Ken Frank Board Resignation Speech

June 18, 2026

In 1970, five young men, disillusioned with their psychoanalytic training, met in the back rooms of their institute. They were in the third year of a four-year program, and one had an audacious idea to share: to start an integrative psychotherapy institute of their own. The rest thought it was a good idea—if perhaps somewhat grandiose. But none had any real sense of what might grow from that moment.

I was one of those five, NIP was the institute we founded, and now I’m the last of those founders to step off the Board. I suppose this marks the end of an era.

Over the years, two of our founders— Hy Lowenheim, and Paul Olsen, who joined us somewhat later—have passed away. Rest in peace, gentlemen. The others—Henry Grayson, whose idea all this was, has retired. Jim Fosshage and Clem Loew continue to work, though they’re scaling back.

I’ve been fortunate. Even in what I suppose is technically my dotage, I still have the health, energy, and enthusiasm to keep working—nearly at full throttle. I continue to practice and write. I’m neither tired nor re-tired. And although I’m stepping off the Board, I plan to remain actively involved at NIP through online teaching and committee work.

My more than 55 years at NIP, with all their ups and downs, have been filled with wonder. A small seed has grown into a large and resilient tree with many branches. A Board of five is now thirteen. What began virtually from scratch grew into a substantial training institute and treatment center, with more than a thousand graduates and countless patients helped through the fine work done here. And something else very important: our work—effective psychotherapy—doesn’t end when treatment ends. Research suggests that its benefits often continue to unfold over time, as those we help carry them into the wider world. We rarely see the full effects of our work, but they continue nonetheless.

Beyond the consulting room, through its journal, educational programs, and the scholarship produced by our community, NIP has contributed to the field in ways that extend far beyond its walls.

We can all take pride in that legacy. I know I’m very proud of all this.

Yet I sometimes joke that those five young men, all around thirty years old, were “clueless wonders.” At least I was. I couldn’t possibly have imagined what NIP would become. For me, it’s been an extraordinary intellectual, pedagogical—and even business—journey. Imagine a group of therapists with little or no business background suddenly grappling with the many operational demands required to sustain a training institute and treatment center—not to mention successfully navigating the inevitable, complex, and often unforeseen politics that accompany any long-lived institution. The learning curve was steep—and, judging from student evaluations over the years, some suspected we were making it even steeper on purpose.

What has impressed me most has not simply been the growth of NIP as an institution. It’s the candidates, the faculty, supervisors, administrators, and support staff who together created the living, generative community that became NIP. They transformed an idea into an institution.

The founders may have had a good idea, worked hard, and made sacrifices, but only through the intelligence, creativity, energy, and generosity of so many others did that idea become something enduring. I look back with awe at the people who came here to learn how to be more helpful to others and who, in so many cases, stayed to contribute to the community that helped shape them.

Remarkably, all our success was built largely on volunteerism. No mental health professional was ever directly enriched financially through NIP. Whatever compensation people received was modest relative to what they gave. But NIP enriched us in other ways—through friendships, intellectual growth, shared purpose, a life-long professional home, and the privilege of helping build something that put some good into our troubled world. Many of us discovered that giving to NIP and receiving from it were never entirely separate. It became a labor of love.

So to all who contributed over these many years, thank you. NIP has always depended upon the willingness of people to contribute what they can—time, ideas, service, expertise, and, when needed, financial support. As we continue to evolve, new needs inevitably arise. Even now, there are needs on the horizon—our website, for instance, could use some renewed attention if we’re to keep pace. When those moments come, it means everything to know that our community can be counted on—whether the contribution is $10, $100, or $1,000—or perhaps the good fortune of discovering that a former web designer turned therapist is in our midst and willing to do the job pro bono.

I would love to mention names, but there are simply far too many people who have shaped NIP over the decades. I would surely omit many who deserve acknowledgment. I hope those people know who they are, and how grateful I—and all of us—are to them—for making the NIP dream come true.

Before I end, just a few more words. We live in a time that often places greater value on self-promotion than service. Yet I believe deeply in people’s ability to give back when and what they can—suggestions, service, money—however. Just look at what that spirit has created here.

To today’s graduates—a terrific group, some of whom I’ve had the pleasure of teaching—as recently as yesterday—let me offer both congratulations and an invitation. You are now part of this community and, most importantly, its future. Some of you have already become active in committee work and the life of NIP, and I hope that, over time, many more of you will join in. We cannot thrive without your support, and you may discover, as many of us have, that giving to a community like ours is also one of the ways we ourselves are richly rewarded by it.

So, I guess that's it. As I end my Board service, you can imagine the mix of feelings I have—deep gratitude, some pride in what we've accomplished, and, of course, sadness. For more than 55 years, NIP has been one of the central threads of my professional life.

But that sadness is softened by a deep sense of continuity and confidence in NIP's future. The institute is in extraordinarily capable hands—the Executive Director, the Board and its President, and all of you who contribute so much to its life and work. I know NIP will continue to grow and flourish.