The British Psychological Society (BPS) is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK.
As a member network, the BPS Division of Health Psychology (DHP) promotes the science, education and application of the discipline.
If you have any queries about health psychology and what it could do for you or your organisation, please contact the Division of Health Psychology at [email protected]
The DHP invites BPS accredited MSc Health Psychology course leaders to nominate the MSc student with the highest grade for their research project in their cohort. It is expected that award winners will not only have an outstanding MSc project, but will also have the potential to share their research with a health psychology scientific audience and to translate their work into a peer-reviewed publication. Work can be in any area of health psychology.
The prize is a “prize winner” oral presentation at the DHP conference (28th& 29th June, Bristol), an award and certificate. We will support reasonable expenses for the winner to attend the conference in the form of a bursary, which includes a two-day conference attendance, two nights’ accommodation and travel. We also expect the winner to write a brief overview of their work and their experience of presenting for Health Psychology Update.
We encourage you to help us celebrate health psychology research by submitting your nominations online by 23:30hrs on Friday 7th January 2022. Please note that this year we ask you to include the full project on the nomination form to facilitate an efficient review process.
The Criteria
BPS accredited MSc Health Psychology course leaders can nominate the MSc student on their programme who achieved the highest grade for their research project for MSc degrees awarded between September 2020 and December 2021. It is expected that award winners will not only have an outstanding MSc project, but will also have the potential to translate this work into a peer-reviewed publication. Work can be in any area of health psychology.
All abstracts of award nominees will be reviewed by the Research Sub-Committee chaired by the DHP Research Lead, judged on appropriate length, quality, clarity and original contribution to the field of health psychology. A shortlist will be formed from this process, and the submitted full MSc thesis of shortlisted nominees will be reviewed. This will then be judged on the following criteria on a 0-5 point scale:
1) Clear and concise structure
2) Original contribution to the field of health psychology
3) Critical appraisal of the literature
4) Depth of knowledge
5) Detailed methodology
6) Depth/appropriateness of analysis
7) Strong and relevant conclusion
The MSc research project with the highest number of points will be awarded the DHP Award for Outstanding MSc Health Psychology Research Project.
SUBMIT YOUR ONLINE NOMINATION NOW
We advise that you prepare your submission on a word document or alternative. 
Download an example of the online form to prepare your submission.
Submission Deadline: 23:30hrs on Friday 7th January 2022
NOTE: Nominations must come from MSc Health Psychology Course Leaders. Only one application per MSc programme will be considered. Self-nominations are not accepted. The DHP reserves the right not to make an award if no suitable nominations are received.
Overview
The Excellence in Health Psychology Early Career Award is a new award which celebrates the work of those who are in training (Stage 2 Trainees) or are qualified and within 10 years of completing Stage 1 training (MSc Health Psychology). We welcome nominations from or on behalf of trainees or recently qualified Health Psychologists who have demonstrated excellence in the discipline. The deadline for nominations is the 24th May 2021, 4pm.
Types of nominations
Nominations can be made either by yourself or on behalf of an individual who works in the area of health psychology.
Entry criteria
The Nominee:
Please note the term “active” is intended to exclude any period of career break and is full-time equivalent.
Assessment criteria
We will be assessing the extent to which a nominee/ lead of a small collaborative team has demonstrated excellence in Health Psychology against the areas below. As an early career award, it will be evaluated in this context, and it is expected that this work will normally have been completed under supervision or following a period of recent supervision.
Execution: How well they met the aims of a project in relation to consultancy, research, teaching and training or psychological intervention, with clear evidence of professional competence (e.g. ethical considerations and good practice).
Evidence base: Quality of gathered information (in terms of theoretical grounding, methodology, data gathered from stakeholders/practitioners/clients/students, data gathered from an organisation, community and/or population)
Impact: To what extent did this work have an impact on individuals, communities, organisations and stakeholders (for example contribution to learning, facilitating practice, enhancing health outcomes, or impact on policy)
Visibility: To what extent does this work illustrate the value of Health Psychology
Each member of the review panel will score each criteria between 1 and 7 (1 = weak; 7 = exceptional). A minimum of 16 points must be achieved in order to be eligible to be considered to receive the award.
All nominations must be supported by two independant references (not including the nominator).
The committee may award one DHP Excellence in Health Psychology Early Career Award per year. If no submissions of sufficient merit are received, no award will be made.
Guidance for nominations
Click here to preview the online submission form which will help you to prepare your submission. We advise that you save your submission onto a Word Document so that you can copy and paste and upload to questions as requested.
How to apply
Submission for 2021 now closed. 2022 submissons will open in the winter of 2021.
Judging process
Awards will be judged by the Division of Health Psychology committee, including early career Health Psychologists.
The Award
The award will be presented at the DHP AGM on the 24th June from 1pm
The winner will:
This award is aimed at Division of Health Psychology members whose work has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the discipline of health psychology and for the benefit of individuals, communities, stakeholders or organisations. This award will likely be made to a psychologist in mid to late career, and nominees should not be within 10 years of the start of their training in health psychology (e.g. Stage 1/ Grand-parenting). Please see criteria for the Excellence in Health Psychology Early Career Award for awards to individuals who are early career.
Nominations can be made either by or on behalf of a psychologist who works in the area of health psychology.
Nominator can be anyone; Nominations are not limited to UK residents and need not be from Society/DHP members.
Self-nominations will be accepted; however, an two references will be required.
Nominees for the Distinguished Contribution to Health Psychology award should be:
Please note the term “active” is intended to exclude any period of career break and is full-time equivalent.
We will be assessing the extent to which a nominee has demonstrated a distinguished contribution to health psychology against the areas below.
| Demonstrated Outstanding Contribution |
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Invested in Psychology |
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Impacted on people / groups / communities / organisations / stakeholders |
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Supported Equality Diversity and Inclusion |
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Each member of the review panel will score each criteria between 1 and 7 (1 = weak; 7 = exceptional).
A minimum of 45 points must be achieved in order to be eligible to be considered to receive the award.
All nominations must be supported by two independant references (not including the nominator).
The committee may award one Distinguished Contribution to Health Psychology Award per year. If no submissions of sufficient merit are received, no award will be made.
Click here to preview the online submission form which will help you to prepare your submission. We advise that you save your submission onto a Word Document so that you can copy and paste and upload to questions as requested.
Submission for 2021 now closed. 2022 submissons will open in the winter of 2021.
Awards will be judged by a panel from the DHP committee.
The award will be presented at the DHP AGM on the 24th June from 1pm
The winner will:
The DHP Chair’s Mentoring Award is a new award which celebrates excellence in mentoring in health psychology.
Of all the activities in academia, mentoring may be one of the most valuable, with the least recognition. Health Psychology is a unique discipline with a great history of academic mentoring, and we want to celebrate this with an annual DHP Mentoring Award.
This award has been developed to recognise and celebrate outstanding mentors for their contributions to students, trainees and early career researchers in Health Psychology. These awards will acknowledge those who have served as exemplary role models, and offer recognition of the time, dedication, inspiration, enthusiasm, and support that they bring to successful mentor/mentee relationships.
We welcome nominations on behalf of members of the Division of Health Psychology who have demonstrated excellence in mentoring.
Types of nominations
All nominations must be supported by four nominators: a principal nominator, who should be a member of the DHP (in any capacity) and three supporting nominators. The four nominators must be former mentees and must not all represent a single time period for the mentor, though they may overlap.
Entry criteria
Nominee Must be member of the BPS Division of Health Psychology (DHP)
Assessment criteria
We will be assessing the extent to which a nominee has demonstrated excellence in mentoring in health psychology against the areas below.
If no submissions of sufficient merit are received, no award will be made.
Guidance for nominations
Click here to preview the online submission form which will help you to prepare your submission. We advise that you save your submission onto a Word Document so that you can copy and paste and upload to questions as requested.
How to apply
Submission for 2021 now closed. 2022 submissons will open in the winter of 2021.
Judging process
Awards will be judged by a panel from the DHP committee. The committee may award one DHP Chair’s Mentoring award per year. If no submissions of sufficient merit are received, no award will be made.
This award is bestowed as a once in a lifetime achievement. Past winners are not eligible to receive a second award.
The Award
The award will be presented at the DHP AGM on the 24th June from 1pm
The winner will:
The DHP Research Networking and Public Engagement Prize is a new prize which seeks to support DHP members to widen their research networks and/or engage stakeholders, public and patients in research through hosting a networking event (webinar) in an area of health psychology. The purpose of the prize is to stimulate discussion between researchers in health psychology, other disciplines, the public and other stakeholders.
Types of applications
We welcome applications from any psychologists who are currently researching in any area of health psychology. Applications may relate to exploring new ideas (e.g. as a result of a recent research finding or development), expanding stakeholder networks (e.g. new sectors or disciplines), and/or engaging individuals or groups from the public/patient/community. The event is expected to have a minimum of 10 attendees and maximum of 30 attendees.
Entry criteria
The lead applicant must be a FULL member of the BPS Division of Health Psychology (DHP)
Assessment criteria
We will be assessing applications for this prize against the areas below.
As a condition of this prize it is expected that grant holder would write an article for Health Psychology Update or the DHP Newsletter, reporting on the event (for example, describing its main themes, content and any salient outcomes or conclusions). Submission of the draft article should be no more than 3 months after the seminar has been held.
Guidance for nominations
Click here to preview the online submission form which will help you to prepare your submission. We advise that you save your submission onto a Word Document so that you can copy and paste and upload to questions as requested.
How to apply
Click here to start the online submission process. Please note that once you start you cannot leave and go back to your submission, please see the above section for help preparing your submission.
Judging process
Applications will be judged by a panel of from the DHP committee. The committee may award one research networking and public engagement prize per year. If no submissions of sufficient merit are received, no award will be made.
Nominations will close at 4pm on Monday 24th May 2021
The Prize
The prize will be presented at the DHP AGM on the 24th June from 1pm
The winner will:
Sarah Hansen, Northumbria University
The winning abstract decided by the panel was “An online written benefit finding intervention: investigating the effects on physical and psychological health and the moderating role of perseverative thinking in a non-clinical sample during the covid-19 pandemic” by Sarah Hansen and supervised by Dr Michael Smith.
The chair of the MSc Project Prize panel, Dr Gillian Shorter, Division of Health Psychology Research Lead said “What a fantastic year for our MSc Health Psychology graduates. Although COVID-19 has raised enormous challenges for the next generation of health psychologists and their dedicated lecturers across the UK, the panel were impressed by the quality and contribution of the all prize applicants to the field. Sarah’s work on written benefit finding for wellbeing demonstrates the potential for Health Psychologists to innovate and overcome challenges to promote health using online interventions. We look forward to her talk at the Annual Conference”.
Nominees:
Dr Sarah Peters (University of Manchester)
Professor Marie Johnston (University of Aberdeen
Dr Caroline Limbert (Cardiff Metropolitan University)
Winner: Professor Marie Johnston (University of Aberdeen)
Nominated by Professor Diane Dixon, Professor Jo Hart Professor Molly Byrne and Dr Barbara Farquharson
“Whilst working with her, I was able to see how she navigated through differences of opinion whilst sticking to her principles, and as a result I still sometimes have a ‘little Marie on my shoulder’ who helps me see how best to approach a sticky situation, and how to work out what I and others need. When the little Marie on my shoulder can’t see the way forward, the real Marie can I am always impressed that 1. she never answers the question I have but reformulates the problem much more clearly and we answer that together…” (Professor Jo Hart)
“Finally, as a woman, Marie is an inspiration she is a role model herself of course but also a fierce advocate for other women and not afraid to be ‘difficult’, to advocate for women and to call out the unconscious bias facing women in science. She has certainly helped me reframe my view of situations, how I define ‘success’ and how I advocate for others (and myself). Everyone should have a Marie!” (Dr Barbara Farquharson)
“Marie is not a mentor to just passively lean on. Her support is demanding it is offered in a way that challenges you. As her mentee, you are always developing always becoming better at whatever is in your best interest to be better at. Uniquely, Marie’s mentoring is selfless and without ego”. (Professor Diane Dixon)
“A key way in which Marie influenced my personal growth was in giving me confidence in myself.” (Dr Rachael Powell)
“From this first time I met Marie, I was struck by how Marie took an interest in everyone she spoke to, encouraging us all to value Health Psychology and consider how we might contribute to this important discipline in the future…. I consider her to be my ‘guardian angel’ and I know I am one of many who think of her like this.” (Professor Molly Byrne)
Winner: Professor Christine Bundy(Cardiff University)
Nominated by Rachael Pattinson and Rachael Hewitt
“One of her greatest contributions to the field and professional achievements is the successful integration of health psychology in medicaleducation and clinical settings. She continues totransform medical curricula, particularly in thespeciality of dermatology.” (Professor Robert West).
“Professor Bundy is committed to the development of Health Psychology as profession, teaching and providing mentorship for Health Psychologists and for a range of health professionals for whom an understanding of psychological theory and interventions in crucial to their roles .” (Dr Rhiannon Phillips)
“…elevating the voices of people living with long term conditions and providing front line healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills and resources required to deliver psychologically informed patient centred care”. (Professor Kate Hamilton West)
“She has taught me and many others to stand up for psychology and be proud to be a health psychologist working within medicine .” (Dr Jacqueline Lavallée)
2021 DHP Excellence in Health Psychology Early Career Award Nominees and Winner
Nominees:
Dr Shanara Abdin (University of West England/ City of Wolverhampton Council)
Dr Emily McBride (University College London)
Lesley Lewis (Public Health Wales/Staffordshire University)
Winner: Dr Emily McBride (University College London)
“Emily’s research projects have informed national changes to cervical screening policy and practice…she has held external roles showcasing the value of Health Psychology in health policy and public health... she worked as a Senior Advisor in Behavioural Science for the Department of Health and Social Care. Emily has also published over 20 peer reviewed papers and been granted additional funding to continue her NIHR fellowship through 2021… She is on an incredible trajectory and is undoubtedly a future leader in our field.”
(Nominated by Dr Joseph Chilcot, Kings College London)
| 2013 |
Professor Susan Michie (University College London) |
| 2014 |
Dr Stephan Dombrowski (University of Starling) |
| 2013 |
Dr Joe Chilcot (Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London) |
| 2013 |
Dr Nicky Thomas (Guys & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust) |
| 2016 |
Professor Ronan O'Carroll (University of Stirling) |
| 2014 |
Professor Jane Wardle (University College London) |
| 2017 Winner |
Holly Bear (King’s College London) |
| 2017 Runners Up |
Hannah Long (The University of Manchester) Malcolm Bray (City University) |
| 2016 Winners |
Olga Peski (University College London) Sarah Higgins (Staffordshire University) |
| 2014 Winners |
Hollie Young (University of Bath) Lai Siew Tim (University of Starling) |
| 2013 Winner |
Miroslava Koseva (Bath University) |
| 2013 Runners Up |
Vanessa Lee (King’s College London) Lua Olgahere (University of Ulster) |
| 2017 | Dr Daniel Masterson (Health Psychologist at HAPPIA) |
Bursary Applications welcome for the 2021 Division of Health Psychology (DHP) Annual Conference
The DHP are offering bursaries to cover the registration cost of the online DHP Annual Conference on 29-30 June 2021. This year we have a limited number of bursaries available:
Applications are now closed
If awarded a bursary you will be invited to write a piece for Health Psychology Update (HPU) but this is not an essential requirement of the bursary. You will be given support from one of the HPU sub-editors and your work will go through usual peer review procedures. Alternatively, you can support part of the conference programme (e.g. by chairing a session) but this is not an essential requirement.
The committee reserves the right not to make bursary awards should no suitable candidates be found.
Eligibility Criteria:
We welcome applications from everyone and strongly encourage applications from individuals with protected characteristics (e.g. race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability, age, etc.).
How to apply:
Applications are now closed
You will be asked for the following information:
1. The bursary category you are applying for
2. Your Name and affiliation, and BPS number if you have one
3. A brief 500 word statement explaining why you should be awarded a bursary and how you will benefit from the conference.
Only applications made online will be accepted.
How your application will be reviewed:
1. Eligibility checks will be carried out by the BPS office. Ineligible submissions will not be sent out for review.
2. Your submission will be anonymised before sending to the panel.
3. The panel, compromised of 3 members of the national DHP committee, will review your application on the following criteria:
Enthusiasm for attending and presenting at a DHP conference.
Reasons provided of benefits of attending
4. The highest rated submissions will receive bursaries. In the event of equal ratings, the panel will discuss and agree awards.
You will be informed of the outcome of your application by the end April 2021
Further information regarding 2021 to be confirmed
Further information regarding 2021 to be confirmed
| 2017 |
Dr Katherine Finlay, University of Buckingham Creating a multi-purpose pop-up lab: Exploring role of health psychology in the context of pain management |
| 2016 |
Dr Debbie Smith & Dr Melissa Noke, University of Manchester Health psychology and Manchester: What is happening in Manchester and how can it help you? |
| 2015 |
Raluca Matei (Royal Northern College of Music) & Dr Benjamin Gardner Sood (King's College London) "Performing Health Psychology: raising awareness of health psychology among orchestral players" Professor Karen Rodham & Dr Rachel Povey (Staffordshire University) "Capturing the essence of Health Psychology": An image competition open to health psychology practitioners, academics and trainees |
| 2012 |
Professor Anna van Wersch & Kate Greenwell, Teeside University & North Tyneside General Hospital Health Psychology work experience programme for MSc Health Psychology and A-Level psychology students Reema Sirriyeh, University of York Educational workshop for A Level Psychology students: Applying a model of occupational stress to the experiences of health professionals |
| 2017 |
Dr Suzanne McDonald (Newcastle University) and Professor Derek Johnston (University of Aberdeen) ‘Making it personal’: Developing and advancing methods for personalised behavioural medicine |
| 2015 |
Raluca Matei (Royal Northern College of Music), Dr Benjamin Gardner Sood (King's College London), Professor Jane Ginsborg (Royal Northern College of Music) & Professor Aaron Williamon (Royal College of Music) "The role of health psychology in the promotion of health among music students" |
| 2014 |
Kristina Curtis (The University of Warwic) & David Crane (University College London) Development and evaluation of mHealth interventions Dr Angeliki Bogosian (King's College London) & Dr Liesbeth van Vliet (Kings College London) Long-term conditions in children: diagnosis, management and palliative care |
| 2013 |
Dr Eleni Vangeli, Dr Sinead NiMhurchadha & Fabiana Lorencatto, Atlantis Healthcare & NHS Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, UCL Optimising chronic illness self-management: identification, development and synthesis of behaviour change techniques Dr Debbie Smith, University of Manchester Health inequalities in maternity care: exploring the role of health psychology to improve women's health |