DIRECTORS'S COLUMN 

By Seth Warren, PhD   

It is understandable that in these shortest and darkest days of the year people have always needed signs of hopefulness. I have always assumed that is why the holidays around the winter solstice involve celebrations of light -hope for the return of the light.  In the West we celebrate the birth of the Savior, "the light of the world," while for Jews, still waiting for the messiah, the holiday of Hanukkah involves the ritual of candles being lit, one more candle for each night, empty to full. Such rituals involving light and darkness go far back into pre-history. 

So I will use this column as an opportunity to offer all of us some causes for hope and optimism about CPPNJ. You may think of these as little Christmas ornaments or Hanukkah candles being lit to inspire us and to look forward with optimism toward our collective future.

Despite the hard economic times experienced throughout our nation and much of the world, and despite the great challenges facing those of us who practice psychotherapy here in the US, CPPNJ has enjoyed a second consecutive year with a full incoming class. Our candidates are the lifeblood of the institute and we all should be encouraged that we have so many new trainees interested in what CPPNJ has to offer.

As a result of the merger combining the faculties of CCAPS and IPPNJ, along with the recent addition of a good number of very talented new faculty members from outside of our institutes, our overall faculty has grown significantly both in size and stature. I believe that the strength and diversity of our faculty at this time makes us unquestionably the preeminent training program for psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the state of New Jersey.

And our Couples Division also is continuing to thrive. It is now entering its third year of existence with a full set of courses offered and new trainees joining the division beginning this January. There has clearly been a synergy between the Institute as a whole and our Couples Division, as we have been able to offer some of the most talented psychoanalytically-oriented couples therapists in the state as our faculty members, and at the same time the activities of the Couples Division - including a series of very successful programs - has increased interest and attention to the institute as a whole.

And we have just had another successful conference event, most recent in a series of successful programs CPPNJ has offered over the past couple of years. Dr. Muriel Dimen spoke at Lenfell Hall this past weekend to a full house including both CPPNJ members and other members of the interested public. Someone who I did not know approached me after the conference to offer congratulations; he noted that he was finding our programs to be among the most interesting events offered throughout the state of New Jersey and he had become a regular attendee. With some upcoming programs in central NJ, we are hoping to extend the geographic scope of our influence, reaching more potential conference-goers further south in the state.

In the context of this holiday column I of course have to plug our upcoming CPPNJ holiday party. It promises to a particularly enjoyable evening in a more intimate and cozy setting than in previous years, thanks to the generous offer by Bob and Mana Levine to open their home for our party - I hope to see everyone there on Saturday January 21. The party is a potluck with a small cash contribution requested to help defray the costs of the party - all are invited to bring a bottle of wine and a dish. Please contact Bob Levine if you would like to offer any kind of help in the arrangements for this party and also if you are planning to bring a dish so Bob can coordinate what people are bringing.

In the interest of our continued success and growth, I urge all of our members - candidates, faculty, and associates, to communicate their thoughts, concerns and suggestions about the working of our institute. Needless to say the best way, from my point of view, for people to have input into the workings of our institute is to get involved directly with one of our committees. We still can use more help, especially on our events committee and our program committee. But I want every one of our members to feel free to communicate whatever concerns and feedback they may have through their elected and appointed representatives to the Board of Directors, to the Training Committee or directly to members of those committees or to myself. It is certainly possible for those of us in the middle of planning or engaging in institute activities to lose sight of what it may seem like from different perspectives and I would value very much the honest and open feedback of all of our members.

Happy holidays and happy New Year to all,

Seth