The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) will present Christopher Martell with the Distinguished Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award at the 2025 Annual Convention in Washington, DC.
This award was established by the ABAI DEI Board in 2020 to recognize, reward, and promote achievements with documented impact in DEI. The award highlights creative DEI programming and the central role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in individual and institutional success.
The Council was impressed with Martell’s dedication to applying behavior analysis to the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals via scholarship, clinician training, and clinical practice. Also, his work at the forefront in the development and dissemination of behavior-analytic approaches in the treatment of depression has made an incalculable impact on the lives of so many.
Following the DEI Board’s recognition of the award, Martell will give a 50-minute presentation on his important work and accomplishments at the 2025 Annual Convention.
Martell is the Clinic Director of the Psychological Services Center and a lecturer in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst. He specializes in the practice of empirically based psychological treatments. He has worked as a research therapist on three NIMH-funded clinical trials and has been a research consultant on psychotherapy treatment development and outcome studies using behavioral activation (BA) for depression in the U.S., U.K., and the Netherlands. Furthermore, he has conducted and contributed to the development of affirmative CBT with lesbian, gay and bisexual adults.
Martell is the first author of three books: Depression in Context: Strategies for Guided Action with Michael Addis, Ph.D. and Neil S. Jacobson, Ph.D. (2001), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Clients, with Steven Safren, Ph.D. and Stacey, Prince, Ph.D. (2004), and Behavioral Activation for Depression: A Clinician’s Guide (2010), with Sona Dimidjian, Ph.D. and Ruth Herman-Dunn, Ph.D. Additionally, he has published in peer reviewed journals and contributed chapters to edited textbooks.