We Have Some News, and We’re Still a Little Speechless
Kimberly Morrow, LCSW, and Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, LCSW-C share what it means to be recognized with the 2026 ADAA Jerilyn Ross Clinician Outreach Award.
We’ve been sitting with this news for a few weeks now, and we’re not sure we’ve fully processed it yet.
This April in Chicago, at the ADAA Annual Conference, we will each be receiving the 2026 Jerilyn Ross Clinician Outreach Award. Separately honored, but together on the same stage. Which, if you know us at all, feels just about right.
The Jerilyn Ross Award carries the name of one of the most important figures in the history of anxiety treatment. Jerilyn Ross co-founded ADAA and led it as president for 25 years. She spent her career making sure people who were struggling with anxiety could actually get help, and that the clinicians treating them had what they needed to do it well. Being recognized in her name is not something we take lightly.
What we want you to know
This work – the training, the courses, the community, the consultations – has always been about you. About the therapists who show up for their clients every single day, who want to do it better, who aren’t willing to settle for “good enough” when it comes to anxiety and OCD treatment.
Every case you’ve brought to a consultation call. Every question you’ve asked in the community. Every moment you’ve pushed yourself to try something new with a client – that’s what this feels like to us. We’ve grown alongside you, and we are genuinely grateful for it.
We’ve spent a combined 50-plus years in this field because we believe, deeply, that people with anxiety and OCD deserve clinicians who truly understand how to help them. And we believe that you deserve support in doing that work. That belief is what built Anxiety Training. And it’s what this award reflects back to us.
Join us in Chicago or celebrate from wherever you are
We’ll be at the ADAA Annual Conference April 9–11, 2026, and we’d love to see you there if you’re going. But whether you’re in Chicago or not, we want you to be part of this moment because you’re part of what made it possible.