Our History
CIPS was formed in 1992, following the admission of its four founding societies to the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA). The founding societies of CIPS were the first American psychoanalytic societies outside the aegis of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) to be admitted to the IPA. Their admission to the IPA had been made possible by a lawsuit brought by American psychologists against both APsaA and the IPA, charging both organizations with "restraint of trade" as a result of their organizational policies.
Throughout its history prior to the lawsuit, the American Psychoanalytic Association had excluded non-medical practitioners from training and membership. Determined to overcome this exclusionary policy, non-medical practitioners formed their own "independent' training programs and psychoanalytic societies outside the organizational structure of the American association. These independent societies, however, could not join the IPA because the IPA had granted APsaA an "exclusive franchise" over American membership in the IPA. The settlement of the lawsuit entailed the dissolution of APsaA's "exclusive franchise" agreement with the IPA, opening the door for the "independent groups" to join the IPA for the first time.
When the first of the so-called "independent groups" joined the IPA, many members of both the IPA and APsaA welcomed us. But our efforts to integrate ourselves within the IPA community were not unobstructed. We were outsiders to the long-established relationships that our APsaA colleagues had formed with their European and Latin American counterparts. Many in the IPA and APsaA, bitter about the lawsuit that had forced the IPA to admit our groups, viewed us with distrust and resentment and sought to block our full integration.
CIPS was formed in 1992 to protect and promote the interests our interests as independent IPA groups. Since its creation, CIPS has successfully promoted our societies and members in the IPA, ensuring equal representation on IPA committees and governing bodies, as well as on the governing boards of successive North American regional organizations of IPA groups. In addition, CIPS has undertaken an ever-expanding agenda to promote our interests within the wider American psychoanalytic community, to advance our social standing as a profession, and to facilitate fruitful dialogue and collegial relations among our members.
