Application for Society Membership

The following is a revised Protocol produced by the Society Applications Sub-Committee and presented to the Executive Committee in February 2004 and August 2004, and to the Council of Societies at Küsnacht in February 2004.

Protocol for Applying for Society Membership in the IAAP

(The following is a revised Protocol produced by the Society Applications Sub-Committee and presented to the Executive Committee in February 2004 and August 2004, and to the Council of Societies at Küsnacht in February 2004. The Society Applications Sub-Committee would welcome in-put from Chairs of IAAP Societies as this is still a work in progress. Would Chairs of IAAP Societies kindly collate suggestions from their Members and forward these to the Chair, Ann Casement, at: case@easynet.co.uk)

A. Preamble

The application process for new Societies runs within a three-year time frame. In “Year One” (First Year Following a Congress) an application must be submitted. In “Year Two” the application will be processed and in “Year Three” the final recommendations will be presented to the Delegates Council. The details of this time schedule are listed below.

B. Protocol

The following documents, with a covering letter stating the intent to apply for membership should be sent to the Chairperson of the Society Applications Sub-Committee by 15th July of the year following a Congress (see ‘Suggested Deadlines’, page 3 below) in order for the application to be duly processed before the Meeting of the Delegates at the next Congress. The Sub-Committee Chair will inform the President of the IAAP (and the Chair of the IAAP Ethics Committee) of the application. Each application must include

1. A copy of the Constitution and by-laws of the Group

2. A list of a minimum of 6 members (10 if applying for establishing a training programme) with the following information for each member:

a. Name, address and telephone numbers (including FAX and e-mail when available).

b. Academic qualifications: University degree(s), some equivalent qualification, or an explanation of their absence.

c. Record of Analytic Training, including the name of analyst(s) and the duration of the personal analysis (three years equalling 240 hours over a minimum period of three years) as well as the name of control/supervising analyst(s) and duration of the control analysis/supervision (at least one-and-a-half years equalling at least 100 hours). Both personal and control analyses/supervision must be by personal encounter. This information should be sent as a separate document in order to preserve confidentiality in the event of an applying Society’s documentation having to be circulated to any other Societies.

d. Professional status i.e. hospital and/or academic appointments, private practice, etc.

e. Past or present membership in, or rejection by, any other recognized Society of the IAAP.

f. Professional license(s) and affiliations with other professional groups.

g. A binding undertaking to hold in or transfer existing voting rights to the new Society Member.

h. A founding statement from the applying group giving reasons for its proposal to become a Society Member.

Please note: Only current members of the IAAP may be founding members of a new Society. It is therefore advisable, in situations involving a split of an already existing Society, that IAAP membership be respected and retained throughout the application process.

Point of Information: The IAAP has a responsibility to verify the requisite qualifications detailed in points (a) to (h) above but it has no jurisdiction over any legal requirements that may ensue from the formation of a new group. Any such legal requirements would be entirely related to local issues and should be dealt with at the local level.

3. A statement of the ethical code and procedures including an appeals provision for members and candidates in training. These documents will be forwarded to the Chair of the Ethics Committee.

4. An application fee of 1,000 Swiss Francs.

Additional information required for application of establishing a Training Programme

1. Six of the ten members required must show evidence of at least five (5) years of analytical experience since being certified as analysts.

2. A copy of the Training Regulations and a list of the training analysts (where/if used). The list of training analysts (where/if used) should include indication of which training programme/Institute the analysts were designated ‘Training Analyst’ (where/if used) and in which year.

3. Only current members of the IAAP may be founding members of a new Society.

New Society membership and training programme applications may be submitted concurrently.

A written summary will be sent (not later than January 1st of the year preceding the Congress (“Year Two”) to the President of the IAAP.

It is necessary to develop a process by which a Society member that wishes to change its status from non-training to training needs to be vetted and a time frame for this to happen.

The Sub-Committee would suggest that the Executive Committee develop minimum training standards by which to assess those of a new Society applying for training status.

To develop procedures that would help both sides in an organizational split or possible split that has been brought to the Sub-Committee’s attention.

C. Task of the Sub-Committee

In considering the question whether a Society is suitable for membership, the Committee must satisfy itself on the following points:

1. That the Society in question is a responsible body with aims which conform within a reasonable degree to the aims of other Society members of the Association and do not contradict the stated aims of the Association itself.

2. That members of the Society should be academically qualified i.e. should possess University Degrees or some such qualifications as are acceptable to that group as an alternative. Satisfactory reasons must be given for the inclusion of any member in the group who does not possess such qualifications.

3. That members have been adequately trained as analysts. Though exceptional cases may be judged on their merits, the minimum requirement shall ordinarily be three years of personal analysis (comprising 240 sessions over a minimum of three years with an analyst whose training analysis is acceptable to the Association). In addition there shall be a period of at least one-and-a-half years in which the training candidate shall see control cases under the supervision of one or more analysts other than the one conducting the personal analysis. Personal analysis and control analysis are possible only by personal encounter.

4. Whether the Society would be acceptable as a member of the Association to any other Society or Societies that exist in the same country and that are already members.

D. Procedure

Year One
The application must be received by July 15th of Year One. The Committee has six months to process the application. This includes checking that the required materials are available and sending the Ethics Code to the IAAP Ethics Committee for review.

Year Two
As soon as the application is in and found to be in good order by the Sub-Committee, it shall be forwarded to the President by the 15th January of the second year who shall bring the application to the Executive Committee in February of that year. If needed, the President will call for Letters of Opinion. The Member Societies will have six months to offer their opinion from end of February (Year Two) to end of September (Year Three). No response means they have no objections or reservations. After that, no more opinions will be counted.

Year Three
Letters of Opinion and the full documentation will be discussed at the Officers Meeting in October of Year Three. In the case of differences or difficulties between Societies, there will be an offer of mediation by the President of the IAAP and/or a Committee of Inquiry set up at this Officers Meeting. The necessary procedures will be completed, within the three-month time frame of mid-October to mid-January Year Three. The Chair of the Sub-Committee will report to the Executive at its February meeting Year Three.

After completing its deliberations the Executive Committee shall give a full report in writing to the Council of Societies (in late February of Year Three) with a recommendation to accept or reject. The result of the Committee's voting must be mentioned in the report and, if demanded by any member of the Committee or of the Council of Societies, a minority report shall also be presented. The President of the IAAP shall be prepared to furnish members of the Council of Societies with further particulars of the application if these should be asked for.

(The above procedure is unrealistic given the time allowance between the Executive Meeting and the Council of Societies Meeting. We therefore suggest that the following information be made available to the Council: The applicant group’s Mission Statement, the context of the application, and the COI report, if there is one.)

The application shall be voted upon by the Delegates Business Meeting at the Congress in August. The Society shall be accepted into membership of the Association only if a two-third majority of votes is obtained at the Congress Delegate’s Meeting. The voting shall be by secret ballot. The decision shall be final and no reasons need be given to the application Society for this decision. The applying Society will be notified immediately of acceptance or rejection at the Congress.

Society Applications Sub-Committee – September 2004.

Astrid Berg.
Ann Casement (Chair).
Deborah Egger.
Marjorie Nathanson.