Stephanie Hanson receives lifetime achievement award

Dr. Stephanie HansonThe Division of Rehabilitation Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 22) has awarded its 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award to Stephanie Hanson, Ph.D., ABPP (Rp), a clinical professor and the executive associate dean in the College of Public Health and Health Professions.

The award recognizes rehabilitation psychologists who have made outstanding lifelong contributions in the areas of practice, science, public interest and/or education and training that advances rehabilitation psychology as a science or a profession.

A fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Hanson has served on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology and on the Executive and Ethics and Social Responsibility Committees of the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology. She was one of the first women board certified in rehabilitation psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. She currently serves as co-chair of the APA’s Task Force to review the “Guidelines for the Assessment of and Intervention with Persons with Disabilities.”

In her scholarly work, Hanson has focused on ethics and professional issues in psychology practice. She and her longtime writing partner, Thomas Kerkhoff, Ph.D., ABPP, a UF clinical professor emeritus in the department of clinical and health psychology, have published several chapters and articles on ethics in rehabilitation psychology and health care, as well as two ethics books.

“As Stephanie’s writing partner for the better part of two decades, I admire the incisiveness, intellectual prowess, insightful conceptual analysis and writing skill that she has brought to our continuing academic partnership,” Kerkhoff said. “When embarking on co-writing a textbook, each author has to trust that the other will contribute in equal measure, with exemplary content quality, and in a timely manner. Stephanie represented that trusting working relationship no matter what tasks we undertook.”

Hanson and Kerkhoff have twice been selected for the Thomas A. Martin Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology Ethics Award Lecture, an honor that truly represents their shared vision and commitment to ethical health practice, Kerkhoff said.

In her acceptance speech during the division’s 2021 virtual conference, Hanson reflected on her career milestones, a lifelong commitment to rehabilitation psychology and the division’s contributions to helping improve the lives of people with disabilities.

“The marginalized realities for persons with disabilities need not be the future and one of the reasons is the work of Division 22,” she said. “We join together as a rehabilitation psychology family in common purpose to make the world better through our actions — a world more just, fairer, lighter and with lives fully realized.”