The Professional Will in Canada: Reflections on the Responsibilities of the Psychoanalytic Community

Abstract

Psychoanalysts have long resisted the idea of a professional will. However, the untimely deaths of colleagues and the unexpected incapacity of others awakened the need for such a will in Canadian psychoanalytic societies. This paper describes the step-by-step process of gaining acceptance of a professional will within Canadian psychoanalysis. The naming of a “designated person” who would close a practice when the analyst cannot do so has been accepted as a first step. Awareness of the separate problem of gradual incapacity led to the formation of Analyst Assistance Committees. Advantages and disadvantages of a professional will are outlined. Ten recommendations along with short and longer forms for a professional will suitable to a psychoanalyst’s practice are offered.