[Editor's note: This is a reprint of part of an article published in the January 2010 edition of the Affiliate Council newsletter, The Candidate Connection.]
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of the Affiliate Council's renamed and redesigned newsletter, The Candidate Connection.
In talking to many of you over the summer and fall, I learned that it may be helpful to outline what the Affiliate Council is and its mission. I was then asked by Prudy Gourguechon to outline the organizational structure of the Affiliate Council, so I am sharing that with you here.
The Affiliate Council is primarily a governing body, a candidate version of APsaA's Executive Council (board of directors). As you know, the Affiliate Council is comprised of the Executive Committee, one delegate representative from each institute, and our committee chairs. The Executive Committee is elected (either by the delegates if it is an uncontested election or by all the Affiliates if there is more than one candidate running per office), and the delegates play a very important role. The delegates vote in our elections (as I explained above). They vote to make Affiliate Council bylaw changes, and they vote to pass proposals that Affiliates might want us to bring to APsaA. There is no uniform way of selecting delegates, some are elected and others chosen by candidates at their respective institutes.
The Affiliate Council also has a Steering Committee comprised of the Executive Committee and the chairs of the committees, which currently include: Affiliate Participation, Bylaws Committee, Committee on Candidate Organizations, Ethics Committee, the Finance Committee, the Newsletter Committee, IPSO Liaison Committee, the Nominations and Elections Committee, Committee on GLBT Issues, Committee on Race and Ethnic Diversity, the Scientific Paper Prize Committee, and the Scientific Program Committee. The chairs report on their committees in the Steering Committee, but they also serve an advisory function to the Executive Committee. This group also meets during the National (January) and Annual (June) Meetings, usually before our Affiliate Council Meeting. The Executive Committee mostly meets informally at the discretion of the president.
The regular program sessions of the Affiliate Council include: the Steering Committee meeting, the Affiliate Breakfast Gathering (right before the Affiliate Council Meeting), the Affiliate Council Meeting, the Affiliate Forum, the Candidate-to-Candidate Program, the newly renamed Coffee with a Distinguished Analyst, and the newest regular program session which will begin in January—a Supervisory Discussion Group.
Current Affiliate Council projects and awards include: two Scientific Paper Prizes ($1,000 and $500), which are selected by the Scientific Paper Prize Committee; the Candidate Connection Newsletter, which is handled by the Newsletter Committee; regular scientific programming organized by the Scientific Program Committee; the new Candidate Travel Program, managed by the Finance Committee; and an updating of our Candidate Organization Manual, which is being done by the Committee on Candidate Organizations.
There are a few other Affiliate activities that are organized by the Affiliate Council, but do not necessarily qualify as a project or award. For example, the Affiliate Council (or mostly the president) recommends a particular Affiliate to a chair of an APsaA committee that is interested in having a candidate member. Similarly, if an Affiliate is interested in a particular APsaA committee, the Affiliate Council will help them in connecting to the chair of the particular committee. As you may know, there are many Affiliates participating in APsaA committees. Two other activities are social ones: the Affiliate Council has a dutch treat lunch right after the Affiliate Council meetings, and there is always an Affiliate party in the winter and spring. Both of these activities are funded by Affiliates themselves.
Finally, our Affiliate Council mission statement:
The Affiliate Council is a national group of candidate members that represents candidates at all institutes of the Association. The purpose of the Affiliate Council, through its delegates, officers, committees, and other candidate participants, is to improve the psychoanalytic training experience. The bylaws of the Affiliate Council specifically define its purpose in the following ways: to increase Affiliate membership and promote the involvement of Affiliate members in the business and functions of the Association; to facilitate candidates' awareness of all relevant issues facing psychoanalysis by promoting formal channels within the Association for briefing candidates; to promote formal channels within the Association for expressing Affiliate member concerns and for addressing issues likely to face the next generation of psychoanalysts; and to promote communication among Affiliate members and provide a structure for candidates to attend to some of their own unique needs at national meetings.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by e-mail, , or phone 212.674.6444.
Carmela Perez, Ph.D., is president of the Affiliate Council.