Ryan KinneyJournal #1
Working with the analysts and administrators of the Institute of Psychoanalytic Training and Research has proven to be captivating and challenging. Nearly every individual of the 300+ member organization is a volunteer, except for the few part-time administrative and one full-time office manager. Members of the numerous boards, including that of the member society, training institute, and clinic, volunteer tens of hours every week to ensure that the organization is well-run and that the organization is adhering to its mission of training the highest quality psychoanalysts and providing mental health services to the community at low or no cost, where necessary.
As the organization reaches its 50th year, it has begun to turn inward and reassess its financial and organizational capabilities in this economic contraction. Along with the forming of an outside external board, I have been brought in to find administrative and organizational solutions to issues that must be widely accepted in an organization that is extremely diverse. Members of the institute are advocates of what is known as “lay analysis,” meaning that a person’s background should not prevent him or her in becoming a psychoanalyst. Candidates at the Institute without a PhD in clinical psychology, PsyD, or MSW must go through an intense re-specialization period, where they learn the basic tenets of Sigmund Freud’s teachings.
For the past month, I have been meeting with many of the organization’s prominent analysts in their offices, discussing the administrative and organizational issues that IPTAR is currently facing. Ideally, solutions will be discovered that will allow for the organization to continue to strive and meet its noble goals while not making significant cuts to their budget to meet operational requirements.
Journal #2
Working with the Institute of Psychoanalytic Training and Research has proven to be challenging. I am finding that working within a small organization made up almost entirely of volunteers that it will be extremely difficult to enact change within the organization. Hopefully, as an outsider, my recommendations will be accepted as unbiased, although I am unsure.
After many interviews, I have decided to base my recommendations on the financial stability of the organization. Unfortunately, there are so many variables; it is difficult to estimate exactly what the needs of the organization will be in a five-year horizon. Regardless, more attention needs to be placed on securing new revenue sources and better managing current revenue sources. The organization has taken tremendous steps in reduce expenses in the form of budget cuts, but it remains unclear what will be needed to spur the change necessary to realize the organization’s core mission.
