These awards will be given to two students based on their doctoral dissertation proposal related to the use of Contextual Behavioral Science with children/adolescents. Accompanying this honor will be a monetary award of $750.00 USD for each of the two award-winners to be used in support of research (e.g., to pay participants, to purchase testing equipment) and/or to facilitate travel to the ACBS annual conference. These awards are made possible by a generous donation from Susan Paradise (the widow of Dr. Asher) and Behavior Therapy Associates in Somerset, New Jersey (USA). Behavior Therapy Associates is a private group practice of psychologists and BCBAs, founded in 1979 by Steven B. Gordon, Ph.D., ABPP, and the Executive Director is Michael C. Selbst, Ph.D., BCBA-D.
Michael J. Asher, Ph.D., ABPP passed away in 2016 and was a clinical psychologist at Behavior Therapy Associates, P.A. since 1988. He served as Coordinator of Consultation Services and was Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Asher was an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Medical School where he supervised Psychiatric Fellows and taught Child Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and he was a field supervisor for the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Dr. Asher co-authored several books on the topic of behavior disorders and children. He was passionate about his work, loved psychology, cognitive behavior therapy, and especially enjoyed learning about and practicing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Asher greatly impacted the lives of many and his contribution to the field of psychology and education was significant. He will be remembered fondly.
Requirements:
- Candidates must be student members of ACBS at the time of application,
- Topic area of dissertation research must be of direct relevance to CBS applied to the development, maintenance, and/or treatment in children and/or adolescents.
- The dissertation must have been successfully proposed. Proposals with preliminary results included are preferred.
Award Recipients:
Khamisi Musanje, Makerere University (2024)
Adapting and evaluating a mindfulness and acceptance-based intervention supporting mental health and adherence to anti-retroviral therapy among older adolescents in Kampala, Uganda (First Prize)
Daniel Wallsten, Karlstad University (2024)
Shifting the lens on heterogenous psychological suffering - Exploring and evaluating novel psychological treatment approaches to comorbid mental disorders (Second Prize)
Ching Yee Lam, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2023)
Acceptance and commitment therapy for promoting psychological wellbeing among adolescent nursing students: A randomized controlled trial (First Prize)
Anna-Lotta Lappalainen, University of Jyvaskyla (2023)
Promoting youth mental health through digital brief interventions: individual differences in intervention response (Second Prize)
Dafni Morroni, University of Cyprus (2022)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Unaccompanied Minors (First Prize)
Julie Petersen, Utah State University (2022)
Telehealth acceptance and commitment therapy for adolescents with transdiagnostic health-related anxiety: A randomized controlled trial (Second Prize)
Evaluating the Effects of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Behavioral Parent Training Program on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Parents (Second Prize)
Self-compassion: Promoting resilience and well-being in adolescent populations