Moving Beyond Politics as Usual

Dear Colleagues,

I know that the seemingly endless conflicts of the last several years have left many of our members convinced that APsaA has lost its way. Some of us may even have given up hope that things could ever be different. I am eager to reach these members with this post.

It's true that the rifts in our association are troubling, and that they have bedeviled us for too long. But while no cure is going to make everyone perfectly happy, there are relatively simple and workable solutions to at least some of our problems, and many of us have been working towards them for years. These proposals enjoy the kind of wide support that can eventually lead to a less fragmented, and more hopeful, sense of ourselves and our organization. I hope you will take just a moment to digest them.

1) I think all candidates should have the widest possible choice of analyst AND that each individual institute should have the final decision on what qualifications are required to be a TA at that institute. This was the main purpose of what was called the “local option” bylaw amendment. I do understand why some thoughtful colleagues opposed this proposal but, in my opinion, much (although not all) of the opposition was rooted in older struggles over control and hierarchy.

These conflicts no longer serve our more diverse and democratic organization. All of us wish to ensure that the quality of analytic training and treatment remain high; there is no disagreement about that. But we can’t do that according to the rules that governed the much more homogeneous APsaA of the past. We need to work together in the context of an organizational structure that accurately reflects our more diverse membership. That is what the local option amendment would allow us to do, and for that reason I endorsed and fully supported it.

2) I think that certification does have value. It is hard to argue with the wish that colleagues and potential analysands can rest assured of a practitioner’s competence and expertise. However, our certification process comes from within our organization; it is opaque to outsiders, and sometimes to ourselves, and so it does not have the value, meaning, and credibility that we need to offer the public in this day of multiple therapies. I support the kind of transparent, national, and independent certification process that most other disciplines have relied on for decades.

It isn't true that these changes are “too radical," or that they will somehow split or degrade our great organization. I just don’t believe it. Our association is sometimes slow to adapt to real changes in the psychoanalytic world, but it is robust. Just think of how fearful the APsaA leadership was, not so long ago, about letting in skilled clinicians from other disciplines! But we did let them in, and we are the stronger and the richer for it.

Most of us -- candidates, faculty, and even many of our most renowned training analysts -- know that these changes are essential. They are daunting, yes. But that doesn’t mean they are dangerous if we can move forward in a thoughtful and democratic fashion. The local option amendment and certification reform both acknowledge our past growth and both facilitate growth in the future. If we oppose these relatively simple measures, we will remain tangled in a paralyzing history of old conflictual ruts while the rest of the psychoanalytic world moves ahead towards a more vibrant and productive future.

I do not mean to simplify the issues. But one thing is clear. Now is the time for us to move beyond politics as usual, to get beyond our incessant and unproductive navel-gazing, to take a few straightforward and reasonable steps that lead out of the old quagmires and towards the greater freedom and vitality that our organization, and our community, need and desire.

With your help, we can do this together, thoughtfully and without rancor. Please join me for the best future of our organization (feel free to contact me wrprocci@sbcglobal.net or visit my webpage at www.wrprocci.org or http://warrenprocci.blogspot.com ). Thank you.

Warren R. Procci