Dr. Judit Meszaros Dr. Norman Doidge Dr. Carlos Mario Aslan
The annual dinner honoring the Sigourney Trust winners was held on Friday, January 16th at the Essex House. Those in attendance included the officers of both the American Psychoanalytic Association and the International Psychoanalytic Association as well as previous winners of the award and the friends of the current winners.
James Devine, Esq. the co-trustee of the Trust gave a short statement about Mary Sigourney and her wish to reward contributors to psychoanalysis world wide. The 2008 winners came from from Canada, Latin America and Hungary, which at the time of Mary Sigourney’s death was still seen as part of the Russian zone of influence.
Judit Meszaros accepted the award for the Ferenczi Society of Budapest. She was introduced by Axel Hoffer who had been engaged in the translation, with his brother of a missing Freud document and supported this award to an institution, not an individual. Dr Norman Doidge, a native Canadian who has also won poetry prizes, was introduced by Charles Hanley, president elect of the IPA. Dr Doidge noted that his own psychoanalysis had taken place in New York City and one of his guests was his psychoanalyst. Dr. Doidge is the author of The Brain that Changes Itself published by Viking in 2007. Mme Madeleine Barenger of Buenos Aires, Argentina did not attend but was present in spirit through the careful and extensive discussion of her role in Latin American psychoanalysis given by Gunther Perdigao of New Orleans, the incoming secretary of the IPA. Arnold Cooper, a former president of APsaA and vice president of the IPA marked the recent death of his friend, Dr Carlos Mario Aslan and discussed his role in psychoanalysis. The award was accepted by Dr. Aslan’s two daughters who were present with their families.
The 2009 awards will be given to three or four psychoanalysts in the United states. Further information about the criteria for nomination can be found on the Sigourney trust website:http://www.sigourney.org/