Freud developed psychoanalysis in a time of sexual repression and ambivalence. The ambience at the turn of the twentieth century served as the backdrop for his monumental discoveries as he advanced our science. As we enter the new century, the world has changed dramatically, and our current era offers new challenges to the individual. Corporate values that emphasize marketing potential and profit standards as basic units of worth constitute a major threat to the significance of the individual and to his autonomy. We are witnessing the digitalization of the person.
Psychoanalysis is based on the uniqueness of the individual and his or her experience and the centrality of the relationship between patient and doctor. Our campaign to maintain privacy for our patients and their therapy, led so ably by Bob Pyles and CGRI-CPR, is not only an attempt to secure our consulting rooms but also a campaign on behalf of the individual. It demonstrates how, even though we are a small organization, we can act effectively as a champion for the individual and have an impact much greater than our numbers and financial resources would predict.
We must extend our vision of the mission of psychoanalysis to encompass those cultural issues that encroach upon the individual's realization of his or her human potential. In the process of modernizing our professional organization, we are also creating a new concept of what it means to be a psychoanalyst. This redefinition of the psychoanalyst provides a new perspective on our profession and our future.
For much of the twentieth century, psychoanalytic organizations focused primarily on psychoanalytic education, at times with a religious fervor that resulted in organizational schisms and personal alienation. This organizational orientation tended to define the “real analyst” based on the ideal of training analyst. Since the majority of analytic graduates did not achieve this status, many analysts were left with feelings of personal shortcoming and/or estrangement from their own profession and its organizations. Professional achievement was measured by the number of patients being seen four or five times a week, particularly if these patients aspired to be psychoanalysts themselves. The status of training analyst carried weight far beyond its importance in analyzing candidates and was the basis for structuring our institutions and establishing lines of authority and influence. As more analysts “grew up” in this system, the process focused attention inwardly (a psychoanalytic value) to preserve our traditions and to guard against potentially contaminating or corrupting influences from the outside world.
Fortunately, in the latter part of the century with leaders like Judy Schachter, Marvin Margolis, and Bob Pyles, the APsaA has overcome this myopic vision and has begun to recognize the latent potential of our members and our Association. As we enter this new century, we must extend the mission of psychoanalysis and the identity of the psychoanalyst to promote psychoanalysis as a science, as a treatment modality, and as a significant force in our cultural, intellectual, and political life.
We have a momentous opportunity this year to close the artificial dichotomy between the educational and the other professional aims of our Association and to diminish our internecine struggles brought about by the polarization of issues along Board-Council lines. The recommendations of the Task Force on Education and Membership clearly would see the powers of the organization as springing from our membership (including our affiliate members) and describe a consultative, cooperative relationship among our governing bodies. Passage of these recommendations will give us a vigorous launch into the new century.
Our agenda has grown so far-reaching that I have reorganized our committee efforts into six divisions: Governance (coordinated by Elise Snyder), Membership and Services for Members (Prudy Leib), Psychoanalytic Practice (Bob Pyles), Psychoanalytic Science (Allan Compton), Public Outreach and Information (Leon Hoffman), and Professional Outreach and Liaisons (Marvin Margolis). This arrangement allows our previous two presidents to follow through on the major initiatives begun during their terms.
One of my major priorities will be to encourage the development of the scientific dimension of psychoanalysis, which has lacked emphasis in the past. In anticipation of my term as president, I initiated a Task Force on Psychoanalytic Science under the leadership of Allan Compton. At our meetings in May, BOPS and the Executive Council enthusiastically endorsed a multifaceted plan to promote our scientific efforts. Science advisors will be added to each of our governing bodies, the category of research associate will be established to attract non-analysts into our research efforts, and the Committee on Scientific Activities will become the clearinghouse for the development of new scientific endeavors. Other initiatives will focus on education, funding of research, and fostering relationships with neighboring disciplines. These efforts are essential if we are to validate psychoanalysis as a science to be taken seriously by the public as well as by those in other scholarly disciplines.
Another essential priority for the well-being of our Association and its members is practice development. Our Marketing Subcommittee is conducting a study to help us define our audience and the message we want to convey to potential patients. A survey will allow our members to help structure a rational plan of action. Meanwhile Leon Hoffman, Dottie Jeffries, and the members of the Public Information Committee will continue to raise the profile of psychoanalysis in the public's eye. These enterprises reflect the proactive thrust of the “new” APsaA.
For too long our societies have lived in the shadow of their sister institutes. We must correct this imbalance, not by de-emphasizing education, but by working to strengthen our societies. The semi-annual meeting of our society presidents has already become a vibrant and innovative forum for discussion of concerns and challenges being faced at the local level. In recent years our institutes have benefited greatly from site visits conducted by our Committee on Institutes. We hope to establish similar consultative visits under the aegis of our Committee on Societies, chaired by Elise Snyder and Mike Gundle.
Among our less emphasized areas we must not forget child analysis, a discipline vital to psychoanalysis that rarely receives the attention it deserves. Child analysis is not only an important therapeutic modality; it also represents one of the basic sciences of our discipline. It provides the data that can help us ground our theories and an opportunity to test them. With our cadre of outstanding child analysts I hope to be able to restore child analysis to its rightful prominent place in our discipline.
These recent and new initiatives will not be at the expense of our commitment to psychoanalytic excellence. These new emphases are built on the bedrock of our educational programs and the quality of our candidates and graduates. In coming years we will be strengthening our efforts on behalf of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, thereby correcting for the deficits in the training of younger mental health professionals and furthering the influence of psychoanalysis.
I have emphasized what I feel to be the untapped assets of our profession and our Association. The greatest of our resources is our membership. We are all grateful to the many analysts who have contributed so generously of their time and efforts to further our efforts. I invite our members at all levels to become more active in our Association. It is very important work, and it is also rewarding and enjoyable.