The History and Status of Social Workers in the American Psychoanalytic Association

Historic changes within the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) in the 1980s eventually allowed social workers and other non-medical professionals to train in clinical psychoanalysis as regular “candidates”. The steps to work through organizational resistance to this change are traced. The present level of activity of those analysts who began as social workers is discussed, with numeric data showing expansion of involvement in training and organizational life. Analysts with a background in social work are beginning to make significant positive contributions to APsaA. There is a more rapid pace of inclusion of analysts from social work in the governance side of APsaA than the educational. The ultimate impact on the organization is difficult to anticipate.

Richard LightbodyEmail:

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Richard Lightbody, M.D.,   is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center. He is proud of his role in bringing non-analysts into leadership positions in the Center. He has served on numerous committees of the American Psychoanalytic Association since completing his training in 1992.