What may be a major development in the field of psychoanalysis has been announced by Dr. Bernard L. Pacella, presently treasurer of the American Psychoanalytic Association. A substantial annual cash prize to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of clinical and applied psychoanalysis and psychiatric research has been established by Mary S. Sigourney of Carmel Valley, California, who died last year. Approximately two million dollars has been set aside in a charitable trust, with Dr. Pacella and an attorney, James D. Devine, designated as co-trustees to administer the trust provisions. The award, which will consist of the annual income from the capital, may amount to $100,000 each year. It will be given each year and be known as the Mary S. Sigourney Award.
Mary Sigourney has been described as someone with a passionate interest in psychoanalysis and has in the past funded projects concerned with the psychoanalytic treatment of sicker patients. She was a licensed psychotherapist herself, with a degree (MA) in marital, family and child counselling. She was also the publisher of a Bay area periodical, The Advocate, concerned with environmental, social and community issues.
A most interesting feature of the terms of the bequest is that the trust provides for a seven-year cycle in the geographic distribution of the recipients. The award the first year will be made to a citizen and resident of the United States who has published or contributed in a major way to clinical psychoanalysis including its application to medicine and other sciences.
In the second year the award is likewise restricted to a US citizen and resident who has made a significant contribution to psychoanalytic research.
Citizens of other countries who have made significant contributions to clinical psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic research will be eligible for the award in the third through sixth years. In the seventh year the prize will be awarded if the Trustees determine that an individual or an organization has made an important administrative or policy contribution to the psychoanalytic community during the preceding ten years. The prize will be awarded in the same sequence through each subsequent seven year period.
The Trust establishes a system for identifying and judging candidates for the award and sets forth standards of eligibility. A candidate's work during the preceding ten years will be considered. The prize may be shared by more than one person or omitted in any year that a suitable candidate cannot be designated.
Dr. Pacella stresses that the trustees have wide latitude in the administration of the Trust and may modify its provisions if modifications are necessary. Dr. Pacella is designated as the psychoanalyst trustee. If, for any reason, he cannot or chooses not to continue to serve in this capacity, the American Psychoanalytic Association or any individual or component society or accreditated Institute of the American, or Dr. Pacella himself, may recommend a successor, as long as that individual is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association. The selection of a successor lawyer co-trustee is made either in advance by the incumbent lawyer co-trustee, or in the absence of such a designation, by the psychoanalyst trustee from names submitted by the Court.
Still to be determined are the announcement procedures and the procedures and circumstances for presenting the award. Dr. Pacella commented, “During the past eighteen months, the Executive Committee of our Association has had a number of discussions about how to provide greater visibility to the field of psychoanalysis. We thought that it was very important to convey to the community the important role our science plays in providing health care to those in need, as well as the significant contribution of psychoanalysis to other fields and disciplines: psychiatry, psychology, child care, anthropology, sociology, law, criminology, and the arts and humanities. In almost a ‘single stroke of the pen’ we have achieved such visibility. An award of this magnitude, will underline the importance of our field and its contributions over the years for the benefit of humanity.” These sentiments were echoed by Robert S. Wallerstein, immediate past president of the International Psychoanalytical Association. “The scope and purpose of this award,” he remarked,” which honors scientific and professional contributions to psychoanalysis, both in America and worldwide, are a major affirmation of the psychoanalytic idea as a shaping force in twentieth century culture.”