Congratulations to the 2025 Practice Board Award winners 

The Practice Board Awards recognise exemplary psychologists who have made outstanding contributions in their field. This year, the awards celebrate three psychologists who have made a huge impact in the fields of forensic psychology, psychological support for the media industry, and social justice and human rights. 

All three winners have had inspiring and impressive careers, and their the work has had a positive and lasting impact on communities, policies and individuals that they work with.  

Lifetime Achievement Award 

The Lifetime Achievement in Psychology Award was presented to Professor Graham. J Towl. 

Prof. Towl is currently Professor of Forensic Psychology at Durham University, where he was formerly Pro Vice Chancellor. Prof. Towl was previously the Chief Psychologist at the Ministry of Justice, where he grew psychological services from around 400 to over 1,000 psychological staff and set up a national infrastructure for psychological services in prisons and probation.  

He was the co-founding editor of Forensic Update, the Journal of Forensic Practice and also the Journal of Leadership. He is co-editor of the BPS endorsed textbook of Forensic Psychology, now in its third edition.  

He was a Council member of the Health and Care Professions Council and in 2003, he was peer nominated as the most influential forensic psychologist in the UK. His two key strands of research and expertise are in the areas of suicide in prisons and the prevention of sexual violence at universities.  

He was a member of the Harris Review, one of the largest and most detailed studies undertaken historically or internationally into prisoner suicide with a focus on 18–24-year-olds.  

His research with Helen Baird evaluating the extent to which universities had (or hadn't) implemented the Office for Students guidance on the prevention of sexual misconduct at universities has positively influenced the process of sector regulation, which directly contributed to improved regulation due to come into force in August 2025.  

On being presented with the award, Prof. Towl said:

"I was surprised and delighted to hear that I had won the British Psychological Society lifetime achievement in psychology award – I am touched by it – it really was unexpected, but much appreciated, an honour. Thank you."  

Distinguished Contribution to Practice Award 

The Distinguished Contribution to Practice Award was presented to Professor Rachel Tribe. 

Prof. Tribe works with the Department of Psychology at the University of East London and the Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London.  

She is also a trustee and volunteer for three international mental health charities including Careif. Prof. Tribe is a chartered counselling and organisational psychologist and holds an MBA and post-graduate qualifications in training and marketing.   

She is a Fellow of the BPS, a registered HCPC Psychologist and has experience of working in the private, public, charity and academic sectors. She has published over 140 journal articles and book chapters, and eight books. Her latest published book is Social Justice, Social Discrimination and Mental Health Theory, Practice, and Professional Issues, co-edited by Prof. Dinesh Bhugra, with all royalties from the book going to a mental health charity.  

She has worked in around 40 countries and is currently working in partnership with colleagues on mental health projects across the UK, India, Sri Lanka, Senegal and Pakistan. 

On receiving the award, Prof. Tribe said: 

"I am delighted and honoured to have received the BPS distinguished contribution to Practice award. I would like to thank all the people I have worked with in the UK and around the world who have enabled the work underlying this award to take place. None of us work in isolation. I have been lucky to have had great colleagues".  

Innovation in Practice Award 

The Innovation in Practice Award was presented to Julie Freeborn. 

Julie is a founding partner of Kinder Media, an organisation that provides health support to the media industry. She previously worked as the BBC's Subject Matter Expert for mental health and partnered with ITV to create pioneering training for psychologists working in media.  

She also developed innovative approaches to addressing vicarious trauma, managing critical incidents, and mitigating moral injury, as well as designing psychosocial risk assessments specifically for the media industry.  

Julie has a wealth of experience developing mental health and wellbeing strategies, advising on duty of care, providing second-line support to productions, and offering crisis management.  

On receiving the award, Julie said: 

"I'm deeply honoured to receive the Innovation in Practice Award for my work supporting journalists facing vicarious trauma and improving access to trained psychological support for production teams. This recognition underscores the importance of addressing mental health in media in various ways, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this vital area.​  

Collaborating with talented psychologists and dedicated professionals across various organisations, industries and professions made these initiatives possible. Their expertise and commitment were instrumental in developing interventions and integrating psychological support into media environments. I would particularly like to thank Dr Noreen Tehrani, Professor John Oates, Professor Peter Kinderman, Dr Matthew Gould and Dawn Beresford for their work on these projects.  

This award reflects our collective effort to prioritise wellbeing in journalism and productions, ensuring that whether bringing critical stories to light, or entertainment and joy, production teams and contributors are cared for and supported. ​Thank you for this acknowledgement. It inspires me to continue fostering innovation and compassion in my work."