Virginia Ungar’s Work Wins The Sigourney Award - 2023
/Dr. Virginia Ungar Receives The Sigourney Award-2023 For Work Establishing New Psychoanalytic Training Models Incorporating Child and Adolescent Analysis
Seattle, WA — Nov. 2, 2023 – The Sigourney Award is bestowed annually as an independent prize recognizing outstanding work that advances psychoanalytic thought worldwide. An esteemed panel of anonymous judges evaluated applications from across the globe and today, Robin A. Deutsch, PhD and Analyst Co-Trustee of The Sigourney Award Trust, announces work by Virginia Ungar, MD, Buenos Aires, Argentina, has earned The Sigourney Award-2023 and the international recognition and substantial cash prize that complements the honor.
“Dr. Ungar’s work established new approaches that eased clinical training in child and adolescent psychoanalysis with lasting significance for future psychoanalysts, while her leadership in creating a psychoanalytic communication network to reach those most in need meets Mary Sigourney’s vision for the continued growth and positive impact psychoanalytic thought and principles can offer humanity,” says Deutsch.
Dr. Ungar’s leading-edge work in “the feminine,” and in child, adolescent, and adult analysis, coupled with her leadership achievements in transforming current and future psychoanalytic training have significantly impacted the future of psychoanalysis. Her psychoanalytic approach established a radical new model of incorporating child and adolescent psychoanalytic training as part of an analysts' clinical curriculum. The additional training has contributed to primary prevention in childhood. Ungar has also carved out a contemporary interdisciplinary approach to “the feminine,” not limited to a female body but found in women, men, children, adults, and works of art. Her work unites gender theories born in anthropology and sociology and provides cultural context for where psychoanalytic processes take place. Ungar’s professional path led to her becoming the first woman president of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA).
To broaden psychoanalysis’ scope and fully develop its potential around the world, in 2018 Ungar crafted the program IPA in the Community. Partnering with psychoanalytic societies, international organizations, and humanitarian groups, the program supported broad demand and participation in the community. The initiative increased the visibility of psychoanalysis and engaged young professionals by working directly with teachers, professors, lawyers, social workers, doctors, and nurses to connect to the most vulnerable populations around the globe (women, children, migrants and refugees). Within these programs, Ungar emphasized how beyond the traditional practice of psychoanalysis, healthcare and other professional disciplines can leverage psychoanalytic principles to impact the challenges communities face.
To reach a wide audience IPA in the Community shared information through new media such as webinars, online resources, blogs, and a series of podcasts organized by Dr. Harvey Schwartz, counting 137 episodes and over 10,000 listens a month. Faced with the unprecedented challenges posed by a global pandemic, Ungar’s work helped hold the psychoanalytic and mental health communities together through online activities, including the acceptance of remote training during that period. Ultimately the achievements of impactful work done by analysts around the world within IPA in the Community was recognized through awards for over 20 projects.
Currently on the faculty at The University Institute of Mental Health of the Buenos Aires Psychoanalytic Association, Argentina, Ungar published chapters of books that showcase her method of conceiving new ideas for clinical practice of psychoanalysis, therapy for children and adolescents, women and the feminine and the need for psychoanalysts to evolve by applying lessons learned from other disciplines.
“I feel honored to earn The Sigourney Award because I believe it’s the most important prize in psychoanalysis. In an unquiet world as the one we live in, the presence of psychoanalysis in the community is necessary. This brings about a process of mutual enrichment which is crucial for the growth and expansion of psychoanalysis,” says Ungar.
Ungar’s award-winning work is added to a long list of innovative contributions advancing psychoanalytic thought that, since 1990, have been honored with The Sigourney Award. This year, she shares this honor with Vittorio Lingiardi, MD (Rome, Italy); Rosine Perelberg, PhD (London, England); and Daniel Pick, PhD (London, England), whose work also met the demanding Award criteria.