07/02/2025
The Newport Psychoanalytic Institute (NPI) stands firmly against the marginalization, discrimination, and dehumanization of immigrants and all people who are categorized as “other” based on race, skin color, ethnic origin, cultural background, and immigration status or history.
Psychoanalysis, at its core, is a discipline devoted to deep listening, understanding, and the recognition of the full humanity of every individual. Our commitment to this work extends beyond the consulting room and into the world, where social forces too often injure the minds and hearts of those most vulnerable.
We denounce policies, practices, attitudes—whether institutional or interpersonal—and ideologies that perpetuate xenophobia, racism, or exclusion. The pain caused by labeling people as outsiders or threats—especially based on their appearance, language, country of origin, or immigration status—is not only unjust but has profound negative psychological consequences. Such trauma can induce shock, terror, and a pervasive sense of threat, impacting not only those directly affected, such as individuals who are deported or detained, but also those around them. This collective trauma can ripple outward, creating widespread psychological wounds rooted in fear, shame, and internalized oppression. Psychoanalysis seeks to name, hold, and process these wounds.
NPI is committed to cultivating a community of clinicians and scholars who challenge these injustices, work toward repair, and strive to create spaces where the dignity and subjectivity of every person are upheld. We recognize the historical and contemporary roles that our own field has played in both colluding with and resisting systems of oppression. We continue to examine our own blind spots and to do the work of transformation—personally, professionally, and institutionally.
We believe that standing in solidarity with immigrants and all who are “othered” is not a political gesture, but a moral responsibility and psychoanalytic imperative.
NPI Board of Directors
