APsaA ELECTIONS: PRESIDENT-ELECT
CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS
Bill Glover
APsaA is entering a new era. Our longstanding impasse over governance has been resolved and reorganization under the 6-point plan is well under way. We can now give undivided attention to our common cause of advancing psychoanalysis. With renewed energy, we can continue our leading role in psychoanalytic education, research, professional development, and public advocacy. The excitement of our regeneration can engage members, candidates, and attract other analysts and independent institutes to join us.
I am honored to be nominated for president-elect. Leading the Association in this time of transition is a daunting responsibility, but I am motivated to run by my commitment to APsaA. I’m reminded of when I served as president of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute & Society and chaired the strategic planning that led to our conversion to the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. It was a team effort with many members, including a succession of very able presidents, working together to achieve success. I hope to play a similar role on the team that sees APsaA through its transition. Serving as president of SFCP was a transformative experience and I anticipate leading the Association would be similarly rewarding.
I see our primary task as realizing the potential of ONE APsaA. We’ve become a bigger tent organization united by shared psychoanalytic values and principles rather than uniform procedures with centralized oversight. This doesn’t mean anything goes or that institutes will be left to their own devices unsupported by APsaA. Institutes will follow IPA guidelines whether they choose to function autonomously or join AAPE, the external successor to BOPS. For all APsaA institutes the new Department of Psychoanalytic Education serves as an institutional interlocutor, offering consultation, educational resources, and a forum for collegial exchange. Institutes will determine their own path but unite together with APsaA providing the ‘necessary other’ that is just as essential to our institutions as it is to individual analysts. APsaA will continue to be the place where we come together to learn from and inspire each other while working together to transmit our knowledge to society.
Realizing APsaA’s potential means maintaining continuity while supporting responsible innovations. Our governing body, the Executive Council, provides leadership and organizational continuity. The Department of Psychoanalytic Education is the container for continuity in training. APsaA must also provide more value to its members and reach out to younger people, welcoming students and young professionals. Enhancing our programming and bringing resources to regional meetings is one means. Another is the internet, which offers us much more than list-serves. The possibilities of on-line lectures, seminars, and study groups need to be explored.
We need to continue to enhance our efforts in research and in child analysis. We can support both formal research and experiential research efforts such as the clinical Working Parties that bridge research and practice. Child analysis, infant observation, and developmental research strengthen psychoanalysis. I support child-only and integrated child-adult training.
APsaA has a history of taking courageous, progressive positions on a variety of mental health and sociopolitical issues where we have expertise. I support APsaA’s continuing public advocacy in these difficult times without taking stands on political figures.
Collaboration with the IPA, NAPsaC, and CIPS is essential. I’ve been very involved in the IPA, serving on the Board and participating in various committees and clinical research activities. I am a direct member of CIPS and support the development of NAPsaC. These experiences have taught me how much analysts from different traditions and countries have to offer each other. APsaA has left behind its exclusionary past but we need to continue to improve communication and collaboration with other psychoanalytic organizations. Working together is the best way to heal old wounds, transcend the divisions of the past, and strengthen psychoanalysis for all.
APsaA is one of the preeminent psychoanalytic organizations in the world. We’ve come through a long, divisive struggle and much work remains to be done, but the future is bright. Our shared commitment to psychoanalytic principles, along with mutual recognition and respect for our differences, enables us to continue together under the same roof.
Dedicated and experienced leadership is required to fulfill APsaA’s potential. The roles I’ve taken at local, national and international institutions throughout my career prepare me to lead APsaA. At SFCP I’ve been chair of the Psychoanalytic Education Division in addition to president. I was recently re-elected to the Board of the IPA and serve on its Budget Committee. At APsaA I have been a councilor, councilor-at-large, served on many committees, and currently serve as an elected Council guest on the Executive Committee. Politically I am a centrist with cordial relationships across the Association. In all of my leadership efforts, I’ve listened to all points of view and worked to bring analysts together to find, if not consensus, positive ways forward. If elected I’ll work to adapt to our changing world while preserving our tradition of excellence. I ask for your vote as president-elect of APsaA.
Bill Glover
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.
Though people say that Cleveland is in the Midwest, actually it is rather close to the east, being in the foothills of the Appalachia Mountains. And it boasts a small Psychoanalytic Center. I mention these two facts of geography and size because I believe they are legitimate qualifications at this time of choosing a next president-elect of APsaA. There are leaders in small psychoanalytic communities: the pool of members/voters is limited but the challenges of practice, finance, and training are as complex as anywhere. I hope voters will keep that in mind as they consider their choice.
I feel well qualified for election as president-elect by dint of diverse experiences in the profession of psychoanalysis, in APsaA, and in IPA. I understand our organization’s strengths and its challenges. Of particular relevance now is my extended service on Executive Council and on committees of the IPA.
This past January I concluded my work as co-chair of APsaA’s Task Force on Governance and Structure. The culmination of that group experience was the day-long retreat for executive councilors in October 2016; this was done in collaboration with the Executive Committee. We affirmed the Executive Council in its role as our Board of Directors. Working together, participants proposed significant modifications that would strengthen Council and empower councilors, e.g., adding voting seats for candidates and putting councilors on the Executive Committee itself. These and other ideas from the retreat are in various stages of implementation; some will be appearing soon as bylaw amendment proposals. They sprang from the work of the Task Force on Governance and Structure.
I have a perspective on governance based on participation on Executive Council for a total of 14 years. I have watched that body shift from a disparate group which passively listened to reports to a self-aware group that has actively taken on the challenge of monitoring and guiding our national association—that governs. Council has now fully embraced its function as the Board of Directors of APsaA—as indeed it should. As councilors demonstrate continued willingness to accept their responsibilities, I would urge that the very name of our governing body shift to “Board of Directors,” and the name of Councilors to “Directors.”
There is an even more epic change before us: the members’ vote in June removed the BOPS from our bylaws. This act had been envisioned in the Six Point Plan of 2015. In my view, the hard part is still before us. Our societies, centers, and institutes will be challenged to develop their own policies and procedures for training (so-called “Local Choice”). Members and the Council will want to help the new Department of Psychoanalytic Education [DPE] develop so it can in turn provide consultation to institutes in the short and long term. We are entering a new era as a membership organization which also attends to its training programs.
Looking outside, the IPA has taken on a new importance for APsaA insofar as its standards of training are stated in the Six Point Plan to be the “baseline” of our own. I think this is a good thing, and one that can only help us continue to be part of the global community of analysts. There was a period in my practice where I was heavily involved with IPA (2004-14): I chaired the Rules and Procedures Committee over several presidencies and served as parliamentarian in Mexico City and Prague. I chaired the Sponsoring Committee to the Korean Study Group in Seoul for IPA’s International New Groups Committee for six years, and before that chaired the Liaison Committee to PINC in San Francisco for four. From these experiences, I learned how IPA develops institutes and curricula, appoints TAs, selects and then graduates candidates. IPA standards are a solid base to build upon. I would like to help our training programs match or exceed this international standard, so that our local institutes and centers will continue to offer training programs that lead to membership in IPA as well as APsaA.
A final special qualification: A few years ago I served as the secretary of the North Coast Unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians. In that role, I made a study of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th Ed.). This work has helped me understand how to run meetings in such a way that the minority is heard and the majority prevails. The experience has been invaluable to me at every level.
I hope to earn your votes. I have leadership experience, a personal style of getting things done, and a point of view that can help re-balance this Association. Because I come from a small place, I have for many years been offered opportunities for responsibility and accountability. I have found others on my own. My experiences and my character have made me ready to be president-elect of APsaA—from a small institute in a city far from the coasts.
Richard Lightbody
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.
APsaA ELECTIONS: COUNCILOR-AT-LARGE
The idea to run for councilor-at-large (CAL) of APsaA came to me as quite a surprise. When I heard I had been nominated by someone, I thought to myself, “Me?” Then as I thought about it, I thought, “Why not?” I would hope any of us might think likewise if asked the same question. APsaA has felt like one of my analytic homes since I began training (My institute is another one.). As CAL I would like to continue to keep APsaA as an analytic home for our present and future members, candidates and interested colleagues and guests. I love psychoanalysis and have been participating in APsaA since the beginning of my candidacy and really have not stopped. As I developed my CV for the Executive Council, I recalled with many fond memories, my involvement on the Affiliate Council, including “Breakfast with a Distinguished Analyst,” the Dutch Treat Lunch, the Affiliate Meetings, the Mentorship and Host Programs, the Candidate Connection, not to mention the wonderful social gatherings with IPSO members often including Salsa dancing. Then I thought of my involvement with the Committee on Gay and Lesbian issues when Gay marriage was not even a reality. Then I recalled attending the 17th Annual IPA Research Training programme in London, meeting mentors and students interested in psychoanalysis from around the world. With graduation came my involvement in the Practice Building Today Committee of which I am chair today, while I remain active in my home institute in Michigan. All of this has led me to where I am today. I have always sought to broaden the scope of psychoanalysis and am even more invested in this today than ever. I look forward to APsaA’s continuing growth as a leader in psychoanalysis. I feel that as APsaA evolves into a restructured organization, I see multiple tasks ahead of us. As we strive to maintain quality standards in education, we need to develop more efficient and improved ways of teaching, ever mindful of our world and the lives of our candidates and members. We should work to reduce the fear and the obstacles for psychoanalytic growth, and mentor all graduates to practice and learn psychoanalysis in a way that is free and supports their continuing vitality and their own mind opening processes, whether they choose to conduct research, write, teach or treat. APsaA needs to enhance community outreach locally and nationally to increase visibility and the availability of psychoanalytic treatment, while remaining open to hear agreement, dissent and new ideas always.
Susan Flinders
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.
I joined APsaA in my first year of candidacy. I wanted to learn and build my identity as an analyst in the world, as well as my institute. The Candidates’ Organization provided me the forum to make contributions. I held many positions of leadership on the Candidates’ Council, culminating in becoming its president the year I graduated. For four years (two as president-elect), I attended meetings of BOPS and Council and spoke on behalf of candidates’ needs. I learned APsaA’s history, and worked hard to understand the real differences among members regarding the direction we should pursue as an organization. Meanwhile, I had the delicate task of leading the candidates in productive participation in APsaA while steering clear of its politics. I worked closely with IPSO, the candidate organization of the IPA, to offer more identity building opportunities to American candidates. This included attending international IPA meetings to mingle with candidates from all over the world and encourage professional collaboration with APsaA candidates. Above all, getting candidates to participate in APsaA was my driving goal.
With the restructuring of APsaA, we have an opportunity to direct our intellectual and financial resources from internal conflict to activities that will build our profession. Having graduated less than four years ago, I am in touch with the modern experience of candidacy and membership in APsaA. My generation has benefited from the work and struggles of those who came before. If elected, I will work hard to support the necessary changes, proving that as a profession we are a work in progress.
There are many ways APsaA can direct resources to promote our common goals. I will support initiatives aimed at educating the public on the value of psychoanalytic knowledge, both to understand and treat mental pathology, and as an academic discipline that enhances understanding of human creativity across the broad scope of the arts and sciences. We can develop creative solutions for institutes to strengthen their membership, improve education, and share resources nationally for the benefit of all member institutes. We should support and encourage research on psychoanalytic theory, technique and outcomes. One way to increase our membership is to encourage the participation of candidates from the beginning of training. Those who participate during candidacy are most likely to stay involved and join after graduation.
APsaA has contributed enormously to my professional development. I am eager to “pay it forward” and give my energies to serve the organization in ever widening capacities. I can be reached at navahckaplan@gmail.com if you would like more information.
Navah C. Kaplan
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.
If elected, there are two particular issues I would wish to address which are critical to the future of our organization. First, though APsaA is tackling many exciting projects worthy of our energies, we still must be mindful of allocating sufficient energy toward keeping our constituent institutes viable. The long-term security of psychoanalysis requires the economic stability of its individual members, each institute, and our national organization per se. As the former director of Training and the former director of Clinical Services of the William A. White Institute, I have become familiar with the challenges that candidates and early career analysts face in transitioning into an analytic practice (with the acknowledgment that outside of a few large metropolitan areas these challenges are exponentially more difficult). I would, therefore, advocate that we increase resources to support recruitment efforts and the needs of candidates throughout the APsaA community. In order to promote recruitment, it is critical to reach out to early career therapists to educate them about the utility of analytic training and how it deepens the work with a wide range of patients, regardless of frequency. Furthermore, it is essential to correct the not uncommon perception in the media (and even among most mental health clinicians) that we simply work with the “worried well.” We must change this image by informing the public that it is not unusual for analysts to be treating patients with major trauma history, significant ego/character defects, substance abuse, or a developmental history shaped by mentally ill parents. (It would not be an overstatement to say that a large number of these cases would have never been accepted in analysis or as control cases a generation ago.)
Second, as the current EC representative and former BOPS alternate from my institute, I have also been thinking about how best to address the intense debate within APsaA about whether or not to have public commentary on current political matters. Although many of us strongly believe that we must not remain silent, we cannot overlook the potential of unintended consequences of alienating some of our own members and, most importantly, discouraging many individuals from ever seeking treatment as they might view us partisan, if not antagonistic, to their president and their passionately held beliefs.
As a councilor-at-large, I would thoughtfully address the above concerns, as well as the many other important issues facing our profession from the perspective of what is in the best interests of the organizations as a whole.
Ira Moses
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.
I am pleased to be a nominee for councilor-at-large. I welcome the opportunity to serve our Association in this capacity as APsaA moves forward following the reorganization.
Having been a BOPS fellow since 2001, I have seen first-hand, both how APsaA has been able to work effectively to advance psychoanalysis, and how internecine strife has sapped our creative energy. In response to the de-vitalizing squabbles between BOPS and Council, I proposed a series of joint meetings to help break the stalemate between the two bodies. Despite significant opposition on both BOPS and Council, my tenacious efforts paid off. These joint meetings have been a catalyst for constructive change, culminating in our reorganization. I am optimistic that with the sunsetting of BOPS and the externalization of regulatory functions, our profession will have a greater opportunity to flourish. I support the innovative vision of the newly formed Department of Psychoanalytic Education to help inspire our institutes to provide the best possible education for our candidates.
I possess a strong interest in being a unifier and finding common ground. I will bring this passion to my work as a councilor. I have been criticized for being an optimistic idealist. It’s a badge that I wear proudly. It has served me well. As president of the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Institute, when we were on the verge of closing, my optimism helped forge a collaboration with the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. I am proud to say that we now have a bright future ahead of us as a result.
I value inclusiveness, equality and social justice. I have designed public forums on racism, homophobia and school bullying. Several years ago, as our local society president, I was instrumental in opening up our monthly scientific meetings to psychotherapists, graduate students and residents. Subsequently our attendance increased from a handful of members to several dozen attendees per meeting, resulting in a local renaissance of psychoanalytic thought in our community.
As a councilor-at-large, I will promote efforts that embrace harmony and constructive dialogue, as we endeavor to transcend the discord that has plagued our organization. I believe it is important to lessen the stifling hierarchical nature of psychoanalytic training. I will support programs that encourage graduate students, residents and younger clinicians to pursue analytic training. I will promote distance-learning and cooperative educational ventures between institutes. Additionally, we need to do all that we can to nurture growth in small psychoanalytic communities.
I will bring my dedication and enthusiasm to Council to ensure that our profession will thrive for generations to come.
Jan Van Schaik
reports no ethics findings, malpractice actions, or licensing board actions.