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Detailed Criteria for Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Awards (One for Research and One for Practice)

For many years, the Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award, the Register’s highest honor, has consistently gone to recipients whose background tends to be more scholarly or academic than purely clinical. Academic psychologists, regardless of the quality of their clinical work, have the opportunity to produce more scholarship than those in purely clinical practices. Excellent clinicians who do not maintain academic CVs may then suffer in comparison because their contributions cannot be measured using the same metrics (i.e., publications, presentations, promotions, research grants) traditionally used to gauge more academically oriented achievements.

To address this disparity, the National Register Board of Directors has agreed to offer two Wellner Lifetime Achievement Awards each year—one to an outstanding Registrant in clinical practice and one to an outstanding Registrant who excels in clinically oriented research.

Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award for Practice

This award measures lasting and unique contributions to the field of applied psychology and a career-long commitment to clinical practice excellence as demonstrated by:

  1. A history of professional and public leadership and involvement, by any of the following:
    1. Involvement in local, state, or national psychological or other mental health associations, either in elected or appointed positions, to advance the interests of health service psychologists and their patients (e.g., patient advocacy groups, legislative advocacy coordinators, provider advocacy groups).
    2. Legislative advocacy as measured by involvement as a local, state or national advocate or coordinator for legislation positively affecting the practice of health service psychologists or specific patient groups (e.g., forming advocacy groups to advance mental health legislation, forming patient/community partnerships to raise awareness about particular patient issues or mental health problems, serving as a professional consultant to lay organizations, heading professional advocacy groups and similar activities).
    3. Outreach to patient groups and the public by such activities as writing for news outlets, public education or service campaigns, contributing to radio segments, TED talks, television programming, blogs and other public-facing media designed to improve public awareness about the practice of health service psychology, mental health and public health issues, or specific patient populations, with or without a focus on traditionally underserved patient populations.
    4. A history of volunteerism to school, religious or community organizations to raise awareness of the role of health service psychology in the delivery of healthcare services, lead mental health initiatives or improve awareness of and services to specific patient populations.
    5. Testimonial recognition by community groups, patient groups, healthcare organizations or government entities regarding work with specific healthcare issues or patient populations.
  2. A documented history of mentorship or supervision of more junior psychologists and other mental health clinicians in a specific area of practice.
  3. Expansion of psychological and other health services to specific patient populations and problems (i.e., establishing group practices expanding opportunities for other psychologists, creating innovation such as championing integrated care in community healthcare settings).
Alfred M. Wellner Lifetime Achievement Award for Research

This award recognizes those Registrants in academic, healthcare or other institutional settings who have advanced psychological practice at the state or national level by any of the following:

  1. Publication of research that measures the effectiveness of health service psychological interventions or other clinical procedures directly aimed at improving lives and healthcare outcomes of patients with emotional disorders.
  2. Dissemination of research to the mental health community, public health officials, and lay audiences that raises awareness about effective interventions and best practices for mental disorders and advances understanding of the challenges facing individuals with emotional disorders.
  3. A successful history of grants funding for investigation or application of mechanisms to better improve mental health service delivery and outcomes for patients with emotional disorders.

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