Estella Welldon Prize

The British Journal of Psychotherapy is delighted to invite entries for the 2023 Estela Welldon Prize. Dr Estela V. Welldon worked for 40 years at the Portman Clinic in London as Consultant Psychiatrist and Consultant Psychotherapist. She is the Founder and Honorary President for Life of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy, which, since its foundation, has held professional meetings every year in different parts of the world. Dr Welldon is the author, among many other works, of Mother, Madonna, Whore: The Idealization and Denigration of Motherhood, which challenged the traditional psychoanalytic theory that perversions are unique to males and which exposed the nature of female sexual offending. Creator of the world's first ever training course in forensic psychotherapy, in collaboration with the medical school at University College London, she has worked as both an individual and group practitioner for decades and continues to do so.

‘As a psychiatrist’, Dr Welldon has written, ‘I have spent my time contemplating the depths of the human psyche – sometimes in despair but usually in wonderment. As a forensic psychotherapist, I have continually been drawn to “the beauty hidden within the ugly”.’ She has often stated that every practitioner must search for the “golden nugget” of goodness and approachability within every patient, even those who seem unapproachable, such as certain forensic patients. The Prize, which is co-sponsored by the BJP and the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy and was initiated in 2021, will be awarded annually to the author of a paper which contributes to our understanding of the shadow side of human nature – the ugly side, or what we might previously have called the ‘dark side’ of humanity. This might refer to acts of forensic violence, or cruelty in more intimate contexts. The Prize will be given to the paper which both illuminates the nature of human psychopathology in this area, and which reveals how the analytic clinician can overcome the obstacles and the challenges of therapeutic work to find that golden nugget.

Manuscripts should be between 4000 and 6000 words in length including references, not including an Abstract of 200 words which should head the paper. Authors should consult the BJP's online submission guidelines, particularly in relation to confidentiality and consent. Any clinical material must be fully anonymized, with disguise of any biographical details. Advice will be available for questions concerning confidentiality, or eligibility to submit work. The word length must be stated on the title page. The author's name should not appear anywhere in the body of the paper. A paper that has only been made available to an institution's membership (for example, in an internal bulletin) is eligible to be entered into the competition, but the paper should be revised as needs be to meet the criteria of this Prize, including length. Papers should be singly authored, but due acknowledgement should be made if the work is based on a joint project. If the paper is based on or makes use of the author's earlier published work this should be acknowledged in the form ‘(Author, date)’ within the text (i.e. the word ‘Author’ is given, plus date of publication) and there should be no entry in the References list. Manuscripts should be sent as a Word attachment to Gary Winship, Editor-in-Chief, c/o the BJP's Editorial Administrator [email protected]

The covering email should state that the submission is for consideration for the Estela Welldon Prize 2023. Authors should indicate their training and qualification history, and where they are currently based. As this will be the first time the paper has been published, if successful in the competition, authors should indicate whether the paper has had an institutional distribution, and confirm that the paper has not been published, is not due for forthcoming publication, and is not currently under consideration for publication, in either journal or book form. A panel of senior clinicians and academics will judge the papers. The decision of the judges will be final. Prize-winning and Commended papers will be published in the Journal. The prize-winner will receive a one-year online subscription to the British Journal of Psychotherapy.

Closing date: October 30 2023

For any queries, please e-mail the British Journal of Psychotherapy's Editorial Administrator at: [email protected]