About AAPCSW
Aims and Purposes
- To represent and protect the standing and advancement of psychoanalytic social work practitioners and educators.
- To provide an organizational identity for social work professionals engaged in psychoanalytically informed practice.
- To promote and disseminate the understanding of psychoanalytic theory and knowledge within the social work profession and the public.
- To effect liaisons with other organizations and professions who share common objectives for social work and the advancement of psychoanalytic theory and practice.
- To advocate for the highest standards of practice and for quality mental health care for the public.
- To bridge social work and psychoanalytic discourses by integrating concerns for social justice with clinical practice, and to conceptualizing psychoanalytic theory and practice within its broader social-political context.
A Brief History
Crayton Rowe conducted a survey of NYC psychoanalytic training programs in
1975. The results showed that while social workers were the highest percentage
of graduates, only a small number were teaching or supervising. In May 1980 at
a meeting of the Clinical Social Work Federation, Rowe founded the National
Membership Committee on Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work and became
its first president. NMCOP remained a committee within the Federation for 10
years before becoming an independent corporation in 1990. From the beginning,
the aim of NMCOP was the achievement of parity with other mental health
disciplines. In March 2007, NMCOP changed its name to the American
Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work to better reflect its
standing and purpose. With members from across the country, AAPCSW has
gained recognition for its educational programs, standard setting, and advocacy
on behalf of clinical social workers practicing psychoanalysis or from a
psychoanalytic perspective.