Aging and retirement: a difficult issue for individual psychoanalysts and organized psychoanalysis

Organized psychoanalysis has a long history of discussing and formulating policies on retirement, but follow-through has been lax and few analysts retire unless forced by illness. Institutes tend to avoid and deny the problem of the impaired analyst. Procedural guidelines are needed for assessing competency and imposing involuntary retirement. The authors recommend that all institute appointments be time-limited and that medical clearance specifically addressing conditions potentially impairing professional functioning be required for appointment and renewal.