Between mid-September and mid-December 2002, I led town meetings at fourteen psychoanalytic societies and institutes in eleven states and traveled more than 30,000 miles on this journey. I hope to meet with all our affiliated societies. This Odyssey has been an extraordinarily rich, educational, and exciting adventure. These trips have convinced me that if our Association is to grow and flourish, it will do so because of efforts and activities that unfold at the local level.
Our membership comprises both individual members and affiliate member societies and institutes. The enthusiastic analyst teaching a graduate program class; the child analyst working with concerned parents; psychoanalysts leading adult education courses, conferring with child care workers, consulting with city council, advising the courts—this is where the real action is, at the local level. This is where the basic profile of our Association, vital or stagnant will be determined. The national organization can guide and support these efforts, but our roots and our strength come from the communities where we as psychoanalysts practice and where we make our most important impact.
In our town meetings we have tried to think together about local outreach efforts, the factors that foster the growth of psychoanalysis, and the activities that enhance clinical practice. Many of these efforts will be described in detail in our new “best practices” publication, “Forward!” I will touch on a few themes that stood out for me in my travels.
Effective outreach need not be rocket science. Thoughtful, cordial, and responsive interpersonal efforts make an impact. Perhaps we too readily accept aloofness as an occupational hazard or a derived expression of analytic neutrality, and basic social niceties are either neglected or considered unnecessary (or even “acting out”). In fact, reaching out and orienting a mental health professional who is “testing the water” is often greatly appreciated. It is a simple and sensitive response to have a society member greeting and welcoming young and apprehensive professionals to a scientific meeting. The attitude of the person answering the administrative office phone or the quality of the voicemail message may be the wary caller's first introduction to organized psychoanalysis. Not sophisticated marketing, but it sets a tone and reflects who we are and what we stand for.
Graduates of psychotherapy training programs, members of associations for psychotherapy, past and present members of foundation boards, and friends of psychoanalysis need and deserve a place in our analytic organizations. After completing a course of study or graduating from a psychotherapy program, a graduate needs to feel valued and to remain involved in the psychoanalytic community—to have some status and a place to contribute and participate in the ongoing social and scientific life of the society. Being excluded or overlooked by a group with which one identifies easily leads to hurt and alienation.
Outreach, outreach, outreach and then more outreach. If one remains aware of and receptive to activities in which one might participate and be identified as a psychoanalyst, the opportunities are multiple and diverse. Film discussions, museum programs, student mentorships, lectures to local business groups, meetings with parent-teacher associations and the bar association—all provide possibilities. Certainly we may not be experts in many of these areas, but we are uniquely knowledgeable about human psychology, and we can contribute and provide a glimpse into how a psychoanalyst listens, thinks, and can be helpful.
We are skilled and committed professionals who may have something important to say and contribute. However, pontificating about our analytic wisdom and ignoring the knowledge and experience of others not only forecloses the possibility of our
learning new ideas; it also sells rather poorly. As one of our consultants advised, “You can't market elitism.” Indeed, it is off-putting.
Some of the most vital and vigorous societies I have been privileged to visit were those willing to “get out of the box” and take chances. Innovative programs, imaginative outreach, and genuine respect for diversity have added life to these societies and supported group cohesion and identity. These groups were not bent on identifying their enemies but rather were dedicated to seeking out new friends and alliances.
Intra-society political struggles deplete a group's energy and are demoralizing. In such a climate, efforts to reach out, to become more inclusive, and to grow are often eclipsed. As a member of one struggling group said, “How can we do outreach when we are so preoccupied with our own hurts?” It was clear that such dysfunction had to be addressed up front before this group could grow and creatively engage the community.
These town meetings have been uniquely educational and enriching. On a more personal level, I have been deeply touched by the cordiality, warmth, and genuine friendship shown during these visits. Though it would be appealing to see this as a reflection of our personal relationships, it seems clear that there was a far more complex and inclusive connection.
In our published articles and online discussions, there are often dire predictions of organizational fragmentation and pressure for greater decentralization, liberally spiced with gripes, barbs, and complaints. In contrast, during my visits I was struck by the deep feelings of organizational kinship and respect and a sense of shared values about our field and about people. There was a deep-seated understanding that we as psychoanalysts are all in this struggle together. During our meetings I have been impressed with an association of professionals working collaboratively and brainstorming about difficult matters that concerned all of us. This was serious business, and it was being taken with great seriousness.
As a community of psychoanalysts—nationally, locally, and individually—we face significant challenges to our profession and to our clinical science. I am convinced that we will meet this challenge and that we will flourish. We just have to put our minds to it.