Dues time is still months away. Are we getting a bang for our bucks? Here are four examples of our membership dollars at work.
The Ethics Case Book, containing the complete Ethics Code and Procedures of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Clinical vignettes and discussions illustrate the complexities faced by the therapeutic clinician in interacting with patients. Every member of the Association received a free copy. Its availability to the general public allows us to disseminate widely the highest principles and standards and to demonstrate the importance of ethics to the profession.
A vendor booth on the trade show floor of the American Psychiatric Association meeting in Philadelphia. This joint effort by APsaA, JAPA, PEP, and the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis was partially funded by the American Psychoanalytic Foundation. The booth was located in the book section; many attendees stopped by, receiving a neck pillow with a picture of Freud and the names of the booth sponsors. The booth allowed us to promote psychoanalysis, the Association, and its mission of education, scientific programs, and research to mental health professionals — the group our survey shows is our greatest source of referrals and, of course, the major source of analytic candidates. Copies of psychotherapy training program brochures from our affiliates and information about APsaA associate programs were also available at the booth.
The poster session at the Winter Meetings in New York, placing the American Psychoanalytic Association on a par with other scientific organizations. Building on the lively and well-attended inaugural poster session in December 2001, the Subcommittee on Posters and Research Symposia invites submissions with conceptual and/or empirical relevance to psychoanalytic theory, technique, aspects of practice, and effectiveness of psychoanalysis. Of special interest is interdisciplinary scholarship addressing research questions in “neighboring fields,” including developmental and social psychology, family psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, literary criticism, historical studies, history of ideas, and art history.
The design of a new logo, which will serve to strengthen our organizational identity, our pride in being part of this Association, and the marketing of the organization to non-members. [See below.]
This column describing the benefits of membership in APsaA will appear from time to time. For a full list of benefits, see and click on “Member Benefits.” Leon Hoffman, M.D., chairs the Committee on Membership.