I would like to share some of our major ongoing initiatives, as well as a few new ones we'll be launching soon.
The Expanded Membership Initiative is central to the notion of reimagining APsaA in which we create a bigger tent for APsaA membership. APsaA can become a home not only for psychoanalysts but also for psychoanalysis. This initiative continues a process that started many years ago when we began welcoming psychoanalytic psychotherapists, academics, and researchers into our institutes and societies, our local and national meetings, and our journals. The Covid pandemic accelerated this process as we welcomed a broader group of colleagues—bound together by the influence of psychoanalytic theory and values—into our Town Halls and Covid and peer support groups.
The APsaA Board, as a whole, supports this initiative. Over the summer we held a Members Forum to discuss expanded membership, which informed the proposal. Soon we will distribute to the full membership a proposed bylaw amendment along with accompanying policies and procedures for implementing Expanded Membership, which are the Board's responsibility to draft and approve. Before putting the bylaw to a vote, we will have a member commentary period to solicit further feedback.
Expanded Membership is an example of enlightened self-interest. It would formalize the inclusiveness we have enjoyed for years by expanding the definition of a member. It would make APsaA more influential, vibrant, and respected in the world of ideas and financially healthier as an organization.
The important work of the Holmes Commission, an independent body supported by APsaA that is addressing the problem of racism in American psychoanalysis, is ongoing. We look forward to receiving its findings and recommendations when their work is completed.
In July, the heads of the APsaA committees that constitute our public-facing activities, including advocacy, public information, and government relations, met in a first-ever summit to discuss how to organize and amplify their efforts. We are currently recruiting a new director of public affairs to our staff to advance our external communications in uniquely psychoanalytic ways.
These activities would focus on proactively promoting psychoanalysis and its applications as well as countering misleading statements about our field; coordinating organizational responses through public statements and Board-approved position statements on major issues; and supporting members in their efforts to contribute to the public discourse. APsaA's new website will be unveiled later this fall with its improved functionality and user-friendliness as well as modern logo.
The Inter-Institutional Initiative grew out of the experience that Bill Glover, past president, and I had visiting institutes, societies, and centers during the pandemic. We learned how little most local groups knew about what other groups were doing and, especially, what they were struggling with. Too many groups operate in a not-so-splendid isolation; what Bill and I heard repeatedly was how many groups were struggling with such challenges as generational transitions, leadership succession, difficulty recruiting members for teaching and committee roles, financial difficulties, and ethics violations. It occurred to me that it might help to create a safe forum for local leaders to meet with colleagues from around the country and share stories about such issues. The purpose of these confidential meetings would not be evaluative or consultative but simply to offer opportunities to share with and support peers.
We have a new task force on future APsaA meetings. This group is taking a fresh look at our in-person meetings in light of changing demographics, the limitations of affordable hotel space to accommodate our traditional meeting structure, and the use of new technologies to make our meetings more modern and accessible. As you may know, we are planning a traditional in-person meeting in New York from January 30 to February 5, 2023, and a virtual meeting in June 2023. The recommendations of the task force will go into effect after that meeting.
We will soon launch a commission to study a range of underexamined areas including the financial costs and accessibility of training and treatment, the economics of our members' practices, and the economics of our local groups and national association.
Under the auspices of the Membership Committee, this new project conducts interviews with a broad, diverse group of members about how they went from their first encounter with psychoanalysis to a decision to pursue training and to join APsaA. We can learn a lot from such narratives, including what factors and experiences were central to their decision and what obstacles they had to overcome, so that we can try to reverse engineer pathways to inspire new generations of psychoanalysts and APsaA members.
There is much to be said about what is happening in our association. I welcome any comments or suggestions along the way.