That collaboration, at the
time, was like a door opening. Joe's theory
and its clear, accessible language taught me
a way of doing therapy that was more useful
and promising than any other model I had
learned so far. In addition to Joe and Hal,
I got to know a whole community of
intelligent, talented colleagues who were
similarly learning, doing research, and
teaching this model. What struck me was the
consistent experience of how
appreciative so
many of these colleagues said they felt for
the theory, the community, and the
collaboration. Of course, much of this
appreciation was directed at Joe and Hal, who
were smart and kind parent figures. But I
also felt a growing connection and
appreciation for my peers, who presented in
Joe's case conference, or presented at the
Society for Psychotherapy Research, or who
met at the Wednesday or Friday conferences.
When I think about what is important
about SFPRG today, I feel a continuity with
how I felt 25 years ago, that this model is
important and promising. It means a lot to
me when patients tell me they get more help
than they ever got in previous therapies
because of this model. (Some of them are
aware of the theory; some aren't.) It means
a lot to me when students or supervisees tell
me how much the theory and the group has
helped them with their patients and clients.
It is a thrill to greet March Workshop
participants who come back to San Francisco
year after year for 10 or 15 years because
they appreciate the theory and the people who
teach it.
The fact that SFPRG is one of the only
groups anywhere to have done systematic,
rigorous research on the process and outcome
of psychodynamic psychotherapy is an
extremely important part of who we are and
means a lot to me. Our group has studied
brief therapy and psychoanalysis, adults and
children, process and outcome. We have done
numerous case analyses looking at moment to
moment changes in therapy showing that
patients have plans, that researchers can
infer those plans and can predict when
patients will get better after therapists
make interventions supportive of those plans.
SFPRG has done studies of how patients test
by expressing poor insight in patterns
specific to brief therapies or
psychoanalysis. Our group has done research
on interpersonal guilt and investigated
principles of Control Mastery Theory by
applying new research from the fields of
animal behavior and evolutionary biology. It
is our research that makes Control Mastery
Theory more than a religion or a fad. Our
model requires much more research to validate
what we think we know and to clarify what we
don't know. For me, research is a
fundamental component of who we are and what
we do.
In 2002, we started the SFPRG Clinic,
mostly due to the creativity, energy, and
vision of Jessica, but with the help of many
other people. The Clinic has been very
successful, training more and more interns
every year, with excellent reviews from
trainees and patients alike. The Clinic has
offered a profound new dimension to SFPRG,
moving it from a teaching and research
organization to a provider of low-fee
clinical services. In addition to its
clinical offering to the community, the
training program offers another opportunity
for SFPRG to teach clinical principles of CMT
to new, young clinicians. The Clinic also
offers an opportunity to expand research
opportunities and do process/outcome studies
with an accessible population.
I would like to say a few more things
about Jessica, who has served this
organization so selflessly, energetically,
and effectively. I have known Jessica since
before she got her Ph.D. when I was a rater
for her dissertation. She threw herself into
the middle of planning every conference we
put on. She helped plan the marketing, hand
carried the printed fliers to be posted, and
often introduced the speakers. Money from
the Broitman foundation supported the
organization for years to pay for
secretarial/administrative staff to plan and
promote the teaching program, before we were
a membership organization and even after.
She and Hal planned the March Workshops every
year and scheduled the teachers, rooms and
supervisors. She was in the middle of every
administrative decision and innovation, from
hiring lawyers to write bylaws for SFPRG, to
incorporating SFPRG into a non-profit
membership organization, to moving to our
current location in the Presidio and
brilliantly negotiating affordable rents.
She almost single-handedly created the SFPRG
Clinic and ran it with help from a dedicated
staff and teacher pool.
Her most difficult task has been to
preside over the transition of our
organization since Joe's death and Hal's
retirement. As the purpose and direction of
the organization became decided by all of us,
not just defined by Joe and Hal's vision, the
direction of our group was challenged by
ideas and wishes of many different people.
As the leader, Jessica maintained her vision,
and presided over a process to help the group
define itself. That included SFPRG
developing a strategic plan, holding many
board retreats to hammer out our mission
statement and clarify how our committees and
board would function, engaging board
consultants, starting town hall meetings for
the membership, supporting a newsletter, and
facilitating a full dialogue of members and
board members. Jessica led the group through
this process honestly, energetically, and
selflessly while
battling illness for over two years and
resisting the divisiveness of political
disagreements on the board. The more closely
I have worked with Jessica, the more I have
developed tremendous respect for her
knowledge, her intelligence, and her devotion
to this organization.
At this transition point in our group's
experience, what is encouraging to me, is how
many people in our group share the same
appreciation I feel for the clinical theory,
the body of research, the opportunity to
continue to learn and to continue to teach.
Even though Joe is not here anymore, his
insights continue to help all of us do better
work with patients. And we see the same
light bulbs go off in the students we
supervise or who attend our seminars and case
conferences that we and our peers felt.
When I think of what I want to see
happen in the next five to ten years, I would
like to see us continue the March
Workshops to our national and international
colleagues who have come for years as well as
to new people who are learning the theory. I
would like to continue a strong academic
program of conferences, courses, and
workshops that integrates new developments in
therapy and theory with Control Mastery
Theory. I would like to see research
discussed, planned, and completed that
furthers and challenges the theory. I would
like to see the Clinic continue to thrive,
training more interns, treating more
patients, and bringing in more money to
support itself. I would like to reach out to
more students and clinicians in the Bay Area
and elsewhere, to come to learn about Control
Mastery Theory, and also to do research and
teach.
When I look at the strengths of our
group, our education program is strong. Our
March Workshops are successful. Our Clinic
is excellent. Even so, each of these could
be better. We need better marketing for our
education program and I would like to involve
more of the membership, and I invite you to
become members of SFPRG, in order to make
good use of
their expertise in presenting better classes
and conferences. The Clinic is going through
some transitions and we need to have better
marketing and patient flow, particularly in
the late summer after the old trainees leave
and take some of their patients.
SFPRG is doing some research, with some
members actively writing and publishing while
others
are frustrated. Our group would benefit from
a review of what research questions are
currently being addressed and which questions
need to be pursued. There are members in our
group who have expressed interest in doing
research but don't know who to contact or how
to proceed. We need to resurrect a research
committee and to address the research needs
of the group in a more systematic way.
SFPRG has some serious challenges in the
years ahead that need to be addressed. Our
lease runs out at the Presidio in the next
four years, at which time the rent will
become prohibitive. We need to answer the
question of where we will locate and whether
we will continue to house the Clinic together
with the group of clinicians who currently
occupy the same space. We need to answer the
question of money. How we will pay for the
administrative help, program, and rent we
currently have? We are currently functioning
with the help of a surplus of money provided
by the Clinic over the past few years. Two
of the positions, the clinic director and the
training director were previously donated for
free which is changing this year. The board
has voted for a token salary of $20,000 for
each position starting in June. We can pay
for the expenses of our organization for the
next 3 or 4 years based on current income and
the savings built up in the last few years
but we will need to bring in more money or
cut back services after that. Our task is to
bring in more money from the Clinic, increase
membership to increase income and expertise,
raise money through fundraising, or apply for
grants.
We have these challenges and others.
The Board has spent a tremendous amount of
time in the last 2 years discussing structure
and practice. SFPRG has bylaws and
amendments to the bylaws. We have discussed
refinements to the bylaws that have yet to be
resolved, which I hope to address early in
June. A suggestion has been made to change
the voting structure of the organization to
include members voting. This suggestion
needs to be clarified, discussed, and acted
on, another business item that needs to be
addressed in June.
We need help from our membership,
teaching, doing research, helping on
committees, writing for the newsletter. We
need financial help, including a serious
thoughtful approach to fundraising. I would
appreciate those of our members including,
spouses, friends, etc. who are knowledgeable
about fundraising to contact us and help us.
And those who are not yet members with
expertise in these areas can contribute
greatly to themselves and to our group by
joining SFPRG. I appreciate all of you on
the Board and in the Membership who have
already expressed awillingness to help. I
appreciate your good wishes, your past
efforts, and your future
efforts. I want to thank those on the Board,
and those who are teaching, supervising,
training interns, and doing research for all
your efforts. I want to thank Jessica for
your tremendous achievement and great heart
over the last 20 years. To the Board and
Membership, I look forward to leading SFPRG
over the next three years with the benefit of
your energy and your good will.
