The annual awards
Seven awards, conferred once a year: for study, for research, for innovation, and for a career's achievement. Nominated by members, judged by a panel of members, and presented at the Annual Awards Evening in June.
You may nominate a colleague, a team, or yourself. Self-nomination is neither unusual nor penalised.
What the Society confers
The awards carry money where money helps and a medal where recognition is the point.
Three years of fees and a stipend for one doctoral candidate, held at any UK or Irish institution. The Society takes no claim on the work.
Up to £600 towards a conference, a course, or supervision a member cannot otherwise reach. Decided monthly, not annually.
For a single published paper of unusual clarity or usefulness, whatever the journal. Judged blind by the awards panel.
For research conducted with people who have lived experience of what is being studied, rather than about them.
For research that was put to work — a protocol adopted, an instrument in use, a service redesigned. Funded by corporate donors, and judged on what changed rather than where it was published.
The Society’s highest honour, for a career that has changed how mental health research or practice is done. Conferred at most once a year.
For a member within eight years of qualification whose work is already shaping practice beyond their own service.
The year
One cycle, published in advance and held to.
| Date | Stage | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 6 January | Nominations open | All awards except the Medal, which council nominates in camera. |
| 4 March, 17:00 | Nominations close | No extensions. Incomplete nominations are returned, not rejected. |
| 2 April | Panel meets | Seven members, two of whom have lived experience. Papers read blind. |
| 16 April | Recipients told | Privately, and before any announcement. Anyone may decline without explanation. |
| 11 June | Annual Awards Evening | Senate House. Members free; guests £18. The medal lecture follows the awards. |
The Annual Awards Evening
Thursday 11 June, 18:30 · Senate House
The awards are presented in one evening, followed by the medal lecture from that year's recipient. It is the Society's only formal occasion: members free, guests £18, and no black tie. Recipients speak for three minutes each, which is enforced.
Any full member, for any researcher or practitioner — the nominee need not be a member, and need not know they have been nominated until the panel has read the papers.
The Bloomsbury Medal is the exception: council nominates in camera and the shortlist is never published.
Every funded award carries the implementation condition: name what will change in practice, involve whoever can change it, and report at twelve months. Half the money is released on the plan, half on the report.
Why we fund this way →Blind where the work allows it. Institution, journal impact factor and funding history are removed from papers before circulation; they are not criteria.
Recipients are told privately and first. Anyone may decline without giving a reason, and the Society will not record or announce that they were considered.
Conferred in 2025
| Year | Award | Recipient | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | The Bloomsbury Medal | Prof Ellen Vasquez | For four decades of work on service user involvement |
| 2025 | Society Research Prize | Dr Amara Okonjo | Narrative and memory in the clinical hour |
| 2025 | Co-production Award | Tomas Berg and Dr Sofia Kaur | Peer-led crisis planning in south London |
| 2025 | Early-career Achievement | Dr Nadia Jarrah | Reworking assessment norms for multilingual clinics |
| 2025 | The Bloomsbury Studentship | Priya Raghunathan | Attention and recovery after acute admission |