Nominations are now being taken for three prestigious awards, with the winners announced at ESTSS 2025 in Tbilisi, Georgia. 

The ESTSS biennial awards recognise outstanding contribution to the field of trauma in Europe. 

All ESTSS members are invited to nominate individuals, a group of professionals, or an organisation for consideration. The three awards honour those who have made significant impacts in our community are:
 
The Wolter de Loos Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychotraumatology in Europe
This award is the highest honour given by ESTSS. It is named after one of the founders of ESTSS, Dr Wolter de Loos.  It is awarded to an individual who has made a distinguished theoretical, research or clinical contribution to the field. The award is designed to promote recognition of contributions from all European and adjoining countries to psychotraumatology. The recipient will receive €1000 and a certificate.
 
The Young Minds in Psychotraumatology Award
This award recognises excellence in the traumatic stress field through service or research by an individual who has completed their training within the last 10 years. The recipient will receive €1000 and a certificate.
 
The ESTSS Innovation in Clinical Practice Award
This award recognises outstanding contributions to innovating clinical practice in psychotraumatology. The recipients of this ESTSS award can be an individual, a group of professionals or an organization that has made significant developments in clinical practice in the field of psychotraumatology, by developing novel approaches, establishing new services, upscaling interventions or making significant policy changes to reduce barriers for treatment. The winner will receive €1000 and a certificate.
 
Nominations for all awards should be sent to the ESTSS Secretariat (secretariat@estss.org) with the name of the award in the subject line.  Nominations close on Monday, 17 March 2025, with the winners honoured at an awards ceremony on 13 June at ESTSS 2025 in Tbilisi.
 
The award winners are expected to be present at the ESTSS 2025 biannual conference, 12-15 June 2025 to receive their awards, and for the chance to be publicly acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to psychotraumatolgy in Europe.

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Updates are also available on the dedicated @ESTSS2025 X feed, by searching #ESTSS2025 and on the ESTSS LinkedIn page.
 

How to nominate

Wolter de Loos Award and Young Minds Award
Nominations for either award can be either from the individual (self-nomination) or a colleague in the field (in this case individuals must be notified of and agree to their nomination prior to it being forwarded to the Board). While the nominating individual must be an ESTSS member, the proposed nominee does not need to be an ESTSS member.
 
1. The nomination letter should succinctly indicate the contributions that are the basis for nomination and the nature of the relationship between the nominator and nominee.
2. A curriculum vitae of the nominee (limited to 2 pages) should accompany the letter, along with one central paper (scientific or service-related report).
3. A bibliography of up to 20 most relevant published papers should also be included.
 
Innovation in Clinical Practice Award
ESTSS encourages nominations for a diverse group of people from across various fields and countries. All ESTSS members are invited to nominate individuals, a group of professionals, or an organization for this award. The proposed nominee does not need to be an ESTSS member.
 
1. The nomination letter should indicate the contributions to clinical practice in Europe.
2. In case of an individual: a curriculum vitae of the nominee (limited to 2 pages), or in case of a group of professionals or organization: a description of the group, incl. all individuals, or organization and referral information.
3. Any supplemental material that supports the recommendation
 
Applications will be assessed on the following criteria: The candidate's accomplishments, activities and European regional representation. For the purpose of selection, the committee may ask 1-3 individuals from outside the committee who are more familiar with the region and/or specific area of the applicant for written statements about the eligibility of the nominee.