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Previous winners
Explore previous Elly Jansen Award winners, their research, articles and contributions to therapeutic communities and relational practice.
2026 Award winners
The Richmond Fellowship Society, Bangalore
Original Article Award Winner
This year’s Original Article Entry Award winners are Lata Hemchand, Kalyanasundaram Seshadri, Rahul G, Tarannum Taj, Harshitha Rai, and Chaitra N from the Richmond Fellowship Society Bangalore.
They were recognised for their article, “Therapeutic Community as an Agent of Social Connectedness”, which used themes from community meetings, staff notes, personal reflections, and group feedback to explore how their residential Therapeutic Community influenced social connectedness. The Committee considered this theme to be of acute relevance in these difficult times of social division in so many countries across the world.
BetterStreet Ltd, Canada
Research Proposal Award Winner
This year's winner of the Research Proposal Award is Sofia L. Panasiuk, Tony D’Amato Stortz, Robert Raynor from BetterStreet Ltd., Canada, and Cheri Bilitz from the Stonehenge Therapeutic Community, Guelph, Canada. Their research proposal, “Health system cost-savings of abstinence-based therapeutic communities for chronically homeless and substance-dependent adults in Canada”, will evaluate therapeutic community treatment for chronically homeless and substance-dependent adults in terms of healthcare cost savings, supporting the case for their wider adoption and funding. The Committee was delighted to support a research proposal which contributes to the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of the therapeutic community approach.
KS (UK) and Foundation Rosa dei Venti, Italy
Article Entry Award Runners up
This year’s runners-up are KS, who wrote a reflective account about living in a Therapeutic Community in the UK, which the Committee thought captured a real feel of the experience of being in a therapeutic community; and Fondation Rosa dei Venti, whose article describing their approach at ‘Villa Plinia Park as an Open-Air Therapeutic Community’ shone a very relevant light on using nature and outdoor activities as part of the therapeutic community intervention.
Previous Award Winners
Marilyn Ruttley, UK
2025 Original Article Award Winner
The winner of the 2025 Original Article Award was Marilyn Ruttley, a senior caseworker with expertise in attachment, trauma, and therapeutic communities, and is also an expert-by-experience speaker.
Her article, "I had skills to offer; I wasn't just a patient", examines the educational activities and aspirations of former patients at a therapeutic community in England. Through personal experiences, interviews, and focus group discussions with four former patients, Marilyn suggests that involving people with lived experience in research can improve confidence and skill development and act as both an educational and psychosocial intervention alongside traditional therapeutic approaches.
Foundation Rosa dei Venti, Italy
2024 Original Article Award Winner
In 2024, the Original Article Award was awarded to ‘The Social Restaurant: Between Clinical Care, Communication, Fundraising, and Talents’, by the Fondation Rosa dei Venti in Italy.
Dr Adrian Hayes et al.
2024 Research Proposal Award Winner
The Research Award was won by Adrian Hayes, Niamh Vaughan Williams, Stephanie Hares, Sarah Devereux, Daniel McNamara, Hannah Davies, Ellen Talbot, Ellie Wildbore, Christina Dithmar, Sally Brookes, and Rowena Pagdin for their proposal ‘Empowerment in Action: Exploring Self Agency in Therapeutic Communities & other Psychological Modalities for people with Complex Emotional Needs’.
Richard Crisp & Dr Elizabeth Wakeland
2023 Original Article Award Winner
The 2023 Original Article Award was won by Richard Crisp and Dr Elizabeth Wakeland for their article 'Custodial Staff Experiences of the Effectiveness of a Democratic Therapeutic Community of Offenders with traits of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs)'.
Ellie Wildbore
2023 Original Article Award Runner up
Ellie Wildbore, Lived Experience Researcher and Educator with experience working within the NHS and beyond won The Elly Jansen Award 2023 runner-up prize for her article,'From Little Acorns, Mighty Oaks Grow: The Acorn Programme, 4 years on', which examined the long-term impact of being part of a therapeutic community for staff and service users four years after the closure of the programme.
Dr Adrian Hayes et al.
2023 Original Article Award Runner up
Dr Adrian Hayes and his team were the runners up in 2023 for his article, "Foundations of Self-Agency: Development of a Non-Therapeutic Community in a City Farm"
The Henderson Heritage Group
2023 Research Proposal Award Winner
The Henderson Heritage Group won the inaugral Elly Jansen Award in 2023 for their research proposal, 'Living, Learning and Legacy: Exploring the influence and impact of Democratic Therapeutic Community principles through the life and work of Henderson Heritage Group'.