,” and David Pincus, a clinical psychologist, presented “Psychoanalytic Intervention Through Biological Process: Medications as a Means of Enriching the Interpersonal Landscape.”
An unexpected opportunity for programming occurred during a local foundation meeting when a member of our executive committee was approached by an analyst who had recently purchased a copy of the videotape Homophobia: Analysis of a “Permissible” Prejudice. This tape contains excerpts of the symposium held at the December 1998 meeting of the American. The analyst suggested that the APT organize a viewing of the tape. In November, the APT sponsored the presentation and was fortunate to have Murray Goldstone as discussant. The lively discussion went well past our scheduled time.
A major support in our development has been the Cleveland analytic community. Society members were among the first to join our APT and make up a large proportion of our membership. They have generously volunteered time and energy for presentations. The business
Abe Wolf, Ph.D., is president of the Cleveland APT. He is associate director of outpatient services in the Department of Psychiatry of MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. He is currently secretary of the American Psychological Association's Division of Psychotherapy.
office has enthusiastically and creatively promoted our talks and has made invaluable suggestions to increase membership. The newsletter of the local society invited us to write a column on all our talks and has made these pieces a regular feature. The president of APT was specifically invited to join a meeting with other society presidents.
There are developmental tasks to be mastered. The bulk of the work continues to be done by the dedicated group that established the by-laws and worked on programming for the first year. How to encourage members to be more active in the governance of the chapter through committee involvement and how to deal with transitions of current officers are the most apparent of these challenges. Also, a year after finalizing our by-laws, establishing a series of programs, and achieving a membership of forty, we have not galvanized the community of dynamically oriented clinicians in the greater Cleveland area. This is going to be a long-term project. Measures of success include seeing new faces and seeing those faces return, leaving presentations stimulated by the speaker and the discussion, and being asked what we have planned for the future.