Why do some analysts drop out of the American Psychoanalytic Association in the first year after graduation? Is there a lack of opportunity for recent graduates to find a voice of their own at the meetings? The Membership Committee has decided to try to provide a better niche for recent graduates through the development of a “Special Program for Mid-Career Analysts.”
The committee is addressing the common perception that the overall process of becoming an analyst, though it never ceases to be interesting can also sometimes feel overly infantilizing. The average age of graduation is forty-nine, but most recent graduates are seasoned clinicians, simply by virtue of their many decades of practice. Nevertheless, the concept of being a “recent grad” stirs up feelings of being perceived as “green,” memories of prom night, and the beginning—not the middle—of the life cycle. The committee therefore proposes the term “mid-career analysts” to address the substantial but often untapped cumulative knowledge of the newly graduated analyst in the middle of his or her clinical career.
The Membership Committee wonders if perhaps many people in this position are not sure that they really “belong to the club.” Given the human tendency to question if we are wanted, if we are smart enough, if we belong, if we are in the elite, it may be that many mid-career analysts view APsaA meetings as if they are on the outside rather than on the inside. Many analysts at this phase of their career may need a preliminary place to discuss their views and their questions. In fact, many analysts may feel that they don't “know the secrets” that lead to appointments to committees, invitations to discuss papers or be on panels, the road to certification and training analyst appointment, and all the many concrete steps that lead to active membership.
The Special Program for Mid-Career Analysts hopes to address these gaps, starting this spring in Boston. We will continue to meet twice a year in order to discuss the nuts and bolts of joining committees, presenting papers, and so forth. Analysts will be encouraged to present papers that are still works in progress so as to have an opportunity to practice sharing new ideas and joining in on contemporary psychoanalytic debates. Multiple theoretical perspectives and innovative ideas will be encouraged. See your meeting program for dates and times.
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.” Zoe Grusky is chair of APsaA's Committee on Membership.