The APS Colleges offer a range of awards and prizes each year that encourage and recognise excellence in psychology across the specialist fields.
APS College Awards of Distinction
The APS College Awards of Distinction recognise the importance of an individual's contribution to his or her specialist field and significant contributions to the relevant APS College over a number of years.
College of Clinical Neuropsychologists
Tim Hannan FAPS
Associate Professor Tim Hannan holds this title in the School of Psychology at Charles Sturt University. He became a member of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists in 1996 and subsequently served on the National Committee of the College for five years. This included a term as National Chair, and he has chaired two College Annual Conferences. The major focus of Tim's research and teaching in clinical neuropsychology has been in the field of child cognitive assessment and he directed the Australian standardisations of three major cognitive tests. He is also well known for his commitment to enhancing standards of practice in cognitive assessment through the provision of professional development and has presented at numerous workshops and seminars to psychologists around Australia and overseas. Tim has also contributed to the advancement and promotion of the specialty of clinical neuropsychology through his participation in the broader activities of the APS. He is a Fellow of the APS, was elected to the Board of Directors in 2010, and is currently the President-Elect of the Society.
College of Clinical Psychologists
Deborah Wilmoth FAPS
Dr Deborah Wilmoth has practised as a clinical psychologist since 1985 and is currently Clinic Director at Bond University. She has worked in numerous clinical settings including private, not-for-profit, community child and adult mental health clinics, the judicial system administering evaluations, and in hospitals. As the Chief Health Professions Officer for WA Health, she had the opportunity to be involved with issues related to primary care, public health, clinical training and policy development across a wide range of health professions. Deborah became a member of the APS in 1997 and became active in the WA section of the College of Clinical Psychologists serving as Secretary and Chair. She then served on the National Committee of the College of Clinical Psychologists from 2000 until 2010, including a significant period as Chair of the College. She has also been a member of the Alternative Education Pathways Working Group of the APS. Deborah was elected to the grade of Fellow of the APS in 2011 and was seconded to the APS Board of Directors in 2011 for a one-year period.
College of Community Psychologists
Grace Pretty FAPS
Professor Grace Pretty came to Australia in 1995 to take up the position as head of the School of Psychology at the University of Southern Queensland, and immediately joined the APS. Previously she was a member of the Canadian Psychological Association from 1983 and has taught psychology continuously since 1977. Grace has been a member of the College of Community Psychologists since 1996 and was elected as an APS Fellow in 2004. Grace served as National Chair of the College from 2006-2009 and was also the Southern Queensland representative to the National Executive of the College from 1996 to 1999. Grace served as the College’s representative to the then APS Program Development and Accreditation Reference Group and continues to be a member of the APS Program Development and Accreditation Committee as well as the Constituent Units Review Working Group. Grace’s blending of research and action exemplifies her stated passion to ‘make the scientist-practitioner model work’. Grace has maintained her role and skills as a practising clinical and community psychologist through her private practice.
College of Counselling Psychologists
Elizabeth Tindle FAPS
Dr Elizabeth Tindle joined the APS in 1989 and the College of Counselling Psychologists in the early 1990s, after being appointed psychologist at the Queensland University of Technology. She was nominated State Section Chair of the College for Queensland in 1994 and held this position until 2010. As Chair of the Queensland Section, Elizabeth was a member of the National Executive of the College from 1994 until 2009. During this time she made a distinctive mark in Australia as the profession of counselling psychology defined itself in the changing landscape of psychological practice, and was elected to the grade of Fellow of the APS in 2001. Elizabeth was able to capture the humanistic aspect and science of the discipline of counselling psychology in her publications about this domain of evidence-based psychological practice. Elizabeth’s significant contributions to the College have included an initiative to maintain the excellent standard of professional development for counselling psychologists which has become a feature of the Queensland Section of the College.
College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists
Karen Gee MAPS
Karen Gee has been a member of the APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists since its inception, and a senior school psychologist in Tasmania for over 30 years. She has been very active in the Australian Reference Group for the Griffiths Mental Development Scales and has trained many psychologists and paediatricians in the use of this developmental assessment tool. Karen has also been involved in many initiatives around diagnosis and treatment planning for students with disability in Tasmania. She has worked extensively in diagnosis and treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Karen travelled to train at the Autism and Communication Disorders Centre, University of Michigan, USA, after being awarded a Tasmanian Hardie Fellowship in 2009. She also visited the University of North Carolina, working with and observing the work of their team. Karen has spent several months as a visiting scholar at the Special Education Faculty in the College of Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, which is linked to the Autism Program of Illinois.
College of Forensic Psychologists
Martine Powell FAPS
Professor Martine Powell is a leading expert in the area of children’s testimony and investigative interviewing. She has over 140 publications addressing four themes: analyses of child memory and language and the effectiveness of various interview techniques; development of strategies to promote transfer of learning from investigative interviewer training; evaluations of criminal justice reforms related to child abuse; and methods of minimising the mental health impact in the area of child exploitation. Martine is coordinator of the Doctor of Psychology (Forensic) course at Deakin University and she plays a major role in the education and training of investigative and evidential interviewers nationally and internationally. Overall she has assisted in the development of 11 training courses on interviewing children, including an online course which recruits professionals (police, psychologists, teachers, prosecutors and social workers) from all States of Australia and across the globe. Martine was elected to the grade of Fellow of the APS in 2011. She has been a member of the APS College of Forensic Psychologists since 1994 and has served as Chair of the Course Approvals Committee.
College of Health Psychologists
Anna Chur-Hansen FAPS
Professor Anna Chur-Hansen from Adelaide University has been Chair of the APS College of Health Psychologists in South Australia since 2003 and a Member of the National Executive for the College since 2006. In 2008 she was awarded the State APS College of Health Psychologists prize for “Significant contributions to the profession” and in 2009 was elected to the grade of Fellow of the APS. Anna’s areas of research are primarily health professional education and the role of companion animals in health. She has written over one hundred papers, articles, reports and book chapters and has taught undergraduate medical students since 1987. Anna has had a major impact in the promotion of the discipline of health psychology which was recognised with an inaugural Carrick Citation in 2006 and a Higher Education Research Fellowship in 2007. Anna and others were funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council in 2009-2011 to produce online learning materials for medical students, including health psychology. Anna also has a small private practice and through this extends the benefits of health psychology to the community.
College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists
Peter Terry FAPS
Professor Peter Terry from the University of Southern Queensland, and former Psychology Coordinator at the Queensland Academy of Sport, moved to Australia in 2000 after being Professor of Sport Psychology at Brunel University. Peter was Chair of the APS College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists (COSEP) from 2002 to 2006, and organised several COSEP theme day programs at APS Annual Conferences. He was on the Organising and Scientific Committees for the World Congress of Sport Psychology, was the first Australian to be invited to be a COSEP visiting scholar in 2008 and has been an APS Fellow since 2009. Peter is author of nearly 200 publications, including books, chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. He has been a keynote or invited speaker at many international conferences and is also a Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. As an applied sport psychologist over the past 27 years, he has provided psychological support to more than 1,000 international and professional performers, including at Olympic Games and World Championships.
The APS College of Organisational Psychologists did not confer an Award of Distinction in 2011.
Individual College Awards
Some of the APS Colleges offer other awards and prizes that
encourage and recognise excellence in their particular specialist field of psychology.
College of Clinical Psychologists
Ian M. Campbell Memorial Prize
Christopher Lee MAPS
Dr Christopher Lee has made outstanding contributions in clinical practice, therapist training and research and has led teams to develop innovative programs for people with chronic disorders. He has delivered workshops to established practitioners and postgraduate students that have consistently been rated very highly. Even though mostly working in dedicated clinical settings, he has produced scientific publications that have been frequently cited and subject to international awards. Chris has worked in inpatient and outpatient mental health units for 15 years. These positions have ranged from the Director of the alcohol dependence treatment unit at Royal Darwin hospital to senior clinical psychologist at the QEII medical centre in Perth. Chris is an accredited supervisor and consultant with the International Society of Schema Therapists and the Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA). He has published research into the assessment of personality disorders and the treatment of trauma. He received an International Society of Traumatic Stress Study award for contribution to research into trauma and an EMDRIA award for research excellence (1999).
Student Prize
- Carol Thake, Australian Catholic University
- Ertimiss Eshkevari, Australian National University
- Lucy Davey, Bond University
- Stephanie Lawton, Central Queensland University
- Melinda Tabone, Charles Sturt University
- Catherine Brennan, Curtin University
- Melis Aday, Deakin University
- Jennifer King, Edith Cowan University
- Matthew Guidolin, Flinders University
- Julie Slevec, Flinders University (retrospective awarding of prize from 2010)
- Jade Maurer, Griffith University
- Sarah Lutkin, James Cook University
- Nadia Petruccelli, La Trobe University
- Sally Fitzpatrick, Macquarie University
- Cassandra Dean, Monash University
- Sarah Schubert, Murdoch University
- Jessica Brands, Queensland University of Technology
- Stacey Janne Bennet, RMIT University
- Claire Ahern, Swinburne University
- Michelle Beer, University of Adelaide
- Jessica Saville, University of Ballarat
- Teall McQueen, University of Canberra
- Alexandra Humphries, University of Melbourne
- Jamie Marshall, University of New England
- Quincy Wong, University of New South Wales
- Matthew Currell, University of Queensland
- Shane Jason Moyle, University of South Australia
- Julian Lim, University of Southern Queensland
- Amy Price, University of Sydney
- Ashley Lynch, University of Tasmania
- Julie Geary, University of the Sunshine Coast
- Amy Margaret Lampard, University of Western Australia
- Margaret Houtzaager, University of Western Sydney
- Phoebe Carter, University of Wollongong
South Australia Section Prize (student prize)
- Julie Slevec, Flinders University
- Kirsten Dunn, University of Adelaide
- Anne Louise Hopkins, University of South Australia
College of Counselling Psychologists
Doctoral Award
- Katie Wyman, Swinburne University
College of Forensic Psychologists
Maconochie Prize (student prize)
- Peter Ashkar, University of Sydney
NSW Section Annual Awards
Open category for contributions to forensic psychology
- Hon Greg James QC, President, Mental Health Review Tribunal
Psychological practice and professional work
- Anna Robilliard, senior practitioner, Duffy Robillard Forensic Psychologists
- Gaye Gleeson, consultant psychologist, International Health and Medical Services
Research and academic work
- Richard Kemp, University of New South Wales
College of Health Psychologists
Award for Excellent Higher Degree Thesis
- Kayla Chelsey de la Haye, University of Adelaide
- Phillipa Diedrichs, University of Queensland
College of Organisational Psychologists
Elton Mayo Research and Teaching Award
Neal Ashkanasy MAPS
Professor Neal Ashkanasy is internationally recognised as one of the originators of the study of emotion in organisations. In 2006 he was the first Australian to be elected a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology. He has subsequently been elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Academy for the Social Sciences in Australia. Neal is one of a small group of Australian scholars who publishes regularly in high impact journals, for example the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes. Neal is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Organisational Behaviour, one of the top five journals in organisational psychology. He is Associate Editor for Emotion Review, served as Associate Editor of Academy of Management Learning and Education, and was recently appointed Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Review, the number one ranked journal in management. Neal has been a Member of the APS College of Organisational Psychologists since 1995.
Early Career Award
Dr Crissa Sumner MAPS
During her relatively short career, Crissa has made significant contributions to the research, teaching and practice of organisational psychology. Crissa completed a PhD in the area of leadership, social intelligence and employee attitudes and published the findings from this research. She has been appointed as a course coordinator and lecturer at the University of Queensland, provided organisational psychology services to numerous clients through her current role as a senior consultant, and continues to regularly supervise and mentor early career psychologists. She has also made enormous contributions to the APS College of Organisational Psychologists (COP) through her current role as Queensland Chair. Crissa has been involved in COP for approximately five years and is currently in her second term as the Chair of the Queensland section of the College. During her time as Queensland Chair, Crissa has led a wide range of initiatives focused on improving the benefits and services provided for members.
College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists
Award for Best Student Presentation
- Rachel Jones, University of Queensland
The information in the College award profiles was prepared from the nomination citations provided by the College Chairs.