by Todd Rising, Psy.D.

NCSPP continues our year-in-reflection, orienting ourselves to our consultants’ (Early/Mid) DEI Assessment Report and recommendations. A primary task has been to identify aspects of our internal culture that unconsciously pressure group thinking into consensus, subtly squeezing out space for dissent. We confront the reality that the backbone of our organization relies on Board members’ volunteerism of time and energy, which creates a dominant culture of privileged perspectives. This pressing towards consensus emanates from members of the dominant culture and sets the stage for systemic repetitions of oppression within the organization. A significant part of our current aim is to broaden internal spaces (e.g. within ourselves, our meetings, our future programming) to metabolize the different facets of this issue of invisible silencing.

We have also considered what promotes and hinders group psychological safety. Members of the Executive Committee have created a document of guiding principles intended to nurture an inclusive and mindful internal stance as we engage in shared spaces. To encourage flexibility and complexity in thinking we also look to continue cultivating a growth mindset -- a complementary concept to psychological safety -- within NCSPP. Together, these concepts and approaches invite courage to take risks while holding enactments and “mistakes” in mind as opportunities for learning and growth, not necessarily as shameful and irreparable missteps. Ideally, continuing to integrate these concepts will encourage risk-taking and speaking up as we continue our long-term goal of uncovering and addressing mechanisms of systemic oppression within our organization.

Our year-in-reflection, however, is moving quickly. We remain aware that our pause is not the be-all and end-all. Yet, with the commitment and investment of our incredibly thoughtful and passionate Board and organizing committee members, I remain realistically hopeful about the work in front of us as we remain a continual work-in-progress. 

With their work this and every year in mind, I want to extend a tremendous thank you to our many committee members, committee chairs, division chairs, and Executive Committee members. The behind-the-scenes work can be time-intensive and granular in nature, and I’d like to recognize the cumulative power of each of our organizational members’ various processes and actions. Many thanks to Michele McGuinness, our stellar Registrar and Administrator, who joins with NCSPP’s growing pains. Her patience and attention to detail are exquisite, and I continue to cherish her ongoing faith in our navigation of complex issues that repeat, with periodic resolution, along the path of NCSPP’s continuous development. Thank you, Michele!

As they step down from the Board and Executive Committee this year, I also want to thank Stephanie King, Psy.D. and Molly Russo, Psy.D., for their tremendous investment of time and energy. Each has taken up various roles within NCSPP, learning each role from the ground up and executing their various duties with confidence, expertise, and reliability. They have also lent their voices along our path towards social justice. I am grateful for and admire their dedication and devotion to our collective endeavors. Thank you, Stephanie, and thank you, Molly!

I also want to extend a warm welcome to our incoming President, Tanisha Stewart, Psy.D.! For several years, she has been an active participant within NCSPP as both a Board Member and Officer, most recently as NCSPP’s Treasurer. Her incisive and complex thinking has been a great boon to NCSPP’s growth over her time on the board and I have enjoyed working with her over this past year in her role as President-Elect. I look forward to witnessing the many positive impacts of her vision for NCSPP’s next steps as we begin the new year!

Lastly, I must also make the disappointing announcement that NCSPP will again cancel our annual Holiday Party. We are hopeful to see you again, in person, in 2022! We will announce our Community Service Award winner and introduce you to our new Officers and Board members as part of our January edition of Impulse. Stay tuned!

Thank you, all! I have cherished the Board’s collaborative culture, allowing me opportunities to learn and grow, while navigating the complexities imbued within the role of NCSPP’s President. As I wish our readers a safe and generative transition into the new year, I also invite our relevant readers to deeply participate in our collective growth, identifying the impacts of White supremacy as they live within us, within the culture and field of psychoanalysis, and within our institutions and clinical spaces. Each of our steps carries with it the essential task of uncovering our own resistant and/or embodied social justice selves. As we move into the new year, let us remain moved to live in engagement with this ever-present and chronically urgent focus — it is vital to the air we breathe and share and the spaces we inhabit. Moving forward, I will meet you there!