Dr. Jodie Wigren, a pioneer in treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect, died on November 16, 2021, at a hospital in Boston, where she was being treated for metastatic angiosarcoma, a highly aggressive cancer. She was 73.
Starting in the early 1990’s, Jodie was a senior supervisor and faculty member at The Trauma Center in Boston, under the direction of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. In 1994, she published “Narrative Completion in the Treatment of Trauma,” a seminal work identifying the importance of life narratives in constructing self-identity; how childhood trauma and neglect disrupt the ability to create those narratives; and the ways cultural demands for silence and denial inflict harm on the trauma victim.
Jodie presented her insights at professional association meetings; and shaped, supported, and contributed to published works on treating adult survivors of childhood emotional abuse and neglect. She inspired many other professionals to concentrate their practices in treating trauma survivors and was an important mentor to them. Dr. Joseph Spinazzola, a psychologist specializing in treating trauma survivors, said that he decided to concentrate in trauma therapy after attending one of Jodie’s lectures at The Trauma Center and found her to be an extremely gifted supervisor. Jodie helped conceptualize and develop Treatment of Adult Survivors of Childhood Emotional Abuse and Neglect, a book Dr. Spinazzola co-authored with Elizabeth Hopper and Frances Grossman, and she contributed a chapter to the book. Jodie also mentored Dr. Margaret Blaustein, who later became a director at The Trauma Center. Jodie was especially proud when her daughter Li Wigren received her MSW from Simmons in 2018.
Jodie held teaching appointments at Harvard Medical School and Boston University Medical School. She taught courses in psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and was a lecturer at Emmanuel College for more than a decade, teaching a popular course, “Relationships, Marriage and the Family.” In addition to teaching, Jodie conducted a private practice in Brookline for many years prior to her death.
Jodie was also an accomplished artist. She worked and studied art in the Boston area and in Maine, where she joined a community of supporting and caring artists. Jodie’s work has been shown at the Watertown Art Association, where she was a member, and other venues.
Jodie’s love of nature and color inspired her art. She spent most of her free time outdoors-- walking; hiking; kayaking; and swimming, especially in Walden Pond. Her more notable hikes included the coast-to-coast hike from the Irish Sea to the North Sea in England and the hill hike in Cornwall with Mary Lou, and a portion of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Closer to home, Jodie loved the hut-to-hut hike in New Hampshire and pretty much any hike that was long and included lots of hills.
Jodie and Li enjoyed traveling together. They took several trips to China; snorkeled in the Caribbean; and visited family in New Mexico. Li had an early swimming lesson in the famous bioluminescent bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Jodie was born on July 30, 1948, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to John Morris Wigren and Shirley (Larson) Wigren. Her father, under the name of Johnny Morris, was a popular weatherman on local television station KSTP and, later, a news anchor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her mother was a homemaker. Jodie received a BA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, her MSW from Simmons School of Social Work, and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University.
Jodie is survived by her daughter Li; her mother; her siblings Christy Campbell, Peggy (Tom) Wilcox, Tom (Julie) Wigren, Susie Snyder, and Leah Wigren; and her dear friend and partner Mary Lou Kaufman. She also leaves her nieces and nephews, her professional associates, and her many friends.
Services are private. For online guestbook and messages of condolences visit www.pemurrayfuneral.com. Please leave your own memories of your time with Jodie.