We are pleased to bring a portrait of Ursula Wirtz written by our colleague from Latvia, Ramona Gredzena.
RG: Many members of our Latvian Jungian study group first met you nearly two decades ago at one of your seminars in Vilnius. You touched our hearts and souls deeply, and I vividly recall how, after your lecture, we dreamed aloud of inviting you to Riga one day. That dream became a reality in 2019, when you graciously accepted our invitation to be the keynote speaker at our conference in Riga Cultural Trauma and Healing.
In April 2024, you returned to offer a seminar on the dynamics of traumatic and erotic-sexual transference and countertransference, as well as a compelling public lecture titled Eros in Relationships – Goldmine and Minefield. Now, in late May, we are honored to welcome you back to Riga for the third time to lead a seminar with Latvian psychotherapists on Trauma Conceptualizations and Clinical Practice.
I am deeply grateful for our rich and fruitful professional collaboration—and equally for the soulful, warm, and supportive connection you have built with our group. It is a true privilege to conduct this interview with you. Thank you for saying yes.
RG: Jungian analysts come from diverse backgrounds. Yours—philosophy, literature, and linguistics—sets a unique tone for your work. How did your childhood, family history, or formative experiences shape the trajectory of your life?
UW: I was born into postwar Germany, a landscape still scarred by destruction and collective trauma. Stories of bombings, hunger, and the inescapable shadow of Kristallnacht were the air I breathed in my early years. These narratives etched themselves into my soul and, later, inspired my commitment to the field of trauma. For ten years, I served as supervisor to a Jewish psychosocial agency in Zürich, and for two decades, I was a board member of a Swiss war-trauma foundation. This work brought me into contact with international initiatives for peace and reconciliation in war-torn regions.
Click HERE to read Ramona Gredzena’s full interview with Ursula Wirtz