We are delighted to announce the inaugural winners of the ACAMH Awards, recognising the work of individuals whose work advances our understanding of mental health in children and young people.
These awards form an important part of Our Vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’ as they will inspire the future of the field through better understanding of why children and young people experience difficulties and what promotes their wellbeing.
Martin Pratt, Chief Executive of ACAMH, said: “ACAMH has always been a beacon for blue sky science, as well as ways services, and practices, can help foster an improved understanding of child and adolescent mental health. These awards acknowledge the dedication, expertise and sheer hard work of our deserving winners, and I would like to congratulate all of the winners on their success.”
List of winners
- Eric Taylor ‘Translational Research into Practice’ Award goes to Professor Shafran and team at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health Psychological Medicine Research Team (Judging Panel; CAMH Editors, plus ACAMH Board)
“We are very honoured to be the first recipients of the Eric Taylor Translational Research into Practice Award and winning this award means a great deal to the entire team. We believe passionately that psychological treatments must be accessible, evidence-based and cost-effective. Our focus is carrying out clinically-based research to evaluate the potential of available treatments that can be implemented in a range of settings. The close relationship between our clinical and research teams is critical to ensuring the successful translation of research into practice, and we are delighted to demonstrate that evidence-based psychological treatments can be provided at the point of need for children with both mental and physical health needs.”
- Dorothy Bishop ‘JCPP Best Paper’ Award for a paper published by the JCPP in a volume in the previous year goes to Dr. Jessica Schleider and Professor John Weisz for ‘Single-session growth mindset intervention or adolescent anxiety and depression: 9-month outcomes of a randomized trial’ (Judging Panel; Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Editor in Chief, and Professor Pasco Fearon, Deputy Editor in Chief, plus ACAMH Board)
“Thank you for this wonderful news! As you know, I have long been a huge admirer of ACAMH, and of course I think the world of Dr Jessica Schleider and of her work, so this honor is very special in multiple ways!” – Professor John Weisz
- CAMH Best Paper Award for a paper published in CAMH in a volume in the previous year goes to Dr. Liz O’Nions and co- authors, Professor Essi Viding, Dr. Caroline Floyd, Emma Quinlan, Connie Pidgeon, Dr. Judith Gould, Professor Francesca Happé for ‘Dimensions of difficulty in children reported to have an autism spectrum diagnosis and features of extreme/‘pathological’ demand avoidance’ (Judging Panel; CAMH Editors, plus ACAMH Board)
Prof Francesca Happe“We are delighted and honoured to have won this award, and we are extremely grateful to the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health panel for considering our paper.”
- David Cottrell ‘Education of CAMH Professionals’ Award for outstanding contribution to the education/training of child and adolescent mental health professionals goes to Rhonda Mitchell, Infant Mental Health Practitioner & Training Officer, and Sue Ranger, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Leeds Infant Mental Health Service. (Judging Panel; Dr. Mark Lovell and Professor Stephen Scott, plus ACAMH Board)
“We are delighted to be awarded the very first ‘David Cottrell Education of CAMH Professionals Award’ for our ‘Infant Mental Health: Babies, Brains and Bonding’ training day. We are passionate about developing a shared understanding with practitioners from a diverse range of professional backgrounds about the importance of early relationships, in the first few weeks and months of life, for optimal outcomes throughout the lifespan. Having this recognition from ACAMH really supports us in promoting the infant mental health agenda, the need to support parents in caring for their infants and in influencing consideration of the earliest relational experiences of children, young people and adults.”
- Kathy Sylva ‘Rising Star’ Award for best scientific contribution to child and adolescent mental health by a person within 10 years of their first published paper in a peer-reviewed journal goes to Rebecca Waller, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania. (Judging Panel; JCPP Editors, plus ACAMH Board)
“It is an enormous honor to have been awarded this. Kathy’s lifelong work to advance early years education and community services to promote the well-being of children and families is truly an inspiration. In my own work, I am interested in understanding different pathways to childhood behavior problems and aggression, which can be significant barriers to children’s educational success, as well as harmful to families, communities, and children’s long-term physical and mental health. My research seeks to inform better ways to identify children at risk for these outcomes and develop more effective and tailored personalized intervention and treatment strategies to work with families in the community or clinic, as well as directly with children.”
