Christina Emanuel, MFT, Psy.D.
April 13, 1965 – January 1, 2023
It is with a heavy heart and tears that I share the shocking loss of Christina Emanuel, whom as I have come to know her over the years, has impacted me with her compassion for human life, especially those among us with special needs, her expertise and capacity to articulate her knowledge and talents at conferences and in print, and her relentless commitment to moving psychoanalysis forward as an active member of IARPP. I can’t overemphasize what a loss this is for our community. Christina was pioneering new directions for new populations with psychoanalysis. I hope that her legacy will pass on to those inspired by her passion and commitment. In loving memory.
Steven Knoblauch, New York, NY, USA
She had so much vitality, benevolent energy, a special way of doing things, and a lot of honesty and wisdom.
Ilana Laor, Tel Aviv, Israel
Christina Emanuel was a vibrant person with great interest in IARPP initiatives. She devoted numerous hours of work for IARPP as a Board Member, with great contributions to our community. I still remember a chat we had on the hotel balcony at the Tel Aviv conference during the Saturday night party. She had an amazing vision for our international community. When she became ill, she still participated in IARPP board meetings. What a paradigm of devotion!
Stavros Charalambides, IARPP Board Member, Athens, Greece
I am shocked and heartbroken … I was inspired by her energy, her sense of mission in advocating for disabled and marginalized groups, and her engaging demeanor. I recall that in one panel we had only a few colleagues in the audience. I felt dejected, but she remained upbeat and encouraging, telling me that what is really important is whether our papers are good and convey something meaningful. I still remind myself and derive a great deal of inspiration from her words.
Amira Simha-Alpern, Smithtown, NY, USA
Christina was such an energy source, an open person, a creator of spaces for life and vitality. She was dedicated to learning and self-development, and to the growth of those around her, in the most honest ways.
Stephen Seligman, San Francisco, CA, USA
Christina has been a very special member of our community and contributed to IARPP and the Board in countless ways for so many years. She was an invaluable member of our group, giving so much to us all tirelessly and with enormous grace in ways that are difficult to adequately express.
Susanna Federici, IARPP President, Rome, Italy
and the IARPP Board
Lis Hanscomb (Australia) posted to the listserv a 2015 video of Christina giving an extraordinary presentation focusing on the surprising emotional sensitivity of an autistic boy with whom she worked. In the presentation, Christina says:
When we can understand another person’s experience in the world, when we can really listen and, as the psychoanalyst Lew Aron puts it, when we can listen to ourselves listening, link up our two minds and meet another person with our humanity and our vulnerability, we find an incredibly valuable treasure, the opportunity for transformation of the highest order.
I can’t finish this tribute without bringing up Christina’s bold choices in hair coloring. A local colleague of hers posted this on Christina’s CaringBridge page: “Your colorful hair has inspired me to embrace my own purple tendencies.”
In Christina’s memory, I hope we might all embrace our purple tendencies in the year now upon us.
M.A.
