POSITION STATEMENTS

March 28, 2021

Statement in Solidarity with

Our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Communities

Daoyou Feng, age 44

Hyun Jung Grant, age 51

Suncha Kim, age 69

Paul Andre Michels, age 54

Soon Chung Park, age 74

Xiaojie Tan, age 49

Delaina Ashley Yaun, age 33

Yong Ae Yue, age 63

These are the names of the eight Americans brutally murdered on March 16, 2021 in a string of attacks on spas in Atlanta, Georgia. Six were women of Asian descent, murdered and defenseless while at work.

The New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute joins all those speaking out in decrying these and other acts of racial violence in our community and country. Discrimination and hate crimes against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) people in America, from verbal harassment to multiple assaults and murders, have increased markedly during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, fomented by racist rhetoric at the highest levels of power. The majority of these murders and assaults have been against women, with anti-Asian racism, misogyny, sexism, anti-immigrant sentiment, issues of class, and in this case, devaluation of body workers, deeply intertwined.

Through heightened collective fear and grief, anxiety and anger, and with exhausting familiarity with hate crimes, NYPSI and its Committee on Racial Consciousness and The Diversities issue this statement as a small step towards reversing the systemic tolerance, normalization, and minimization of hate and violence against all oppressed, stigmatized, and marginalized people. We advocate centering the humanity and experiences of the victims of color and their families and communities, eschewing the societal tendency to privilege that of the perpetrators and minimize the role of racism in tragic outcomes such as these. Racism and intersectional violence affect all of us, and are essential subjects for psychoanalytic consideration, collective attention, and societal action.

We continue our pledge to pursue antiracism and anti-oppression education and action as individuals and as an organization. We affirm the dignity and call for justice for all people of marginalized identity. We stand in solidarity with the AAPI communities and all those who condemn these and other acts of racial violence in our country.

Respectfully posted,

Beverly J. Stoute

Lynne Zeavin

Co-Chairs, NYPSI Committee on Racial Consciousness and The Diversities

Adam Libow

President, New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

Michele Press

Dean, New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

Members, NYPSI Committee on Racial Consciousness and The Diversities:

Meredith Wong
David Goldenberg
Patrick Brown
Amber Nemeth
Trisha Balbert
Howard Bliwise
John Crow
Hilli Dagony-Clark
Thomas DePrima
Debra Japko
Alexander Kalogerakis
Anthea Malone
Jess Olson
Lisa Roth
Carlos Alberto Sanchez
Richard Weiss

June 12, 2020

Statement on Anti-Racism

We, at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (NYPSI), stand in solidarity with others in our community, indeed the world community, in voicing outrage at the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery who have become symbolic reminders of the countless black lives lost that have gone ignored. Persistent structural racism, social injustice, and collective apathy are longstanding, ingrained problems in our society. The damaging effects of racism affect us all and warrant our collective attention, psychoanalytic interrogation and societal action.

In this time of national protest and collective reflection NYPSI resolves to take the following steps as a psychoanalytic organization:

  • Promote an open dialogue about individual and institutional racism
  • Develop an improved atmosphere for the recruitment and engagement of candidates who are under-represented minorities
  • Improve our educational curriculum and faculty development so that we significantly enhance teaching, training and supervision in the areas of diversity and racism
  • Initiate and develop outreach programs that will better link NYPSI programs and services to local underrepresented communities in more meaningful and enduring ways

We are resolved to work towards substantive change. The commitment begins by reckoning within ourselves and with each other at NYPSI – to talk about structural racism and explore our own conscious and unconscious contributions as individuals and as an organization. In engaging in this process, we firmly believe that the core psychoanalytic values of a non-judgmental attitude, open and attuned listening, self-reflection, and critical thinking will be essential guides in what will, at times, be a painful and challenging journey. In the process of self-examination – private and public – we will work towards NYPSI becoming more diverse and, ultimately, anti-racist in its psychoanalytic orientation.

We join the efforts of the broader psychoanalytic community to combat systemic racism – in all its manifestations. In doing so, we hope to foster a more diverse, socially conscious NYPSI community, to strengthen our psychoanalytic endeavors, and to do our part in promoting a more just and equitable society.

Sincerely,

Adam D. Libow, MD
President, NYPSI

Michele Press, MD
Dean, NYPSI

Beverly J. Stoute, MD
Chair, NYPSI Committee
On Diversity, Inclusion and Social Issues

** We would also like to acknowledge the essential input and assistance in developing this statement of Lynne Zeavin, Gilda Sherwin, Jean Roiphe, Christian Maetzener, Dan Prezant, Lisa Deutscher and Howard Bliwise.