Petition Letter

From: Anne Bolger, Veronica Cosgrove, Penelope Di Palma, and Sandra Kazlauskaite - Student Members of APPI.

To: Accredited Voting Members of APPI.

Friday 1st December 2017.

Dear Members of APPI,

This petition letter is the product of our recent EGM. Firstly, we wish to thank most sincerely Dr. Olga Cox Cameron for her acknowledging the importance of Student representation at Board level. Her poignant words were encouraging at a time when Students felt most downtrodden and disillusioned. We the aforementioned Students have been denied full membership to APPI. It has been a very frustrating experience dealing with the Executive Committee, bearing in mind our untenable position as current Student members, working towards full membership with the demand of a four years masters which has not yet been approved by APPI and therefore the criteria for entry is an impossible position. We have been told by both parties (the university personnel and the APPI committee) that the other has not fullfilled their criteria. This does not help us. WE remain in no man’s land. We want to be part of the psychoanalytic community and look forward to offering insights and contributing to the field of psychoanalysis but this, it appears, eludes us.

We are therefore writing to you all to propose a petition. We would appreciate it if you would review same, and if you agree that we should be made full members....

please...sign our petition.

Despite our individual and collective persistence, our concerns and requested membership remains dismissed and denied. Our Student Colleagues, whom were granted full membership, are supportive, and angered on our behalf (those having the same level of education and experience we have).

An EGM has been scheduled for Monday 11th December, and if successful, will have a detrimental impact, not just on current Students seeking membership, but potentially on new Students going forward. We would like if we could use that meeting to highlight our cause with real outcomes.

Hoping you will assist us in our endeavour,

Yours, in psychoanalysis,

Anne, Veronica, Penelope & Sandra.

Please Note that each person applying for the petition has the follwing:

• A masters degree level in psychonalytic psychotherapy from either UCD or DBS
• They are completing the specific modality training in St Vincents hospital (which has not yet been approved by APPI)
• Each person is in analysis twice weekly for the past 3.5 years
• Each person is attending supervision weekly for the past 3 or 3.5 years
• Every person is working clinically with clients ranging in hours from 450 to 1000 hours.

Please find below an individual letter from each, with specific details of psychoanalytic training and experience for each person who has applied.

Anne Bolger

• H Dip Independent Colleges (1 year), Masters from UCD (2 years), currently in SMT (on 2nd year)
• Analysis: 3.5 years – twice weekly sessions
• Supervision: 3.5 years – once per week
• Clinical Experience: 1000 hours with individual patients
• Is APPI registration required for an impending job? Yes

Penelope Di Palma

• Masters from DBS (3 years), currently in SMT (1st year)
• Analysis: 3.5 years – twice weekly sessions
• Supervision: 3.5 years – once per week
• Clinical Experience: over 450 hours with individual patients, over 950 hours placements
• Is APPI registration required for an impending job? Yes

Veronica Crosgrove

• Masters from UCD (2 years), currently in SMT (2nd year)
• Analysis: 3.5 years – twice weekly sessions
• Supervision: 3.5 years – once per week
• Clinical Experience: 580 hours with individual patients
• Is APPI registration required for an impending job? Not at the moment

Sandra Kazlauskaite

• H Dip in UCD (1 year), Masters from UCD (2 years), currently in SMT (2nd year)
• Analysis: 3.5 years – twice weekly sessions
• Supervision: 3.5 years – once per week
• Clinical Experience: 750 hours with individual patients
• Is APPI registration required for an impending job? Not at the moment