Arnkoff & Glass Award for Regional Network of the Year

This annual award, named in honor of Drs. Diane Arnkoff and Carol Glass, is presented during the SEPI conference to a Regional Network that has contributed significantly to the mission of SEPI. The Regional Network receiving the award will have:

• worked actively to build membership in their group
• encouraged its members to join SEPI
• created opportunities for individuals in their geographical area to meet regularly
• organized activities with a focus on psychotherapy integration (e.g., invited speakers, workshops, case presentations, discussion groups, training programs, case consultations, collaborative research, or other innovative programs)
• existed for at least two years and submitted the last two annual reports to the chair of the Regional Network Committee.

The award for the SEPI Arnkoff-Glass Regional Network of the Year 2020 goes to the Regional Network of Uruguay whose Coordinator is Margarita Dubourdieu. The Uruguayan RN promotes Integrative Psychotherapy from a medical, psychological and social perspective. The Uruguayan approach not only integrates contributions from the different models of psychotherapy but also from medicine, neurosciences, sociology and other disciplines. Dr. Dubourdieu directs the Uruguayan Society of Psycho-Neuro-Immuno-Endocrinology, the Integrative Psychotherapy area in several countries that are members of the Latin American Federation of Psycho-Neuro-Immuno-Endocrinology.

The RN conducts postgraduate training in Integrative Psychotherapy for various professionals in several universities and institutions in Uruguay and Argentina as well as in other Latin American countries and in Spain. It provides patient care, supervision and training in hospital settings in psychiatry, oncology, endocrinology and gastroenterology, including pediatric settings and institutions that support adolescents and families in vulnerable contexts. They also collaborate with institutions in Spain.

The Uruguayan RN has also established support networks in the face of the pandemic situation.

Members of the Uruguayan RN have given presentations at national congresses and scientific activities in societies and associations of Biological Psychiatry, the Neurology Society of Uruguay, at the School of Medicine, and at the Latin American Association of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Psychology Congresses, and the Congress of Pediatric Oncology in Ecuador, among others. In addition, they have made live presentations on Instagram, Facebook, and webinars in various countries. The Uruguay RN has been consistently active and productive for many years.

SEPI also wants to recognize the efforts of all RNs who have reached out to support people suffering from issues related to the pandemic. These are documented in the annual reports of Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, and Turkey. We would love to hear from other RNs who may also have reached out.