The awards ceremony was attended by (left to right): Dr Annette Greenwood (BPS CDT Section chair), Bridget Yule, Alastair Yule, Dr Sandra Ferguson (award winner), Dr Anne Douglas (CDT committee).
The first Lifetime Achievement Award in honour of our co-founder Bill Yule has been announced by the British Psychological Society, with an award to our former trustee Patrick Smith.
The award recognises outstanding contributions to the field of Crisis, Disaster and Trauma (CDT) Psychology by individuals who have made a distinguished contribution through research, teaching or practice over the duration of their career. It was set up in 2024 in memory of Professor Bill Yule, an internationally renowned champion of child trauma treatment who died aged 83 in 2023.
This year the Lifetime Achievement Award was made to two people, in recognition of the exceptional calibre of nominations.
One was our former trustee and co-founder, Professor Patrick Smith. Patrick is Professor of Clinical Psychology at King’s College London and an honorary consultant clinical psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He has worked for more than 30 years in the field of trauma in children and young people, and has published widely in this area. His work has an extensive reach both in the UK and internationally.
Patrick said: “I was really honoured and delighted to receive the award. Bill Yule was a pioneer and leader in the field of traumatic stress studies, as well as being one of the founders of the Children and War Foundation. The award is made to honour his legacy, and receiving the award is a great motivation to continue with some of the work that he inspired.”
The other recipient was Dr Sandra Ferguson, the associate director of psychology for NHS Education for Scotland who currently leads the National Trauma Transformation Programme. Sandra is a consultant clinical psychologist and has had a sustained career in trauma psychology for nearly 30 years, with an emphasis on practice. Her training programmes have had an extensive reach throughout Scotland and beyond.
The awards were presented at the BPS’ International Trauma Conference in London on 19 March 2026. Bill’s widow Bridget Yule and their son Alastair Yule were guests at the award ceremony.
Sandra was able to receive her award in person. Patrick was in Argentina and unable to attend in person but he sent a thoughtful video acceptance speech where he described his long collaboration with Bill and his influence on his career. Fittingly Patrick will collect his award from Bridget on his return to the UK.
