Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Diversity Research Grant for Early Career Psychologists

Description

The Diversity Research Grant for early career psychologists was established to foster the promotion of diversity within the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (APA Division 29) and within the profession of psychotherapy.

The Society may award annually one $1,000 Diversity Research Grant to an early career psychologist (within 10 years of graduation) who is currently conducting research or an applied project that promotes diversity, as outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA).  According to the APA, diversity is defined as individual and role differences, including those based on age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, disability, language, and socioeconomic status.

The Diversity Research Grant is expected to be used to support the completion of an ECP’s psychotherapy research or psychotherapy project. The grant may be used to fund:

  • supplies used to conduct the research or project;
  • training needed for completion of the research or project; and/or
  • travel to present the research (such as at a professional conference).

The applicant must be a member of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. The recipient of the grant will be expected to present his or her research results in a scholarly forum (e.g., presentation at an APA Annual Convention, in the Society’s journal, Psychotherapy, or other refereed professional journal) or the Psychotherapy Bulletin.

One annual grant of $1,000 will be paid in one lump sum to the researcher, to his or her university’s grants and contracts office, or to an incorporated company. Individuals who receive the funds could incur tax liabilities.  All grant recipients will be required to complete an IRS form W-9 before funds are issued.

THE APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE:

  • A 1-2 page cover letter describing how the applicant’s work embodies the Society’s interest in promoting diversity in the profession of psychotherapy and how the funding will be used to support the applicant’s work;
  • A 1-page document outlining a detailed budget;
  • A 5-10 page research proposal 
  • 1 letter of recommendation from someone familiar with the applicant’s work

SELECTIONS CRITERIA:

  • Consistency with the Diversity Research Grant’s stated purposes;
  • Clarity of the written proposal;
  • Scientific quality and feasibility of the proposed research project;
  • Budgetary needs for data collection and completion and presentation of the project;
  • Potential for new and valuable contributions to the field of psychotherapy; and
  • Potential for final publication or likelihood of furthering successful research in topic area.
  • Awardee must be a member of the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (APA Division 29)

SUBMISSION PROCESS AND DEADLINES:

  • All materials must be submitted electronically at the same time
  • All applicants must complete the grant application form, in MSWord or other text format
  • Click here to download the Diversity Grant Application
  • CV(s) may be submitted in text or PDF format. If submitting more than 1 CV, then all CVs must be included in 1 electronic document/file
  • Proposal and budget must be submitted in 1 file, with a cover sheet to include the name of the principal investigator and complete contact information (address, phone, fax, email)
  • Submit all required materials for proposal to: Tracey A. Martin in the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (Division 29 of APA) Central Office, assnmgmt1@cox.net
  • You will receive an electronic confirmation of your submission within 24 hours. If you do not receive confirmation, your proposal was not received; please resubmit.
  • Deadline: May 1  Incomplete or late application packets will not be considered.

Questions about this program should be directed to the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Diversity Domain: Susan Woodhouse PhD (ssw212@lehigh.edu) and/or Sheeva Mostoufi, PhD (sheeva.mostoufi@gmail.com).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • After the project is complete, a full accounting of the project’s income and expenses must be submitted within six months of completion.
  • Grant funds that are not spent on the project within two years must be returned.
  • When the resulting research is published, the grant must be acknowledged.
  • All individuals who directly receive funds from the division will be required to complete an IRS w-9 form prior to the release of funds, and will be sent a 1099 after the end of the fiscal year (December 31st).

Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy Diversity Research Grant for Early Career Psychologists

2019 Recipient: Sarah Bloch-Elkouby

Sarah Bloch-Elkouby, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral fellow at the Zirinsky Center for Bipolar Disorders and the Brief Psychotherapy Research Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. Originally from France, she moved to Israel after high school where she attended Law School and passed the Bar Exam. However, her lifelong passion about psychology, coupled with her strong commitment to social justice and helping professions, then led her to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology that she completed at Adelphi University, in New York, under the mentorship of J. Christopher Muran. Her doctoral research focused on psychotherapy outcome assessment and treatment failure and was awarded the Sylvia Sanger Foundation Award for Psychotherapy Research. She was also awarded the Career Development Leadership Award by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America for her clinical work. Her post-doctoral work focuses on alliance ruptures and microaggressions among racially diverse dyads, as well as on the short and long term risk factors which put individuals at high risk for imminent suicidal behaviors. The Early Career Diversity Research Grant provides her with the opportunity to investigate the interpersonal dynamics reflected in and resulting from therapist-initiated racial microaggressions in the initial phase of cognitive-behavioral therapy.