• Continuing Study Committee
• Curriculum Committee
• Ethics Committee
• Newsletter Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Program Committee
• Training Committee

CONTINUING STUDY COMMITTEE

The mission of the Continuing Study Committee (CSC) is to develop contexts for MIP members to gather and share ongoing psychoanalytic study in an informal community atmosphere. Our projects may include the Crunch and Brunch series, already in progress, as well as the sponsorship or facilitating of ongoing study groups on various topics, from continuing case presentations to aspects of theory, technique, or professional practice. We also have provided for CE credits for participation for Psychologists and Social Workers (budget prohibits including MDs).

Future projects under consideration by the CSC include periodic dinners at a local restaurant for discussion of special topics; a film and discussion series; colloquia at which graduating candidates may present their graduation projects.

The membership of the CSC need not be large because there are not a plethora of ongoing task assignments. The most labor-intensive task thus far is the program planning and hosting of the Crunch and Brunch series. The committee meets occasionally, not monthly, to brainstorm ideas, to produce and review needs/interest assessment surveys of the membership, and to evaluate the progress of our offerings. In an effort to build a diverse and vibrant intellectual community, the committee welcomes members with all levels of experience and background as well as differing talents and interests.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

The mission of the Curriculum Committee is to implement and evaluate MIP's curriculum for the psychoanalytic training program as it has been defined and described by the founding Curriculum Committee in 1987 and amended by the Curriculum Review and Revision Committee in 1998. The specific tasks involved in fulfilling the committee's mission include:

• recruiting, selecting and assigning faculty to teach specific courses
• serving as a link between MIP and its faculty, including communication with the faculty about MIP's needs and expectations, course times, dates, etc. and writing letters of appreciation to faculty at the end of each term
• evaluating courses and faculty
• giving feedback to faculty regarding their teaching and working with faculty to address problem areas in teaching
• developing and updating appropriate materials for the evaluation of courses and faculty
• soliciting, evaluating, and selecting proposals for mini-semester courses which are offered during January and February and which are open to all MIP members
• providing opportunities for faculty development
• assigning deans to each MIP class; the deans work with deans from the Training Committee and meet with classes at the end of each semester to evaluate courses and discuss the candidates' training needs; deans also meet with classes on an "as needed" basis to resolve problems that arise
• representing the Curriculum Committee at meetings of the Board and the Coordinating Committee
• serving as the link between MIP and certifying body of APA (American Psychological Association) for the purpose of providing Continuing Education credits, including working with Mary Loughlin to apply for re-accreditation, signing psychologists' Continuing Education certificates and maintaining continuing education records.

Job Description of Curriculum Committee Members

Ideally, curriculum committee members should have an interest in psychoanalytic pedagogy and in thinking through questions about how psychoanalysis in its broadest senses is best taught. While much of the Curriculum Committee's work involves selecting faculty to teach individual courses, it is also important that committee members can take a long view of the MIP curriculum and consider it in its entirety. For instance, while there may be times when we want to meet the specific requests of a certain class, we also need to keep in mind how our decisions affect the curriculum as a whole or classes which will follow.

Due to the significant workload of the committee, prospective Curriculum Committee members should anticipate that they will need to spend time outside of committee meetings doing Curriculum Committee business in addition to regular attendance at committee meetings. Often the committee is working under time pressure and members should be prepared to undertake tasks in a timely fashion. Members should expect to be asked at some point to take on the role of class dean, which involves meeting with the class at least twice a year (see above) to discuss the class's evaluations of its courses and faculty and to discuss the candidates' training needs. Deans need also to be able to openly yet tactfully discuss candidate feedback with faculty in a constructive manner. This role requires sensitivity to the difficulties involved in giving a teacher unexpected negative feedback as well as thoughtfulness in helping a class to frame its feedback in a way that can be useful to the teacher. Members may be asked to take on other responsibilities as needed.

In general Curriculum Committee members should be able to communicate clearly, be willing to keep confidential and sensitive information within the committee, and feel at ease calling people on the phone, recruiting faculty and confirming arrangements regarding the scheduling of courses, etc.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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ETHICS COMMITTEE

The Ethics Committee is charged with reviewing any ethical concerns involving MIP members that are brought to its attention. When appropriate, the Ethics Committee then recommends to the Board of Directors appropriate action consistent with the Bylaws, membership criteria and codes of professional conduct of the various mental health disciplines. The Ethics Committee is a consultative body for the Board of Directors and does not have sanctioning authority on its own. The Ethics Committee also consults to the Board on policy issues pertaining to professional ethics and from time to time may recommend changes in policy. In addition the Ethics Committee serves in a consultative capacity to any MIP member who seeks advice on ethical matters.

The Ethics Committee is not usually time intensive for its members. Often there are considerable periods of relative inactivity. When reviewing an ethical issue however members should be prepared for periods of frequent meetings, phone conversations and/ or interviews. There can be additional work demands outside of committee meetings.

Membership on this committee requires the ability to maintain absolute confidentiality when reviewing possible ethical violations and the ability to be frank and candid when discussing sensitive issues with colleagues.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE

The MIP Newsletter Committee has been in existence for four years. Our mission is to promote communication among the various branches of MIP and to foster a meaningful dialogue about issues that are important to our community as a whole and to various individuals within the community. In the spirit of comparative analysis, we want to encourage people to write about issues from multiple perspectives and to foster respect and appreciation among people with different views. We want the newsletter to report on workshops and happenings within MIP, but we also want to reflect on controversies and issues that extend beyond the specific needs and interests of our institute. In light of this one entire Winter Newsletter was dedicated to thoughts and experiences related to September 11. Finally, we want to promote the expression of new voices in the newsletter.

People who are interested in joining the committee should have an interest in 1) brainstorming about newsletter topics/themes, 2) contacting people who are interested in writing for the newsletter, and 3) editing articles that have been written. If interested, please contact Linda Gelda and Rheta Keylor.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

Unlike other committees, this committee is solely made up of board members. The purview of this committee is 1) to monitor the election process of board members and officers and make recommendations to the board of any changes it may think are necessary, and 2) to research any possible board appointed candidates when those positions are available and make recommendations to the board about appropriate candidates for board to vote on.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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PROGRAM COMMITTEE

A member of the Program Committee must be willing to attend monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month from 8:00 until 9:30 p.m. These are important working meetings and attendance at 80% of the meetings is mandatory for a well functioning committee. Each committee member must take administrative responsibility for at least one program each year. In addition to committee meetings, communication among members via email between meetings is frequently necessary; decisions have to be made on an on-going basis and can't always wait for the committee to meet.

The committee member should have an interest in providing ideas for innovative programs with a primarily comparative theoretical approach for the MIP community and for the community at large. An involvement in attending programs in the community is also an asset, because it brings a rich and varied perspective to the committee. The Program Committee also works with other MIP committees in order to enhance communication and to coordinate all MIP programs. In addition, the committee co-sponsors programs with other institutes and must work with their Program Committees.

Since the MIP programs are a vehicle for communicating with the larger analytic community about MIP and its mission, the responsibilities are considerable and can be time consuming. At times the responsibilities include attending social events that orient and support the presenters for a given program. A certain flexibility in dealing with complex and powerful personalities under stress is not to be underestimated. A member must make a three-year commitment with the possibility of adding a second three-year commitment.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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TRAINING COMMITTEE

MIP's Training Committee originated from a bifurcation of the duties of its Education Committee. Staffing, curriculum development and evaluation of faculty were vested with the Curriculum Committee while all issues relating to individual candidates and their progression through the training program became the domain of the Training Committee. Thus, the educational experience of each candidate is overseen and facilitated by the Training Committee from the time of matriculation through graduation. In keeping with MIP's philosophy of adult learning, the committee's focus is continuously on a collaborative approach to educational needs that attempts to coordinate expectations and requirement of the training program with individual candidate interests and needs as much as possible. Through their role as Liaisons to individual candidates, participation in Candidate Advisory Committee meetings and monthly committee meetings. Training Committee members seek to assist candidates in implementing their educational goals while completing the requirements of the program that lead to graduation. Training Committee members serve candidates in the regular four-year analytic training program as well as the Advanced Candidates program. Committee tasks are the following:

• Orienting all matriculating and ongoing candidates to expectations and requirements of MIP candidacy and graduation
• Ensuring that all candidates follow established procedures for completing seminars, pursuing supervision of analytic control work and completion of personal analysis
• Ensuring each candidate has a Candidate Advisory Committee that meets at least yearly during the candidates' years of seminars and at least once prior to graduation to review the candidates Final Project
• Approving supervisors for candidates and ensuring that candidates' personal analysts meet ethical and training requirements
• Responding to questions and unresolved issues from the deliberations of individual Candidate Advisory Committees
• Serving as a forum to discuss and recommend resolution of conflicted decisions from Candidate Advisory Committees
• Orienting advisors and supervisors to the policies and procedures of MIP
• Establishing guidelines for Final Projects and orienting candidates and CAC members to these guidelines
• Facilitating establishment of goals for CAC meetings as well as coordinating and leading CAC meetings
• Coordinating and ensuring completion of special requirements for individual candidates established by the Admissions Committee at the time of candidate admission
• Monitoring and tracking candidates' progress from the time of matriculation through the time of graduation
• Obtaining evaluations from faculty members concerning candidates' involvement in seminars
• Assigning and ensuring each candidate has an active and regularly involved committee member as Liaison to the committee
• Establishing Training Committee Deans for each class to follow their progress as a group through the training program and work collaboratively with Curriculum Committee Deans regarding the needs of each class.

Job description of Training Committee Members

Significant work is required of committee members outside of the monthly meetings given duties associated with being Liaison to candidates and coordinating yearly Candidate Advisory Committee meetings. Time outside meetings is also required when committee members are assigned as Training Committee Dean to follow a class through their years of seminars. Training Committee members serve as Liaison to 2-3 candidates each. Liaisons are always graduate analysts. Student representatives to the committee do not serve as Liaisons and are not present for discussions of individual candidate issues or difficulties. Interest and sensitivity to candidate concerns is essential for committee members. The ability to communicate directly and effectively with candidates, supervisors and committee members in circumstances of potential conflict or disagreement is also necessary. Monthly committee meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month. To ensure sufficient Liaison continuity for candidates, a three year commitment to the committee is expected, with the possibility of a second three year term.

Please contact the current Chairperson(s) listed in the MIP Directory if you are interested in joining this committee.

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The Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, Inc. (MIP) was founded in 1987 to offer psychoanalytic training to members of the mental health community who are independently licensed practitioners. The Institute also offers the opportunity to study psychoanalysis without clinical training to scholars from any field. The spirit of MIP is conveyed in its comparative psychoanalytic approach in which psychoanalysis is viewed in a broad intellectual context that recognizes the existence of several analytic "stances," reflecting the creative ferment and controversies in our field. Such an approach continually examines what defines psychoanalysis as a specific form of psychotherapy and how it can be usefully modified in work with a wide range of patients.