The award is named in honor of Phyllis W. Meadow, who until her death in 2005, worked passionately to broaden the reach of psychoanalysis. As a writer, teacher, and analyst, Dr. Meadow was influential in developing methods of working psychoanalytically with patients who suffered from schizophrenia and severe character disorders. Not only did Dr. Meadow found and run three institutes, she was also the dominant force in securing accreditation for masters' degrees in psychoanalysis at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (BGSP) in Boston and later (through New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis), as well as a Psya.D. in psychoanalysis at BGSP and a Psya.D. at its Vermont affiliate, the Cyril Z. Meadow Institute, now known as the Vermont Graduate School of Psychoanalysis. Having founded and edited the journal Modern Psychoanalysis, Dr. Meadow was also a prolific writer (The New Psychoanalysis and, with Hyman Spotnitz, Treatment of the Narcissistic Neuroses, as well as many articles). She believed that writers make excellent analysts and that writing makes analysts better. She understood that the future of psychoanalysis depends on the development of a literature that truly conveys its effectiveness.

Award Contest Information

Modern Psychoanalysis invites submissions to the 2009 Phyllis W. Meadow Award for Excellence in Psychoanalytic Writing. Now in its fourth year, the competition grants a first prize of $3,000 to the paper that contributes most to the literature of psychoanalysis. Two authors receiving honorable mention will each receive $750 at an awards ceremony held in conjunction with the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies Annual Conference in November 2009. All three winning papers will be published in the institute's journal Modern Psychoanalysis, which is available on the internet through Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing (PEP). Entries must be submitted by July 1, 2009.

Qualifications: Articles, essays, and other forms of writing qualify for submission. Entries must be unpublished and available for first publication in the journal Modern Psychoanalysis. Entries must be received by July 1, 2009. The winners will contacted by October 15. The author of the winning entry will receive $3,000. The two authors of papers receiving Honorable Mention will each receive $750. The winning papers will be published in Modern Psychoanalysis. The competition is open to all, including psychoanalysts, researchers, and writers. The winning entry will be the one that, in the opinion of our judges, contributes best to the literature of psychoanalysis. The editors of Modern Psychoanalysis encourage those unfamiliar with our work to get aquainted with the journal, which is dedicated to extending the theory and practice of psychoanalysis to the full range of emotional disorders through research. Entries must be double-spaced and page-numbered. Five copies must be submitted. To insure anonymity in the judging process, the author’s name, address, phone number, and email address should appear only on a cover letter and not on the papers themselves.

The Phyllis Meadow Award is funded in part by The Seaver Institute.

Entries should be mailed to:
Modern Psychoanalysis
Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies,
16 West 10th Street, New York, New York 10011.

For further information or order copies of Modern Psychoanalysis call 212.260.7050.

Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies
16 West 10th Street
New York, New York 10011
212.260.7050
cmps.edu