As members of the Board of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP), we speak on behalf of our organization in saying that we decry the intensely aggressive, unwarranted invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and his regime.  We are shocked and horrified by the wanton disregard for human life and the welfare of the Ukrainian populace that these hostilities demonstrate.  The suffering that these actions have caused the Ukrainian people is utterly beyond the pale, and we call for a swift end to the military operations and any related oppressive efforts.  It is unfathomable to us how the Russian government can justify the massive devastation and loss it has wrought and continues to wreak.

We join the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, the International Psychoanalytic Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and a host of other psychoanalytic organizations in noting and protesting the traumatic impact this belligerence is having. We also acknowledge and protest the seriously oppressive and injurious treatment of those within Russia –including many of our fellow mental health practitioners–who abhor this violence and have called for its end.

Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine and all others in the region whose psychological, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being have been badly damaged if not destroyed by the Russian government’s actions. We stand with you!

We offer our ardent wishes for a rapid, peaceful end to these hostilities, and a prompt redressing of the extreme damage they’ve caused.

Susanna Federici, President of IARPP – The International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and the IARPP Board of Directors