Politics in the Best Sense: The Presidency of Robert L. Pyles, M.D.

“I love this job,” was Bob Pyles's tearful closing remark to the Executive Council on May 11, and, as always, love shows. His devotion to the presidency and the Association guided the American through a rebirth.

Robert Lindsay Pyles became presidentelect in 1996 and president in 1998. From his sure-handed assumption of presidential responsibilities from Marvin Margolis in 1998, to his moving valedictory to the Council in Chicago, to the passing of the baton to Dick Fox, Bob's presidency was vital and distinguished. Among the immediate comments following his term were tributes to his skill and effectiveness and sincere expressions of gratitude that he had saved psychoanalysis and the American in a most difficult time.

Prior to becoming president of our Association, Bob had been a founding member and president of the Coalition for Patient Rights. He received the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society's “Outstanding Psychiatrist Award” for advancement of the profession. Bob worked tirelessly through the CPR to secure patients' rights to quality mental health care. Most particularly, his efforts helped point out the disastrous consequences for private practice embedded and concealed in the Clinton Health Plan. At the same time, his efforts in the American contributed significantly to resolving lingering questions of the best way to achieve effective action in Washington. Both contributions set the stage for the most successful program of influencing legislation and regulation this Association has ever known. For those efforts and many others, Bob was awarded an American Psychiatric Association “Special Presidential Commendation” in 1997 during his term as president-elect. The award was not simply honorific; it was testimony to the fact that his efforts had made the American one of the major players, if not the major player, in protecting the privacy and confidentiality at the heart of psychoanalytic treatment.

With the help of other members, he skillfully engaged the support of like-minded organizations in the cause of privacy and thoughtfully applied the Jaffee v. Redmond decision to bolster our efforts. While he had the help of others and some essential tools in judicial and regulatory decisions, it was his orchestration of the elements that made the difference between harmony and success or discord and failure.

Bob also significantly expanded the presence of psychoanalysis and the American in the eyes of the nation. He encouraged and supported efforts to convey accurate information about our field — indeed, our calling — through print, radio, and television, conveying the message that psychoanalysis is alive, fresh, and vital. Furthermore, his example, and the programs he put in place, gave other analysts the courage and skills necessary to effectively represent themselves and their profession. He received kudos from colleagues to the effect that Bob's example and words moved them to work even harder on behalf of our values, ideals, and beliefs.

Bob's accomplishments were not limited to the world outside the Association. Within the American, he worked closely with Donald Rosenblitt, as chairman of the Board on Professional Standards, to move the organization toward universal voting on all issues, along with satisfactory protection of the educational and public interest functions of the Board. Ever the organizational expert in the best sense, he has moved us toward a better, more integrated, more open, and more democratic organization. He laid the groundwork to be more welcoming, accepting, and integrated with other psychoanalytic organizations wanting to join or work with the American. The work with the Board and the Council further illustrates that Bob Pyles did not accomplish everything singlehandedly, but it demonstrates the genius of his leadership such that others pulled with him. They pulled with him because of his personal qualities of fairness, equanimity in the face of challenge, steady efforts to engage reason and to persuade, and a steadfast and honest character.

Since Bob is going to remain active in the Association as chair of CGRI and in a variety of consultative capacities, and will continue to represent us in important ways within the IPA, this is not a farewell but simply a heartfelt thanks. I would like to pose a question to the membership. What do you do with a man who wears running shoes to all official functions, consults for professional baseball teams, hobbles injured through marathons, is described by his wife as having “the soul of a poet,” at the drop of a hat offers pithy — sometimes incomprehensible — aphorisms from North Carolina's Piedmont, and who would love to run for Congress, except that he is in the wrong district? The answer is that with any good fortune you make him president of the American Psychoanalytic Association.