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IAPSP Presidential Update

The International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP) was incorporated just over a year ago and I am very pleased to announce that we have over 380 members and continue to grow.

Jill Gardner, Chair, and her Committee, Shelley Doctors and Estelle Shane have ably completed our first membership elections for representatives to the International Council, the governing group of IAPSP. To manage an election process by email is complex. We apologize for some of the inadvertent glitches and took a number of steps to rectify the problems. I want to thank Jill, Shelley and Estelle for their hard work. As many of you know, there were 3 permanent membership openings from the Western Region and 3 from the Midwestern Region that were absented, so that a total of 6 positions became democratically elected Regional positions for 3 year terms. The three new representatives from the Western Region are (please stand when I announce your name and hold your applause until the end) Lucyann Carlton, Judy Pickles, and Joye Weisel-Barth; and the 3 from the Midwestern Region are Peter Buirski, Amy Eldridge, and Sandra Kiersky. We also elected 5 new members-at-large for 3 year terms. They are Doris Brothers, Susi Federici-Nebbiosi, Steven Knoblauch, Dori Sorter and Judy Teicholz. I congratulate all of you and look forward to working with you.

As you now know, Bill Coburn has converted our journal into a new quarterly with a new name, the International Journal for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, and, if you are an IAPSP member, the subscription is included in your membership fees and you have received your first issue. Bill is guiding the journal in an expansive direction with efforts to more broadly integrate self psychology into the greater psychoanalytic community. IJPSP is now a journal included on the PEP-CD ROM series so that all articles will be available to the larger psychoanalytic audience - a very important accomplishment. We are deeply appreciative of your efforts and the outstanding job you are doing Bill. Thank you.

Allen Siegel continues to create an innovative Website - www.psychologyoftheself.com. We expect the Website invaluable in maintaining connections to the self psychology community throughout the year. To this end, Allen is about to launch a Bulletin Board, on which IAPSP members can participate in an open ended, multi-threaded ongoing conversation about anything they wish (he tells me). The website provides information as to what is happening on the site and disseminates other IAPSP information as well. Offered on the site are online reading groups, writers' workshops and online courses. Soon you will find on the Website a Membership Roster searchable by various features such as geographic location and areas of specialization. Accessible to all professional, this invaluable referral list will function as an important marketing tool for you and your practices. Allen is open to all of your ideas and suggestions. Do not hesitate to speak with him. We are deeply appreciative of your efforts and the outstanding job you are doing Allen. Thank you.

And we have had two new Executive Committees formed that have been initiated by IAPSP members bringing creative ideas to my attention. The first is a Mentorship Program wherein professionals new to self psychology conferences are offered an opportunity to have a mentor to welcome them and to introduce them to others. Maria Slowiaczek, who is a seasoned professional from Michigan and a psychoanalytic candidate at NIP's National Training Program, initiated this idea and I have appointed Maria and Shelley Doctors to be the Co-Chairs of this Program. (Maria and Shelley - please take a bow). We have had approximately 30 enthusiastic Conference attendees and mentors participate in this program this year. If you are interested in participating as a mentor or mentee, please contact Maria or Shelley.

The second is a Committee on Psychoanalytic Institutes. Sandra Hershberg, who is the Director of Psychoanalytic Training at ICP&P of Washington, D.C., suggested that we develop a list of psychoanalytic institutes who include, emphasize, or focus exclusively on self psychology in their psychoanalytic training programs. These institutes will be listed on the Web, providing potential psychoanalytic candidates helpful information and providing an invaluable marketing service to our institutes. I have appointed Sandy and Gary Rodin to be the Co-Chairs of this committee. (Sandy and Gary please take a bow).

I went into detail about these two new committees to impress upon you how valuable ideas often emanate from the membership. It provides you an opportunity to initiate, to participate, and to create a better IAPSP for us all. So do not hesitate to contact me.

If you are not yet a member of IAPSP, I urge you to join. The membership fee is essentially covered through the member conference deduction, a free member subscription to our journal, and 20% discounts on all books with Mental Health Resources. In addition you will be listed on the exclusive Membership Roster, a great referral resource and will have access to all the activities on our Website and be able to be a part of an exciting interactive community. As they say in the vernacular, not a bad deal!

I wish each of you a healthy, expansive and prosperous year ahead. Thank you.