PSYCHOANALYST Quarterly Magazine of the American Psychoanalytic Association
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the FALL 2010 AMERICAN Volume 44, No. 3 PSYCHOANALYST Quarterly Magazine of The American Psychoanalytic Association The Life and Work of Edgar A. Poe INSIDE TAP… R. Curtis Bristol APsaA Elections ....6 –13 Edgar Allan Poe once described his litera- the darling of the American literati. He died ture as: “The ludicrous heightened into the destitute and alone in Baltimore at age 39. grotesque; the fearful colored into the horri- D.C. Meeting ble; the witty exaggerated into the burlesque; MYSTERY AND THE UNCONSCIOUS Highlights ......15–23 the singular wrought out into the strange and I believe a unifying theme common in mystical.” His life was burdened by loss, death, many of Poe’s works is evident when explor- and desperation so that his tales of terror, ing his literature using the common denomi- Cancer, Candidacy, mystery, and the bizarre appear as if a repeti- nator, “mystery,” that to Poe was what the and the Couch. .28 tion of his own experience. Edgar was born “unconscious” was to Sigmund Freud: a tool in 1809 to transient thespian parents who to examine the mind. were dead before he was three. He was pro- “William Wilson” marks the transition of Finding Cases vided a good home and education by his Poe’s literature to inner mindedness. The for Candidates ......29 childless guardians, John and Frances Allan. story’s protagonist, William Wilson, has a sul- But after his first year at the University of Vir- lied past traced to his unscrupulous choices ginia he aroused the wrath of John Allan as a school boy. There he encountered because of a “slothful, drunken, and indebted another of his own likeness by name, birth student life.” He was 17 when John Allan date, and physical characteristics. Although stopped supporting him. Edgar wandered, there is affection between them, his performing various jobs, joined the Army, behavior sets him apart from the attended West Point, and at 27 married his other William Wilson. At school and 13-year-old first cousin. afterwards he is deceitful and In contrast to his chaotic life, he was a pro- malevolent. His “double” appears at ductive and focused writer and became critical moments in his life as a increasingly well known as a brilliant short “whisper” in his ear to monitor story writer and essayist, but he was unable him. Enraged when his double to keep editing jobs or launch his own maga- places his “hand on his shoulder” zine. He was often drunk and always poor. during a masked ball at Carnival in He achieved international acclaim for “The Rome where he plans the seduc- Raven,” published when he was 35, and was tion of an older nobleman’s younger wife, the first William Wilson draws his R. Curtis Bristol, M.D., is a member sword intending to murder the second of the Baltimore Washington Society for William Wilson, only to recognize in the Psychoanalysis, APsaA, IPA, founding mirrored room of their fatal duel that the member of the Institute for Contemporary other person is himself. This is a brilliant Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and clinical demonstration of conscience by projection professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of the opposite of a pair—good and bad. of liberal studies at Georgetown University. Continued on page 36 THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYST • Volume 44, No. 3 • Fall 2010 1 CONTENTS: Fall 2010 THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION President: Warren R. Procci 3 Reflections on the June Meeting: Organizational Challenges President-Elect: Robert L. Pyles and Innovative Change Warren R. Procci Secretary: Robert M. Galatzer-Levy Treasurer: Judith S. Schachter Executive Director: Dean K. Stein 4 Direct Pathway to Membership Bylaw Amendment Approved, Eight Years in the Making THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYST Conflict Resolution and Growth Colleen L. Carney and Lee Ascherman Magazine of the 5 American Psychoanalytic Association Editor 6 APsaA Elections: Campaign Statements Janis Chester Editorial Board The Proposed Bylaw Amendments Jane Walvoord Brenda Bauer, Vera J. Camden, 14 Leslie Cummins, Phillip S. Freeman, Maxine Fenton Gann, Noreen Honeycutt, 15 99th Annual Meeting Highlights Sheri Butler Hunt, Laura Jensen, Navah Kaplan, Nadine Levinson, A. Michele Morgan, Julie Jaffee Nagel, 24 COPE: Classroom Teaching Workshop Gerald A. Melchiode Marie Rudden, Hinda Simon, Vaia Tsolas, Dean K. Stein, ex officio Senior Correspondent Science and Psychoanalysis: Studying Unconscious 25 Jane Walvoord Motivation Andrew J. Gerber Photographer Mervin Stewart Projections: What We Talk About When We Talk About Reality: 26 Manuscript and Production Editors Michael Haneke’s Cache Lissa Weinstein Michael and Helene Wolff, Technology Management Communications SPECIAL SECTION The American Psychoanalyst is published quar- Candidates terly. Subscriptions are provided automatically to members of The American Psychoanalytic Asso- ciation. For non-members, domestic and Cana- Cancer, Candidacy, and the Couch Patricia Plopa dian subscription rates are $36 for individuals 28 and $80 for institutions. Outside the U.S. and Canada, rates are $56 for individuals and $100 for institutions. To subscribe to The American Psy- The Affiliate Council: Widening Scope and Practice at the 29 choanalyst, visit http://www.apsa.org/TAPSUB, or New York Psychoanalytic Institute Navah C. Kaplan write TAP Subscriptions, The American Psycho- analytic Association, 309 East 49th Street, New York, New York 10017; call 212-752-0450 x18 or 30 Affiliate Council Practice Network e-mail [email protected]. Copyright © 2010 The American Psychoanalytic 32 Neurotic Attitudes Toward Money John W. Schott Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by 33 Politics and Public Policy: Health Reform Legislation any means without the written permission of The and Psychoanalysis Graham L. Spruiell and Fredric T. Perlman American Psychoanalytic Association, 309 East 49th Street, New York, New York 10017. 34 Poetry: From the Unconscious Sheri Butler Hunt ISSN 1052-7958 The American Psychoanalytic Association does not hold itself responsible for statements made Certification 2010 35 in The American Psychoanalyst by contributors or advertisers. Unless otherwise stated, material in The American Psychoanalyst does not reflect the endorsement, official attitude, or position of Correspondence and letters to the editor should be sent to TAP editor, The American Psychoanalytic Association or Janis Chester, at [email protected]. The American Psychoanalyst. 2 THE AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYST • Volume 44, No. 3 • Fall 2010 FROM THE PRESIDENT work and for contributing their creative ener- Reflections on the June Meeting: gies to the organization. We are also seeing a decline in the number of candidates who have Organizational Challenges and chosen to become members of the organiza- tion as well as in the total number of candi- Innovative Change dates. The only group increasing is the senior Warren R. Procci members. While we are delighted to have these members continuing to contribute to We recently Newell Fischer. This amendment will allow the Association in many ways, it is absolutely concluded the well qualified analysts not trained in APsaA essential that the organization replenish itself spring meeting or IPA institutes to become members of our with adequate numbers of newer members of the American Association. It is an example, similar to pas- and unfortunately we are not accomplishing Psychoanalytic sage of the standards document, of how this. I will be discussing these trends with you Association. A APsaA members with very different view- in greater detail in subsequent postings. number of points were able to work together in sup- important things port of innovative change. In this case it was BUOYANCY AND HOPE occurred, some to expand membership, however modestly, There is an unavoidable message here much with historic sig- while also maintaining the quality of our stan- as we do not want to hear it. We are in a Warren R. Procci nificance for us, dards. The language of the MRRC amend- decline. I intend to devote my presidency to and I would like to tell you about a few of ment makes clear that only individuals with establishing as the major priority for APsaA them. I would also like to acknowledge my training that is “substantially equivalent” to the stabilization of our resources, including our sense of honor at becoming the 64th presi- that obtained in an APsaA or an IPA institute membership, and the development of long- dent of the American Psychoanalytic Associa- will be acceptable for our membership. term strategies that will help us confront and tion at the conclusion of that meeting. NEW SET OF EDUCATIONAL I am confident that our organization can work together STANDARDS The first issue of importance is that we to make our second century a glorious one. now have a new standards document from BOPS. This has occurred in response to a strong need, expressed by a number of local Both of these innovations vividly demon- manage these problems. In order to do this, institutes, for a set of standards that takes into strate that our members can work well we will be engaged in the formulation of an account certain pressing realities facing together and that we are able to overcome organizational plan, which will ultimately lead potential candidates in today’s environment. the tensions that have existed within the orga- to specific strategies, strategies that will help us The document that was assembled repre- nization over the past several years due to the deal with these problems. It is our responsibil- sents the first change in our standards in over very serious external challenges and threats ity to do this and we must not avoid it. 70 years. BOPS is to be congratulated on that we face. In many respects my predecessor, When I spoke to the Association for the being responsive to the needs of a number of Prudy Gourguechon, did a great deal to help first time at the business meeting in Washing- our local institutes, and in a very timely fash- advance both of these initiatives and bring ton, I invoked words that Churchill used in ion, something unusual for APsaA.