Keith S. Dobson, FCPA, FCAHS, FRSC, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary recounts his early days among some of the field’s greats: Brian Shaw, Tim Beck, Neil Jacobson, Steve Hollon, and Nik Kazantzis, and talks about the challenges of bringing what we learn in practice back to the laboratory for further exploration, saying we should aim to improve its bidirectional pulse.

He sees the recognition of transdiagnostic approach’s usefulness as a great opportunity for CBT. And he worries about both access to and funding for CBT and its practitioners.

He quoted a recent WHO study that pegs mental health spending at 2.1% of an anemic pie; there just aren’t enough practitioners to support demand. Dobson tells a little about his past and volumes about the current and future state of CBT.

Behavioral and cognitive therapies are increasingly well represented around the world. There are many national and regional umbrella associations across the globe devoted to research, education, and training in cognitive and behavioral therapies. The International Associates Committee of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) brings together colleagues from cognitive and behavioral associations all over the world.

ABCT has a long history of outreach and generosity to our international colleagues and initially formed the International Associates Committee to help allied organizations in the cognitive and behavioral therapies get access to our journals at the member rate.

Under G. Terence Wilson’s ABCT presidency in 1979, ABCT began holding meetings with the presidents of international associates at our Annual Convention to network, understand the issues allied organizations are facing in their country, and strengthen opportunities for education, research, and training.

ABCT’s continued outreach and generosity has led to a substantial increase in the number of countries represented in the International Associates Committee.

The Chair of the International Associates Committee is also ABCT’s representative to the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (WCCBT), which was launched on January 7, 2019.

The WCCBT replaces the World Congress Committee (WCC), which was formed in 1995 and organized eight successful world congresses. The WCC closed on January 6, 2019 and its activities are now subsumed under the WCCBT.

International Associates Chair Dr. Lata K. McGinn raised the idea for a World association in 2013 to serve as a worldwide humanitarian organization intended to bring together CBT colleagues across the world to promote mental health across the globe by fostering the dissemination of evidence-based prevention and treatments through collaborations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). She spearheaded a proposal for the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies along with Keith Dobson, Rod Holland, and Philip Tata, which was presented to the WCC in 2014.

The WCC was unanimous in its support and appointed a subcommittee with Lata McGinn as chair and tasked them with developing the organization. With support and consultation from the six founding member associations and their representatives, the WCC Sub-Committee, comprised of Lata McGinn (Chair), Thomas Ollendick, Keith Dobson, Rod Holland, Philip Tata, Ross Menzies, Sarah Egan, Jung-Hye Kwon, and Luis Peres, worked between 2014-2018 to launch the World Confederation.

Click here to learn more about the formation of the WCCBT.

October 2021

January 2021

September 2020

January 2019

The World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT) is a global multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the promotion of health and well-being through the scientific development and implementation of evidence-based cognitive behavioral strategies designed to evaluate, prevent, and treat mental conditions and illnesses.

1. Support the development and profile of cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) worldwide.
2. Develop a worldwide network to share news, information, and issues in CBT.
3. Promote and advocate for mental health, CBT and evidence-based treatments for psychological disorders in order to improve well-being across the globe.
4. Develop and support effective implementation of CBT through training.
5. Facilitate and support research in CBT.

As one if its activities, the WCCBT will facilitate the organization of triennial world congresses. The 10^th World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies was held in Seoul, South Korea, June 1 – 4, 2023. The upcoming 11^th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (WCCBT) will be held in San Francisco, CA, United States.

• Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavior Therapy (AACBT)
• Sarah Egan (Past-President, WCCBT) and Ross Menzies (Treasurer)
• Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)
• Lata K. McGinn, Ph.D. (Secretary) and Keith Dobson (President)
• Asian Association for Cognitive and Behavior Therapy Association (ACBTA)
• Ning Zhang and Firdaus Mukhtar
• European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT)
• Thomas Kalpakoglou and Rod Holland (Rep-at-Large)
• International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACP)
• Mehmet Szungur, M.D. and Lynn McFarr, PhD
• Latin-American Association of Analysis, Behavioral Modification and Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. (ALAMOC)
• Eduardo Pacheco and Luis Flores (Rep-at-Large)