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ABCT Awards

2023 ABCT Awards

Presented at the 57th Annual Convention in Seattle, WA

The ABCT Awards and Recognition Committee, chaired by Sara R. Elkins, Ph.D., University of Houston Clear Lake, is pleased to announce the 2023 awards recipients.

View the 2023 Award recipients

2024 Call for Award Nominations

The ABCT Awards and Recognition Committee is pleased to announce the 2024 awards program.

Nominations are requested in all categories listed below, including those that might appeal to clinicians, researchers, trainers, and students.

Our ABCT community is doing meaningful work, and we encourage you to consider yourself and to nominate a student or a colleague for an award.

ABCT values and has committed to supporting individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds with these awards. The Committee also encourages those who have submitted in a prior year and not yet received an award to reapply.

If you decide to reapply, please let the Committee Chair know whether you’d like to use your prior submission or make updates.

Please note that award nominations may not be submitted by current members of the ABCT Board of Directors.

Currently Accepting 2024 Nominations

Awards listed are still accepting submissions for 2024 nominees.

Professional Awards

Student Awards

Youth Community Leader Award

ABCT’s Youth Community Leader Award 2024 is targeted only to young people ages 7 – 17 living in the greater Philadelphia area.
Each year, the award will go to a young person in the greater area of our annual convention’s hosting city.

Do you know a kid or teen (ages 7-17) that has made a positive mental health impact in the greater Philadelphia area via community engagement, service, activism, advocacy, research, or other creative approaches? Are you that kid or teen? ABCT is seeking nominations for the 2024 Youth Community Leader Award.

The primary goals of this award are:

To find, connect, and celebrate kids and teens in our 2024 convention host city of Philadelphia community who are making a positive impact.
Increase ABCT members’ awareness of young local leaders and learn from their expertise and innovation.
Broaden awareness of ABCT and our community as a resource for the local Philadelphia community.

Nominees who exhibit leadership, innovation, and a commitment to community change will have the opportunity to win a $200 cash prize and attend the 2024 ABCT Convention, November 14 – 17, in Philadelphia, PA, where they will receive their award.

We are excited to recognize local leaders who have used their passion, compassion, creativity, and expertise to affect positive change for others. A Youth Community Leader can affect change in a number of ways! They may petition to put an end to bullying in their school, register voters, conduct an innovative research project on suicide prevention, provide blankets to the unhoused, advocate for school initiatives to better meet the needs of neurodivergent students, educate classmates about mental health topics, or work to destigmatize therapy or asking for support.

Whatever the focus, ideal candidates demonstrate the following: (a) have made a positive impact in their local community (e.g., neighborhoods, school, places of worship, youth groups); (b) exhibit characteristics of a leader; (c) use innovative approaches to make a positive impact; and (d) efforts to promote change are aligned with the vision and mission of ABCT. Kids and teens from the broader Philadelphia community are eligible for this award and participation is subject to legal guardian consent.

Nominations can be submitted by any adult familiar with youth nominees and their community work. Young people can also self-nominate with the consent of an adult.

• Nomination deadline: June 7, 2024

• Nomination Form (Google Form)

Student Travel Award

Check back in Summer 2024 for more information, including updated nomination forms and instructions.

Elsie Ramos Memorial Student Poster Awards

Check back in Summer 2024 for more information, including updated nomination forms and instructions.

No Longer Accepting 2024 Nominations

Awards listed have passed their respective deadlines for 2024 nominees.

Professional Awards

ABCT’s Champions of Evidence-Based Psychological Interventions

This award recognizes outstanding individuals who have shown exceptional dedication, influence, and social impact through the promotion of evidence-based psychological interventions, and who have thereby advanced the mission of ABCT.

Learn More About This Award

• Nomination deadline: April 8, 2024

• Nomination form

Career/Lifetime Achievement

Eligible candidates for this award should be members of ABCT in good standing who have made significant contributions over a number of years to cognitive and/or behavior therapy. Stefan G. Hofmann was our most recent recipient. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Career/Lifetime Achievement” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Outstanding Contribution by an Individual for Research Activities

Eligible candidates for this award should be members of ABCT in good standing who have provided significant contributions to the literature advancing our knowledge of behavior therapy. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Outstanding Researcher” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Outstanding Mentor

Eligible candidates for this award are members of ABCT in good standing who have encouraged the clinical and/or academic and professional excellence of psychology graduate students, interns, postdocs, and/or residents.

Outstanding mentors are considered those who have provided exceptional guidance to students through leadership, advisement, and activities aimed at providing opportunities for professional development, networking, and future growth. Appropriate nominators are current or past students of the mentor. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Outstanding Mentor” in your subject heading.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

The Francis C. Sumner Excellence Award

The Francis Cecil Sumner Excellence Award is named in honor of Dr. Sumner, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in 1920. Commonly referred to as the “Father of Black Psychology,” he is recognized as an American leader in education reform. This award can be given on an annual basis, awarded in even years to a graduate student and in odd years to an early career professional within the first 10 years of terminal degree. Candidate must be a current member of ABCT at the time of the awards ceremony and priority will be given to students and professional members of ABCT at the time of the nomination.

The award is intended to acknowledge and promote the excellence in research, clinical work, teaching, or service by an ABCT member who is a doctoral student or early career professional within 10 years of award of the PhD/PsyD/EdD/ScD/MD who identifies as Black or Indigenous. The award is given to recognize that Black and Indigenous practitioners and scholars are underrepresented in clinical psychology, despite making important contributions to our field. The recipient will receive $1,000 and a certificate. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Francis C. Sumner Award” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Anne Marie Albano Early Career Award for Excellence in the Integration of Science and Practice

Dr. Anne Marie Albano is recognized as an outstanding clinician, scientist, and teacher dedicated to ABCT’s mission. She is known for her contagious enthusiasm for the advancement of cognitive and behavioral science and practice. The purpose of this award is to recognize early career professionals who share Dr. Albano’s core commitments. This award includes a cash prize of $1,000 to support travel to the ABCT Annual Convention and to sponsor participation in a clinical treatment workshop.

Eligibility requirements are as follows: (1) Candidates must be active members of ABCT, (2) New/Early Career Professionals within the first 10 years of receiving his/her the doctoral degree (PhD, PsyD, EdD). Preference will be given to applicants with a demonstrated interest in and commitment to child and adolescent mental health care. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include candidate’s last name and “Albano Award” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Sobell Innovative Addictions Research Award

The award is given to an individual who, through the performance of one or more research studies, has developed a novel and very innovative (1) program of research or (2) assessment or analytic tool or method that advances the understanding and/or treatment of addictions. The emphasis is on behavioral and/or cognitive research or research methods that have yielded exceptional breakthroughs in knowledge. The recipient receives $1500 and a plaque.

Candidates must be current members of ABCT and are eligible for the award regardless of career stage. Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by others who need not be members of ABCT. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Sobell Research Award” in the subject line.

• Extended Nomination deadline: April 19, 2024

• Nomination form

Charles Silverstein Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Justice

Members of the Association are encouraged to nominate individuals who have made significant and sustained lifetime contributions to advancing social justice initiatives over many years. This award is given at the discretion of the Board of Directors and is primarily designed to recognize the critical, and often under-recognized, contributions from cognitive and/or behavior therapy (CBT) grassroots activists who are from and primarily work with minoritized and oppressed communities.

In very rare instances, the award may be given to allies from the CBT field if nominations arise from minoritized members and their perspective is centered. A key element of this award is recognition that grassroots CBT activists typically have less access to power to directly change systems secondary to structural injustice and oppression. Thus, contributions to advancing social justice by grassroots CBT activists may look different than those of allies, even though grassroots activist contributions are no less important and typically confer increased risk for the individual.

Eligible candidates for this award do not need to be a current ABCT member but must have a strong historic connection to the CBT field. ABCT membership at some point in the candidate’s career is desirable. Please use the nomination form and email nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include candidate’s last name and “Silverstein Award” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Distinguished Friend to Behavior Therapy

This award is given annually to an individual or organization that supports the aims of ABCT in providing awareness, advocacy, or evidence-based behavioral health services in the field of cognitive and behavioral therapies. Eligible candidates for this award should NOT be members of ABCT but are individuals who have promoted the mission of cognitive and/or behavioral work outside of our organization.

Recent recipients of this award include The Honorable Erik K. Shinseki, Michael Gelder, Mark S. Bauer, Vikram Patel, Benedict Carey, and Bivian “Sonny” Lee III. Please e-mail the nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Distinguished Friend to BT” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Outstanding Service to ABCT

This award is given annually to an individual who has displayed exceptional service to ABCT. Nominations for this award are solicited from members of the ABCT governance. Email the completed form and any supporting materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Outstanding Service” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Student Awards

President’s New Researcher Award

ABCT’s 2023-24 President, Sandra Pimentel, Ph.D., invites submissions for the 46th Annual President’s New Researcher Award. The winner will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $500. The award will be based upon an early program of research that reflects factors such as: consistency with the mission of ABCT; independent, innovative work published in high-impact journals; and promise of contributing to cognitive and behavioral theory to advance the field. Scholars who trained in smaller labs or who work in less research-intensive environments are also encouraged to apply, as the quality and potential impact of one’s work, not the number of publications, will be the focus.

Requirements: Must have had terminal degree (Ph.D., Psy.D., M.D., etc.) for at least 1 year but no longer than 5 years; Must submit a recent peer-reviewed, empirical article for which they are the first author; Two letters of recommendation must be included; The author’s CV, letters of support, and paper must be submitted in electronic form.

Self-nominations are accepted and applicants from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, or whose work emphasizes community engagement or advances our understanding of behavioral health disparities, are particularly encouraged to apply. E-mail the nomination materials (including letter of recommendation) as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include candidate’s last name and “President’s New Researcher” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination Form

Student Dissertation Awards

• Virginia A. Roswell Student Dissertation Award ($1,000)

• Leonard Krasner Student Dissertation Award ($1,000)

• John R. Z. Abela Student Dissertation Award ($500)

Each award will be given to one student based on his/her doctoral dissertation proposal. Accompanying this honor will be a monetary award (see above) to be used in support of research (e.g., to pay participants, to purchase testing equipment) and/or to facilitate travel to the ABCT convention.

Eligibility requirements for these awards are as follows: 1) Candidates must be student members of ABCT, 2) Topic area of dissertation research must be of direct relevance to cognitive-behavioral therapy, broadly defined, 3) The dissertation must have been successfully proposed, and 4) The dissertation must not have been defended prior to November 2023. Proposals with preliminary results included are preferred.

To be considered for the Abela Award, research should be relevant to the development, maintenance, and/or treatment of depression in children and/or adolescents (i.e., under age 18). Self-nominations are accepted, or a student’s dissertation mentor may complete the nomination. The nomination must include a letter of recommendation from the dissertation advisor. Please complete the nomination form. Email all nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include candidate’s last name and “Student Dissertation Award in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 1, 2024

• Nomination form

Graduate Student Research Grant

Watch the Graduate Student Research Grant webinar, hosted by the ABCT Research Facilitation Committee!

The ABCT Research Facilitation Committee is sponsoring a grant of up to $1000 to support graduate student research. The grant will be awarded based on a combination of merit and need. Eligible candidates are graduate students seeking funding for a project that has been approved by their faculty advisor and demonstrates a clear financial need in order for the project to succeed. Priority will be given to masters and dissertation projects.

Applications are due Friday, March 1, 2024, at 11:59 PM (PST). Applications should include materials listed in the GSRG Applications Guidelines and one letter of support from a faculty advisor using the Faculty LOS template.

Please email the application, excluding the advisor letter, in a single pdf to the chair of the Research Facilitation Committee, Ryan Jacoby, Ph.D., at [email protected]. Include “Graduate Student Research Grant” in your subject heading. Be sure to include the GSRG submission checklist as part of your application.

Please ask your faculty advisor to e-mail a letter of support separately.

Application deadline: March 1, 2024

In This Section

Awards Home

About ABCT Awards

The ABCT Awards Program recognizes and salutes individuals for their contributions to the field of behavioral and cognitive therapy and the institutions that have helped to train many of these very people.

Photo Gallery

ABCT Awards and Recognition Committee

Anne M. Donnelly
Awards and Recognition Committee Chair

Committee:

Abby Braitman, Amanda Baker, Carla Rash, Chelsea Cawood, Christian Webb, Diana Rancourt, Frank Gardner, Gwilym Roddick, Hannah Fitterman-Harris, Heidemarie Blumenthal, Ilana Seager van Dyk, Jackie Bullis, Katherine Porter, Lillian Reuman, Margaret Davis, Martha Falkenstein, Megha Fatabhoy, Minden B. Sexton, Peter Grau, Rebecca Lusk, Russ Morfitt, Sara R. Elkins, Stefanie LoSavio, Todd Farchione