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The Isaac Ray Award, established in 1951, recognizes a person who has made outstanding contributions to forensic psychiatry or to the psychiatric aspects of jurisprudence. It is a joint award of the APA and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law that honors Isaac Ray, M.D., one of the original founders and the fourth president of the American Psychiatric Association.
APA Component
- Council on Psychiatry and the Law
- Isaac Ray Award Committee
Co-sponsor
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
Program Benefits
Plaque, $1,500
Criteria / Eligibility
Outstanding contributions to forensic psychiatry or to the psychiatric aspects of jurisprudence.
Nomination / Application Details
- Letter of nomination (sent with consent of candidate)
- Nominee’s CV
- Supplemental letter from a second nominator (additional letters will not be accepted or reviewed)
- Nominators should not submit letters on behalf of more than one candidate
- Nominations will be kept in the pool of candidates for two years
Deadline
June 1
Notification
January
Award Presentation
Presented with the Guttmacher Award and Lecture at the APA Annual Meeting.
Contact
Past Recipients:
- 2025 – Debra A. Pinals, M.D.
- 2024 – Richard Rogers, Ph.D.
- 2023 – Steven K. Hoge, M.D.
- 2022 – Raymond Patterson, M.D.
- 2021 – Roy J. O’Shaughnessy, M.D., F.R.C.P.
- 2020 – Jeffrey Swanson, Ph.D.
- 2019 – Peter Ash, M.D.
- 2018 – Renée Binder, M.D.
- 2017 – Joseph Bloom, M.D.
- 2016 – Elissa P. Benedek, M.D.
- 2015 – Marvin S. Swartz, M.D.
- 2014 – Stephen J. Morse, J.D., Ph.D.
- 2013 – J. Richard Ciccone, M.D.
- 2012 – Howard Zonana, M.D.
- 2011 – Carl Malmquist, M.D.
- 2010 – Ezra E.H. Griffith, M.D.
APA Awards

Each year APA honors individuals for career recognition, lifetime service, outstanding research, and other categories that improve the lives of people with mental illness.
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