2017 ISPA Distinguished Services Award to International School Psychology

It gives us great pleasure to nominate Dr. Helen Bakker for the 2017 International School Psychology Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Bakker has made a remarkable contribution to ISPA since she attended her first ISPA Conference in Latvia in 1998.

From her earliest years she has been a high achiever. Helen was a Fulbright scholar in 1986-87 and was subsequently awarded a scholarship at the State University of New York at Albany from 1987-1990.

One of Dr. Bakker’s outstanding characteristics over the years has been her commitment to international outreach and networking.  She exemplifies the qualities of an international leader and is a role model for early career professionals.  Since 1999 Helen has been very involved with the European Federation of Psychologists Associations (EFPA) European Task Forces on Psychology.  She was the Convenor of the Task Force that reported to the General Assembly in Granada in 2005. Helen is currently a member of the Board of Educational Affairs of EFPA. She is also an honorary member of the Indian School Psychology Association.

Dr. Bakker is a registered Child- & Adolescent Psychologist Specialist NIP, Health Psychologist, and certified supervisor. She is also holder of the Europsy certificate in Education and Health.  Helen is Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental Psychology at Utrecht University where she has worked since 1995. She is program coordinator of the Master program in (Clinical) Child & Adolescent Psychology.

Helen initiated and has been Chair of the 2-year Dutch Post-Master program for School Psychologists at RINO Amsterdam and Radboud Centre for Social Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, since January 2009. RINO is the Amsterdam based national organisation for continuing education and training in the field of mental health in the Netherlands and currently hosts the ISPA Central Office. Helen is a prominent member of the Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP) which has been affiliated to ISPA since 1998. Each year she organises a national School Psychology Congress to which ISPA members have contributed.

Helen chaired the European Committee of ISPA for several years.  With her colleague, Frida van Doorn, she contributed the chapter on Psychologists in Education in the Netherlands to The Handbook of International School Psychology that was co-edited by Shane Jimerson, Tom Oakland, and Peter Farrell and published in 2006.

Dr. Bakker represented ISPA at NEPES (Network of European Psychologists in the Education System) which is a Task Force within EFPA for a number of years.  (This Network was in fact established during the European Congress of Psychology in Prague in July 2007, through the collaboration between EFPA and ISPA).  She has also represented ISPA and given keynote presentations at the conferences of affiliates such as NASP and AFPEN.

Helen successively served as President Elect, President and Past President of ISPA from 2005 to 2011.  Her areas of interest and passion include children’s rights, ethics, and professional development and these interests were reflected in the direction she led ISPA throughout this period.  Helen had many achievements during her period of office on the EC.  To mention just a few, a new streamlined committee structure, and the Accreditation and Conference Planning Task Forces were initiated under Helen Bakker’s leadership.    During her presidency Helen represented ISPA and EFPA at EU events that focused on mental health issues.

A major highlight of her Presidency was the hosting by the Netherlands of the memorable 2008 ISPA conference in Utrecht.   Helen was a very active lead member of the Local Organizing Committee that included Ellen Mackaay, Olanda Momcilovic, and Britt van Beek.  They were of course ably assisted by a large cohort of Orange helpers.   I vividly remember the frequent physical change of hats by Helen to characterise her various representative roles on that occasion.

During her EC tenure, Helen worked hard to ensure the sustainability and vision of ISPA into the future.  This was exemplified in her leadership role as Past President in facilitating the smooth transfer of the ISPA Central Office to Amsterdam which took effect on January 1st, 2012.

Helen’s enthusiastic commitment to ISPA has continued unabated since her retirement from the EC.  She is an active member of the Accreditation and Ethics Committees.  Both Helen and Britt van Beek, who is Secretary of the Child and Youth Sector of the Dutch Psychology Association, served again on the LOC for the Amsterdam Conference last year.

We feel deeply honoured to nominate Dr. Helen Bakker for the 2017 International School Psychology Distinguished Service Award.