The first task of the Training and Education Section was to find its niche and purpose within the newly created Department of Psychoanalytic Education. I, as chair of the section, decided, with the support of Alan Sugarman and Britt Marie Schiller, to focus on providing to institutes national, collective support for central functions of training. This focus offered continuity of important and useful supportive functions formerly carried out by BOPS without its controversial evaluative and regulatory functions.
My father was an engineer, and my mother was a nurse, so I was raised in a pragmatic, problem-solving family that did not seem too encumbered by ideology. I turned to this novel task of finding a mission for the Training and Education Section in a similar spirit. It occurred to me that, given the tensions around APsaA's governance changes, it was important for institutes to know the national organization could provide tangible support for their work as educators. All associations are built on the concept that associating with others has benefits that could not be gained by remaining solo. Similarly, with an active Training and Education Section, faculty and governance leaders of institutes and centers could know APsaA provided added value for their work as educators they might not otherwise have access to. We developed the following mission statement:
The mission of the Education and Training Section of the Department of Psychoanalytic Education is to support the development of students in their training, faculty, and institute committees in their delivery of quality student education and postgraduates in their movement from students to educators, administrators, supervisors, scholars, and training analysts.
This mission will be accomplished by providing traditional and innovative programs at national and regional meetings and gathering and disseminating information using modern technology. The Education and Training Section will be a clearing house for information collected from consultation visits to institutes, from ideas generated at the Education and Training Forum, and from the in-depth attention to specific topics under study by other DPE sections and their task forces and study groups. The goal of this effort is to harness the collective wisdom of the educators, administrators, and scholars of the American Psychoanalytic Association to the task of maintaining and extending excellence in education and training within our institutes.
This rather grand mission statement was operationalized incrementally, thanks to the concerted efforts of the charter section members who volunteered to work on the initial projects. Here is what the section has accomplished to date and what we hope to accomplish going forward.
In response to a request from APsaA leadership, who were navigating different ideas about the training analyst system and ways of changing it, our section formed a task force. Ably chaired by David Joseph, the group comprised analysts with diverse points of view on the advantages and difficulties with the extant procedures for appointment of training analysts. While, as may be expected given the long history of controversy surrounding this topic, there were more than a few difficult moments in its work, the group found common ground in many areas and produced a valuable report for the Board that grounded the recently distributed TA survey and the forthcoming work on possibly redefining standards for appointment.
A second task force led by Ralph Fishkin and Dennis Shelby critically examined the use of technologically mediated analysis in training and prepared a report for the Board that included a recommendation on extending APsaA membership to candidates in distance-training with APsaA institutes. The Board approved this recommendation. This hard-working task force evolved into the Distance Education Study Group, which has been an integral part of the DPE and has worked closely with the Covid-19 Task Force.
A third task force, which I chaired, looked at models of training, particularly innovative, combined training models. This work, a continuation of a BOPS Committee on Institutes Task Force,
Richard C. Fritsch, Ph.D., ABPP, FABP, supervising and training analyst at the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis, is chair of the Training and Education Section of the Department of Psychoanalytic Education and incoming chair of the IPA's Psychoanalytic Education Committee.
examined the viability, strengths, and challenges of different models. This work produced a paper by Robert Winer and me published in JAPA in 2020 that can be a resource for institutes considering changes to their model of analytic education.
The Library of Readings project, I hope, will be the signature project of these first years of the section. Robin Renders, a true lover of curricula, assumed responsibility for this effort. She has solicited reading lists from all institutes; from those 11 who have replied, she and her assistant have compiled a database of articles, sortable by topic, year, institute, and other search features. We intend to expand the number of institutes contributing to the database, organize syllabi from institutes willing to share them, and enhance search functions on the APsaA website. In this way, educators and students can access the data base to help them prepare courses within institutes and in other educational settings by drawing on papers that other analytic educators vetted and found useful. This last step awaits the unveiling of the new APsaA website at which time the database, now housed with Robin Renders, will be transferred to it. In the meantime, those who need a search can request one by emailing .
Two standing committees of the section have proved to be important resources for institute educators. Robin Renders chairs the group for Curriculum Committee chairs who meet inperson at national meetings and has an ongoing Curriculum listserv. This group exchanges ideas and problem-solves issues of curriculum. It also provides presentations on innovative practices. All institute curriculum chairs are welcome to attend.
A similar group that supports Progression Group chairs was initiated by Martha Slagerman and has been chaired by Arden Rothstein since February 2020. The Progression Group examines progression policies and procedures used in different institutes and looks at how institutes deal with complex progression decisions. It has met both in-person at national meetings and twice virtually since the start of the pandemic. While there is not a formal listserv, members can send inquiries to the group about issues that arise between meetings. All institute progression chairs and/or their representatives are welcome to attend.
The Committee on Psychoanalytic Studies (COPS) has replaced the former COPE study groups and is housed in the Training and Education Section. In a recent TAP article, Gail Glenn, chair of COPS, described the valuable contributions its study groups are making [See “Committee on Psychoanalytic Study Groups (COPS),” TAP 55/1, page 28]. Her devoted leadership has fostered a strong collegial bond among study group leaders, who meet regularly over Zoom to cross-fertilize ideas related to psychoanalytic education. Mary Landy has recently assumed leadership of COPS.
The section's latest initiative is a task force that focuses on recent graduates in collaboration with APsaA's Membership Committee. Sabrina Cherry and I from the DPE and Gennifer Briggs and Daniel Prezant from the Membership Committee are leading this effort along with a talented group of analysts who are interested in this important topic. The move from candidacy to recent graduate is an important developmental transition in the formation of an analytic identity and career. The project looks to support continued development of clinical skills and theoretical acumen and to help sustain graduates' commitment to an analytically oriented practice and involvement with APsaA.
We plan to provide a welcoming presence at national meetings through social activities as well as peer networking and mentoring opportunities with senior members. The task force is also looking for ways to enhance the presence of recent graduates on the program of the national meeting by advocating for roles as presenters, discussants, and panelists. The initiative was formally unveiled on February 20 with a panel titled “Early Career Psychoanalyst Education and Professional Development,” which Britt-Marie Schiller, head of DPE, and I planned and co-chaired; Sabrina Cherry, Richard Tuch, and Kerry Sulkowicz presented; Sarah Lusk, a recent graduate, provided a commentary.
As I mentioned, it is essential that members both as individuals and as institute faculty and students collectively, see their national association as a resource for tangible support in their work as clinicians and educators. Often this work is done behind the scenes; this report offers members information on the efforts being made on their behalf. I am proud of the accomplishments and ongoing creative activity of our section members. It has been my privilege to work with this group of wise, dedicated, and enthusiastic analysts. I will be stepping down in June and Gail Glenn will be the new chair. We all can look forward to more creative and informative work in the future from the members of the Training and Education Section. My mother and perhaps even my father would approve.