Section IV Report - AUGUST 2005 meeting

Barry Dauphin, Ph.D., MSPP Section IV Representative

The most recent meeting of Section IV took place at the APA Convention in Washington, D.C. on Friday August 19, 2005 (Senate Meeting) and Saturday August 20, 2005 (Open Meeting). As is usually the case, the local chapter attendance at the APA was marginal. Nine chapters were represented at the Senate Meeting and 9 chapters were represented at the Open Meeting (although not the same chapters). 

Section IV is now operating through the accounting services of CBIZ, the APA’s accounting firm, as I indicated would happen in my last report. Section IV requests money from our treasury (via the treasurer) and CBIZ writes the check(s) required. The treasurer reports little difficulty so far with this, although implementation was recent. I raised a question about whether there would be any difficulty with shifting money into a CD or some other interest generating account under this new regime. Joe Schaller, Ph.D., treasurer, will look into that, but there are no anticipated difficulties with that. I reiterated my earlier concerns that what starts out as a free lunch might eventually change. There was no indication about any efforts to get local chapters to operate in this manner, although I anticipate that this will be an issue in the near future. The treasury is in very good shape, as Section IV has a large surplus at present.

We discussed the nomination process for Section IV representative to the Division 39 Board. Andrea Corn, Ph.D. indicated that she did not wish to run again for this position. The Senate thanked her for her service to Section IV. As of this report the nominations have been gathered and the nominees are David Downing, Psy.D. of the Chicago Open Chapter and JoAnn Ponder, Ph.D. of the Austin Chapter. Votes are made by the local chapter representatives and are due by October 1, 2005.

We will look to fund an extra graduate student for next Spring Meeting as discussed at the 2005 Spring Meeting. The Senate discussed possibilities for use of funds (continuing a discussion from the Spring Meeting in which the Division 39 President urged spending funds in excess of an extra year’s budget). Because we did not have a quorum, we could not move beyond the discussion phase. We will continue to discuss this at the 2006 Spring Meeting. The rotation of local chapters was discussed, i.e., which local chapters were at the top of the eligibility list for their graduate students.

We discussed local chapter development. There is some interest in Phoenix, AZ for a local chapter, although nothing formal yet. The Louisville group shows less interest at this point. Groups in other parts of the country have expressed some tentative interest. The survey on early career professionals did not generate as much response as hoped or as initially seemed. There will be efforts made at the Spring Meeting to have some of the regular programs count for CE credits. Section IV representatives will receive a new CE handbook in October that should be more streamlined than previous editions.

As of the meeting, Dr. Dauphin was still finalizing the Section IV program for the 2006 Spring Meeting. As of now, this has been finalized. MSPP will be well represented in the Spring Meeting. It is entitled: EST, EBT, EBBP. What might this alphabet soup spell for psychoanalysis? In addition to Dr. Dauphin, the panel will consist of Linda Young, Ph.D., President of the Academy for the Study of the Psychoanalytic Arts and Bert Karon, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University. Dr. Dauphin will have panels focusing on EBT in his first year and on competency issues in his second year. His Presidential initiative concerns external (social and legal) factors that significantly affect psychoanalytic work.

Unfortunately, the Section IV panel, Psychoanalysis. When and Where you Least Expect it. Local Efforts and Successes. Part II, was sparsely attended at the APA. Previous panels had been well attended. As an editorial comment on my part, it was quite unfortunate that I was the only local chapter representative, aside from the president, who attended the panel. Although local chapter representatives are under no specific requirement to attend, it seems that is something that should just come with the territory.

The Division 39 Board meeting was held during the APA as well. The October edition of the APA Monitor will have an article highlighting Division 39. It is aimed by the Division to help change the perception of who and what we are. In February 2006 there will be a conference in Texas concerning immigration, and

Division 39 will be represented. In Washington, D.C. there will be a commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of Freud’s birth. It will be held in various locations on September 15^th. The Division had a task force headed by Jonathan Slavin to determine the next contract for Conference services. Although there was some question about whether Natalie Shear’s services were too expensive, it was determined that her prices were competitive, and she will be retained. She will have a stronger online presence in the future, e.g., registration, etc. done online.

Back issues of Psychoanalytic Psychology will be included in the Pep CD Rom. The 2005 Spring Meeting made more money than had been expected. There has been discussion about moving the next New York meeting to another location besides the Waldorf, but the Waldorf is one of the few hotels that will make a price and room commitment well in advance. This was debated a bit within the Section IV Senate Meeting.

A psychoanalytic diagnostic manual, a project spearheaded by Stanley Greenspan, M.D., is expected to be released in early 2006. Nancy McWilliams, Ph.D., 2006 Division 39 President-Elect, is one of the co-editors.

Jane Darwin, Ph.D. presented information at the Open Meeting about a project called SOFAR (Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists). This is a project of the Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Institute of New England (PCFINE) in partnership with Division 39 and other organizations. This is a pro bono program.  The goal of SOFAR is to provide a flexible and diverse range of psychological services that foster stabilization, aid in formulating prevention plans to avoid crises, and help families to manage acute problems effectively when they occur. Clinicians will be available to provide individual and family therapy and lead support groups targeted for families, mothers and parents on such topics as stress management, anger management and general coping skills. This project is just getting off the ground and orienting some psychologists in New England. However, Dr. Darwin indicated the aim is to make this available nationally. She will communicate more about this when the effort goes national, and Division 39 psychologists will have the opportunity to participate in this program.

During the local chapter reports, I noticed that many chapters continue to complain about lack of member involvement in boards but many chapters are functioning adequately at this point. The Washington Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology has been in danger of folding. They have kept going for another year, but their status is still undecided. This is due to lack of member involvement, especially as many members are very busy in institute work. In fact Jane Darwin, Ph.D. is a former president of Division 39. She is a member of the Massachusetts local chapter. But she said that she has virtually no idea what is happening in her chapter because she is so busy with her institute work. I spoke with her briefly about this phenomenon after the meeting. She quipped that winning the lawsuit might be the doom of Division 39. 

Many local chapters are creative with programming. Most regularly put on paid workshop programs because of the need for people to obtain documentable CE credits. It is unclear if they would operate in the same manner without the need for such credits, although many have expressed concern that CE pressures adversely affect choice of format. None of the local chapter representatives were aware of the impetus to move away from MCE and toward some competency model.