Who are we?
The Humanitarian Field Committee is a global network of psychoanalysts who are Fellows of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). Our mission is to document, support and implement psychoanalytically informed projects serving vulnerable communities worldwide.
As psychoanalysts, we think about the impact of mass trauma that can lead to regional instability, political upheaval and resource scarcity. Conflicts deepen, rippling through communities, families and through the generations. Our committee members have developed programs in communities impacted by geological disasters, climate change, pandemics and epidemics, economic instability and social/political upheaval leading to fractures in infrastructure that impact housing, resources, overcrowding and migration.
Our Current Focus:
- Trauma intervention: stabilization, process and integration.
- Recognize and address cycles of intergenerational trauma
- Community work with impoverished populations
- Recognize addiction, offer education and treatment options
- Expand educational opportunities and address secondary stress trauma amongst paraprofessional and professional staff
- Collaborate with community organizations
- Support programs for migrants and refugees
- Organize intervention services for children and families
How we help?
Our committee helps connect psychoanalysts with humanitarian organizations, creating networks where people can share their experiences both inside and outside the IPA. By working together, we aim to learn from one another and find new and creative ways to respond to trauma, including the effects of forced migration.
Teaching and promoting psychoanalytic research on the vast topic of trauma is a key part of our efforts. Psychoanalysis, as a science of the unconscious offers a unique conceptual and clinical contribution to understanding the profound, short- and long-term consequences of these experiences.
This is especially true given that the psychoanalytic community itself shares a history of migration and exile.
We invite you to contribute by submitting summaries or abstracts of your work that showcase your experiences and insights. Weare creating an online database that highlights psychoanalytic work in the humanitarian field. We aim to build a rich, multifaceted collection that reflects the diversity and impact of psychoanalytic contributions in this critical area, and we need your help to make it happen! Please write to us.
Share Your Work—Contribute to the IPA Humanitarian Database
We invite you to be part of a global initiative to highlight the invaluable contributions of psychoanalysis to the humanitarian field.