Having served on the Physicians Assistance Committee (PAC) of the Illinois State Medical Society, I am very grateful that the American Psychoanalytic Association has established the Joint Psychoanalyst Assistance Committee (JPAC). From the example in the article in the Winter/Spring 2007 issue of The American Psychoanalyst, one might conclude that impairment relates largely to medical conditions where death is imminent. In my experience, impairment may be a much more chronic condition, especially when the practitioner is impaired by addiction, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorder, sexual compulsivity, or other compulsive disorders. The culture of secrecy and denial may be even more debilitating to the practitioner and the analytic community under these conditions than when the impairment is more time-limited. This secrecy and denial might account for the relatively low number of referrals to local PACs. JPAC might want to consider some form of intervention training for local PACs to systematically address these conditions.
TAP welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be less than 350 words long. Letters will be printed as space allows and at the discretion of the editorial board.
Jeffrey D. Roth, M.D.