Mission
The American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (AAPCSW) promotes psychoanalytic education, advances clinical social work, facilitates the production and dissemination of knowledge, and advocates for high standards of practice.
Review our position statements.
About Louis Straker, AAPCSW President
Louis Straker, MSW, LCSW-C is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist in private practice in Columbia, MD. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ, and his Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. After working in community mental health agencies with adults and families for six years in New Jersey, Louis went on to work with children & adolescents in outpatient mental health and schools in Baltimore, MD. Louis completed a two-year post-graduate training program in the Psychoanalytic Studies Program at the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis. He currently sees adults with trauma and grief. Louis has been a member of AAPCSW for 12 years and has previously served on the AAPCSW board as Treasurer and President-Elect.
AAPCSW Core Values
- Recognize the dignity and worth of each human being.
- Acknowledge the intersection of each individual's inner and outer worlds.
- Convey a psychoanalytic sensibility in our work with all populations and in all settings.
- Integrate concerns for social justice with clinical practice.
- Promote inclusivity and affirm the diverse identities of our colleagues and of those with whom we work.
- Cultivate a community of professionals that advocates for open inquiry and respect for difference.
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 affect 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 conceptualize psychoanalytic theory and practice within its broader social-political context.
