2024 ABCT Awards

This is the inaugural year for the Outstanding Clinical Supervisor Award, intended to acknowledge and promote excellence in clinical supervision. Clinical supervision is an essential element in the training of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists. It is one of the most basic ways in which theory and evidence-based interventions are integrated into practice, and plays an essential role in both implementation and dissemination of CBT. Recipients of the Outstanding Clinical Supervisor award from ABCT represent the best that clinical supervision has to offer.  This award is given on an annual basis, awarded in even years to a doctoral-level supervisor and in odd years to a master’s-level supervisor. This year the award will honor clinical supervisors with a master’s degree in their field.

Eligibility Criteria: Candidate must be a current member of ABCT. Candidates must have a master’s (odd years) or a doctorate (even years) in their field and have provided clinical supervision to the individual(s) making the nomination. Supervision of psychotherapy: has supervised many graduate students, interns, postdocs, fellows, or residents using empirically supported CBT methods and helped them become effective providers of the best available empirical methods of treatment.

Supervision may have been provided on an individual basis or in group format. Please use the nomination form and e-mail nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]  Include “Outstanding Clinical Supervisor” in your subject heading.

• Nomination deadline: March 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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. Arthur M. Nezu, Ph.D., is 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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

This award is given to members of ABCT in good standing who have provided significant contributions toward educating and training cognitive and behavioral practitioners. Lynn McFarr, Ph.D., is our most recent recipient.  Applications should include a nomination form (available at www.abct.org/awards), two letters of support, and the nominee’s curriculum vitae. Please e-mail the nomination materials as one PDF document to  [email protected]. Include “Outstanding Educator/Trainer” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 3, 2025
• Nomination form

“Clarity of writing reflects clarity of thinking.”  This statement reflects the overarching goal that Michael J. Kozak sought to achieve, and one he vigorously encouraged others to reach for.  His penchant for critical inquiry cut across contexts: whether in providing cognitive-behavioral treatment, offering supervision of treatment, in scientific inquiry and writing, or in advising investigators about how to put their grant applications in the best possible position for success.  Dr. Kozak was continuously in search of clarity.  Accordingly, recipients of the Michael J. Kozak Critical Inquiry and Analytical Thinking Award from ABCT should embody this same spirit in their own work.  Michael was able to both achieve this high standard and promote its achievement in others with great skill and kindness.  Recipients should be those who also conduct themselves in such a way in their professional lives. This award is given in alternate years. The recipient will receive $1,500 and a plaque. Please complete the online nomination materials at www.abct.org/awards. Then email the nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Michael J. Kozak Award” in the subject line.

• Nomination deadline: March 3, 2025
• Nomination form

This award will be given to a training program that has made a significant contribution to training behavior therapists and/or promoting behavior therapy. Training programs can include graduate (doctoral or master’s), predoctoral internship, postdoctoral programs, institutes, or continuing education initiatives. Recent recipients of this award include the Clinical Science Ph.D. Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, the Florida State University’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, the Beck Institute, and the Penn Collaborative for CBT and Implementation Science, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine.  Applications should include a nomination form (available at www.abct.org/awards) and two letters of support. Please e-mail the nomination materials as one pdf document to [email protected]. Include “Outstanding Training Program” in your subject heading.

• Nomination deadline: March 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

ABCT’s 2024-25 President, Steven A. Safren, Ph.D., invites submissions for the 47th 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 3, 2025
• Nomination Form

• 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 3, 2025
• Nomination form

The ABCT Research Facilitation Committee is sponsoring a grant of up to $1,000 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 Monday, March 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST. Applications should include all of the materials listed in GSRG Application 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, Joseph Carpenter, Ph.D., at [email protected]. Include “Graduate Student Research Grant” in your subject heading. Please include the GSRG submission checklist as part of your application.

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

• Deadline: Monday, March 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST