Psychotherapist Committee Update: Fall/Winter 2025

by Margo P Goldman, MD and Kathryn Fleming-Ives, MD

We are pleased to report continued progress in Psychotherapists’ transition from longstanding Associate Membership to full Clinical Membership in APsA. When passed in 2023, the Expanded Membership Bylaw change granted full Clinical Membership to all current Psychotherapist Associates and opened the door for qualified psychoanalytic psychotherapists to also join APsA. The Expanded Membership policy made graduates of APsA Psychoanalytic Institutes eligible to join as full Clinical Members, and now allows psychotherapists who had not obtained such training to apply and meet substantial equivalency criteria for acceptance. APsA formed a Psychotherapist Advisory Group (that includes several Psychotherapist Committee members) to develop recommendations for admission standards, and a process to vet applicants. In keeping with Psychotherapist Associates’ longstanding “big tent” membership approach, the Advisory Group strongly recommended inclusive admission criteria. In February 2025, APsA’s Board of Directors approved the Psychotherapist Advisory Group’s recommendations as presented by the MRRC; the Advisory Group has since used this process to review and approve approximately 25 expanded pathway applications. The Advisory Group is now working with APsA leadership and the IRRC to delineate criteria for psychotherapists-in-training and an aspirational model for psychoanalytic psychotherapy training programs. We are optimistic APsA will attract additional psychotherapist members and therefore bolster APsA as an organization of psychoanalysts and psychotherapists committed to psychoanalytic treatments – psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.

The Psychotherapist Committee considered how APsA could market the bylaw change to increase psychotherapists’ awareness of the opportunity to join this enriching organization. To address this concern, Committee and BOD member Linda Michaels, the Psychotherapist Advisory Group and Committee Co-Chairs Kathryn Fleming-Ives and Cynthia Lucas worked with APsA’s former Director of Communications Onya West to create a flyer to broadcast this substantial change. Psychotherapist Committee Member Olga Fridman is helping with this publicity initiative, so please don’t hesitate to suggest organizations, training programs, social media platforms or other groups whose participants could benefit from being an APsA Psychotherapist Member. You may contact Olga Fridman at [email protected] with this information.

Consistent with APsA’s mission to grow by including psychoanalytic therapists, Caroline Sehon, the Director of the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI) and APsA secretary approached the Psychotherapist Committee and Psychotherapy Department about collaborating with IPI to host an Virtual Open House for introducing IPI’s psychotherapist members and trainees to APsA. We are thrilled to report the Open House was a tremendous success with robust attendance by Dan Prezant (APsA’s President), Bonnie Buchele (APsA’s President-Elect), Deana Schuplin (APsA’s Head of Membership), Debra Steinke Wardell (APsA’s Membership Services Director), Psychotherapist Committee members, IPI faculty, trainees and members, as well as numerous other psychotherapists interested in hearing about APsA membership!

Psychotherapists continue their participation in APsA Committees, Task Forces and leadership bodies. Linda Michaels will now serve on the Board of Directors’ (BOD) Nominating Committee and will seek Psychotherapists interested in running for BOD or officer positions. Michael Groat continues to serve as the second Psychotherapist member of APsA’s BOD. If anyone is interested in seeking a nomination, please contact Linda Michaels at [email protected].

Psychotherapists also sit on APsA’s Restructuring Task Force (Kathryn Fleming-Ives), The Commission on the Economics of Psychoanalysis (Margaret Cheng Tuttle)) and the Scientific Session Program Committee (Ann Dart). Our committee monitors scientific program content to ensure inclusive language and topics. We strive for collaboration between the Program Committee, Psychotherapist Committee and Psychotherapy Department to ensure that APsA’s Scientific Sessions are geared for all APsA’s members: psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.

In addition to the Psychotherapist Committee’s involvement in APsA’s organizational development, we are still sponsoring quality scientific sessions. At the 2026 National Meeting, The Business of Practice Workshop (Friday January 30th) will highlight increasing access to care through advocacy, and the psychodynamic processes triggered by insurance concerns. Presenter Joe Feldman from Cover My Mental Health will demonstrate his use of advocacy to help patients obtain insurance coverage for treatment. Psychologist and advocate Linda Michaels will be the discussant. The Psychotherapists Present Discussion Group (Thursday January 29th) will feature Committee Member Michael Burke presenting his work with a child performer; the discussant is APsA’s President-Elect Bonnie Buchele.

The Psychotherapy Department is also involved with several additional psychotherapy-focused scientific sessions this February:

• At the 2026 Scientific Paper Prize Symposium, (co-sponsored by the Psychotherapy Department), discussant Rick Summers (Department Co-Chair) and case presenter Cynthia Lucas will illustrate the clinical implications of the prize-winners’ research findings about the impact of interpretations on treatment outcomes. Paper co-author and psychologist Jack Keefe will present the research data.
• Rick Summers will discuss Christopher Bartel’s case presentation at the 2-day Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Clinical Workshop.
• Petra Pilgrim (Department Co-Chair) will Co-Chair the Fellowship Research Seminar featuring psychiatrist Allison Rhodes’ presentation of a study of transgender and other gender minoritized individuals’ perceptions about and experiences with HPV vaccination.
• Our Committee and the Psychotherapy Department will host our annual social events: The Psychotherapy Dine-Around on Tuesday January 27th 6:30PM at Tropisueno and the Psychotherapy Department Networking Reception on Thursday January 29th 7-9PM at Local Edition. Details and RSVP links are also in the National Meeting Preliminary Program; space is limited so please make sure you register for these enjoyable gatherings with like-minded colleagues! Thanks to Olga Fridman and Michael Burke for coordinating these social events.

As psychoanalytic therapists, we know change is inevitable. In this vein, we are sad to announce that our able Committee member and Newsletter Co-Editor Padma Desai has decided to take a “pause” from APsA and therefore our Committee and Newsletter. We greatly appreciate her contributions, especially for the Newsletter and social events. We will miss her and hope she returns. We are delighted Kathryn Fleming-Ives will join Margo Goldman as Newsletter Co-Editor! Kathryn and Margo will collaborate with APsA’s new Director of Communications Sam Hall to increase our Newsletter’s readership. Examples of potential recipients include psychotherapy-related List Serves like the American Association of Psychiatry Residency Directors, advocacy organizations like PsiAN, Institute Psychotherapy Training Directors and APsA’s and other relevant social media sites. Please share your ideas for additional distribution lists by contacting Margo Goldman ([email protected]) and Kathryn Fleming-Ives ([email protected]).

Our former Committee Co-Chairs and Committee Members, Carol Reichenthal and Margo Goldman are stepping back from their Committee involvement and will now serve as Ex-Officio Committee Members. Carol was previously an advisor but answered “the call” in 2022 when we needed her expertise to resurrect the Committee after a period of post-Covid dormancy. We greatly appreciate Carol’s work for APsA Psychotherapists historically and more recently during the Committee’s recovery and the Expanded Membership transition. You will learn more about Carol’s significant contributions to APsA and its Psychotherapists in this issue’s interview with her. Margo will continue to co-edit the newsletter and author an occasional article. We are so grateful for Margo’s steadfast energy and wisdom for psychotherapists at APsA and are glad she will remain in these roles.

In keeping with the Committee’s “participatory management” model, our current Co-Chairs, Kathryn Fleming-Ives and Cynthia Lucas will end their tenure after the June 2026 Virtual Annual Meeting. We are fortunate to have such able, engaged Committee Members and will update you about who will “take the reins” in June.

As always, we hope this Newsletter inspires you to submit a future article and of course, to join APsA. We welcome a variety of topics ranging from personal/professional journeys, memorable professional experiences, book or conference summaries or anything related to being a psychoanalytic therapist. Don’t hesitate to contact both Margo Goldman ([email protected]) and Kathryn Fleming-Ives ([email protected]) for more information about a possible submission. Please also spread the word about the tremendous benefits of being a Psychotherapist Member!

More in the Fall/Winter 2025 Edition