The 2025 winners of the Sloan-Menninger-Shevrin Prizes are Paul Siegel (established researcher) and Alexey Tolchinsky (emerging researcher). The 2025 prizes were made possible thanks to gracious gifts from Mr Bob Berry and Mrs Aliza Shevrin.
2025
Paul Siegel
Paul Siegel is Professor of Psychology at Purchase College/SUNY and Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. A clinical psychologist and expert in unconscious processes in psychopathology, Paul has published a series of studies showing that unconscious exposure to threatening stimuli reduces fear in highly phobic participants. With the support of grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and psychoanalytic organizations, Paul has conducted a series of neuroimaging studies suggesting these unconscious effects are associated with psychodynamic conflict. Paul has received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and for Excellence in Research, which recognize distinguished SUNY faculty.
Alexey Tolchinsky
Alexey Tolchinsky is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Maryland, USA. He is a Clinical Fellow of NPSA. His research interest includes the application of non-linear dynamical systems to the theories of consciousness and psychopathology, as well as active inference, narrative fallacy, trauma, dissociative experiences, and OCD. A common theme in these papers is a highlight of how the natural limitations of our theoretical models influence clinical practice. For example, a historical bias toward determinism in psychiatry and clinical psychology, the natural limitations of clinical classification systems – all influence how we conceptualize psychopathology and treat our patients in psychotherapy.