PINC is in a time of transition. There are two major shifts that we are experiencing right now: cultural and generational.
The first is our continued work on changing our structures and practices to align more closely with our Vision Statement. To this end, the Board of Directors spent time this summer revising our credentialing guidelines to broaden the range of experiences that would qualify someone to become a personal or supervising analyst at PINC. This removes some exclusionary obstacles and will hopefully lead to a more diverse list of analysts to work with our candidates. Other similar efforts are underway as well. The Board implemented a flat fee for candidate supervision as a start towards addressing the cost of training, and the Curriculum Redevelopment Task for is looking to make changes to PINC’s curriculum to bring it in line with the expectations of a new and more diverse generation of candidates. PINC recently accepted its first cohort consisting of a majority of people of color. This is a hopeful sign of the possibility a more diverse and inclusive psychoanalysis. I’m proud of the work of the Board and the relevant committees in thinking deeply about how to create a more inclusive and affordable training experience. These are big changes with big implications, and it is understandable that they may feel jarring and disruptive.
The second area of transition is generational. PINC is in the late stages of a shift in its leadership paradigm from one led largely by its founders to one in which the rest of us are going to have to get involved for the continued success of the Institute. After giving generously of their time and hard work, many of this generation have already pulled back from leadership and teaching roles as they near or have reached retirement. This is inevitable. We must express our profound appreciation for the dedication of this generation to building PINC from the ground up, to chairing and working on the committees and the Board, and to making PINC into the creative and leading-edge institute it is.
However, this generation’s transition away from leadership roles has left our institute with many vacancies. It has already been many seasons since we have had a full contingent of directors on the Board, particularly such roles as Faculty Representatives and Members-at-Large. We have had a hard time recruiting for other key positions, such as President Elect, Treasurer, and Dean. A number of our core committees have gone without or with only interim chairs including Curriculum, Group Process Faculty, Membership, and most recently, Credentials. Some of our committees have gone away because we can no longer resource them, such as Continuing Education Chair and Graduation Chair.
While younger generations have been very involved in some aspects of PINC, particularly the Community Psychoanalysis Track, Visiting Scholars, and the Extra Curricular Education Committee, we are finding that this generation is less willing to step into positions of leadership than was the prior generation. We lack sufficient leaders throughout the Institute, from future Board Presidents to instructors. Without your participation, it will become untenable for our institute to continue to train new generations of analysts and provide the cut-ting-edge programming that we currently do.
We can speculate as to the reasons why recruiting the younger generations has been so difficult: decades-old overreliance on the founders; fear of being trapped in a role with no replacement in sight; recognition that younger clinicians may have less time for volunteerism given the economic requirements of the Bay Area and family obligations. Some may also feel it is a risky time to be stepping into a position of leadership given the number of cultural changes that are taking place at PINC.
In addition to all of the above difficulties for people considering leadership roles, it is my view that COVID has also contributed to members pulling back from involvement in PINC. We have all become more isolated, and yet, working together on behalf of our institute is a way to increase contact and feel part of our community. In person meetings used to pull us together with contact (and food, and, at many meetings, wine!). I know I miss these contacts, and I suspect many others do as well.
PINC needs your help going forward, and I am asking all in our community to please think about stepping into a leadership position or onto a committee as a member. We have so many substantive and important changes happening, tremendous interest in the training we offer, and yet we’re missing the engagement of our members to keep PINC running. This is an exciting time, when participation in leadership roles can be impactful and creative as we work to move the institute and psychoanalysis into the future. Joining leadership positions now can give you a voice in how change happens at PINC.
If you are interested, please contact any Board members including me (kalihess2122@gmail.com), or our Nominations chair, Bruce Weitzman (bweitzman@ me.com). Our institute exists because of the efforts of a generation that wanted to open up psychoanalysis to those of us who would have been excluded from training. Let’s take our cue from these leaders and do it again.
