August is the traditional vacation period for psychoanalysis, reflecting its continental roots, as well as the lull before the academic year. For me, it offers a chance to take stock before the end phase of my year as president. Much of the fall will be devoted to this transition, to setting up for next year. It will also be a time to finish up what can be finished up and to come to terms with what can't be done.

Much has been accomplished this year. Of note, we have developed a new focus on the psychoanalytic therapies — those therapeutic modalities informed by a psychoanalytic mindset, including psychoanalysis proper, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, psychoanalytic couples therapy, psychoanalytic child therapy, psychoanalytic group and milieu therapy, and so on. Many of these therapeutic modalities are often underrepresented in the learning programs available in the Bay Area, although most of us practice these forms all the time. We hope to offer a more balanced curriculum.

Also, many psychoanalytic practitioners continue to lack an organizational or institutional base, especially if they do not intend to seek psychoanalytic training. We hope that we can provide that base. Finally, we have begun to take steps to promote active participation in our community. We have instituted several programs designed to implement these goals — such as a salon series, happy hours, clinical interest groups, and more programs focused on what happens in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I will take up what we plan to accomplish in the future in a later column.

Adam Kremen, Ph.D.
President, NCSPP