WCCBT in Africa: Building Regional Workforce Capacity in CBT and Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Mental Health Care

WCCBT is partnering with African CBT leaders and the World Health Organization (WHO) to build workforce capacity and scale access to evidence-based mental health care across the continent.

Why CBT in Africa, Why Now

WCCBT’s mission is to expand access to high-quality CBT worldwide. Establishing a sustainable regional CBT association in Africa is a strategic priority, achieved through partnership with national leaders, existing societies, and WHO global and regional partners.

Milestones

2023

WCCBT President Dr. Lata McGinn established the strategic priority in July 2023 to expand access to high-quality CBT worldwide by collaborating and supporting leaders in Africa to build a sustainable regional CBT association in Africa.
Hon. Secretary Dr. Rod Holland facilitated an introduction to EABCT’s Pan-African Committee co-chaired by EABCT members Dr. Helen MacDonald andDr. Pierre Phillipot.
Past-President Keith Dobson facilitated an introduction to Dr. Shane Pienaar, President of the CBT Association of South Africa
Board member Dr. Nimisha Kumar facilitated an introduction at the 10^th WCCBT Congress in Seoul Korea with Dr. Stephani Okolo who expresses an interest in forming a CBT organization in Nigeria. Meetings are held to offer guidance, counsel, and support
Meetings were held between WCCBT president Dr. Lata McGinn, the Pan-African committee (Dr. Peter Phiri, Dr. Jamal Chiboub, Dr. Shane Pienaar, Dr. Ronald Muyomba, Dr. Pierre Philipot, Dr. Helen MacDonald, Dr. Amelia Stanton) and attended by Jeromy Mostert, Dr. Ashraf Kagee, Mariam Salie, Dr. Anita Padmanabhanunni) and CBTASA leaders (Dr. Shane Pienaar, Dr. Jaco Rossouw and Dr. Daniel Booysen) is organized on September 8^th, 2023 to begin initial discussion on the interest and feasibility of working with the WCCBT on its strategic priority and to discuss the upcoming CBTAA congress in South Africa in 2024, August.
The Kolabo project was initiated and disseminated by Dr. Peter Phiri to survey processionals in the African continent and across the globe on the interest and feasibility of building the regional association in Africa. The WCCBT is a proud sponsor.
CBT organization in Africa in 2023 in existence in Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia. Dr. Shane Pienaar, president of the CBT Association of South Africa facilitated an introduction to CBT leaders heading these organizations.
In November 2023, Nigeria saw the formation of its first national CBT body under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Okolo, serves as founding president. The organization— the “Initiative for Cognitive Therapies & Mental Health (ICTMH) / “CognitiveNG”—aims to promote evidence-based cognitive therapy in Nigeria, fostering capacity building, professional standards, advocacy, and culturally sensitive adaptation of CBT practices.

2024

First Pan-African CBT Leaders Meeting (Cape Town & Zoom) Purpose: Bring together leaders across African countries to share needs, map assets, and outline steps toward a regional CBT association for Africa.
- Convened by WCCBT and held at the first CBT Association of South Africa (CBTASA) Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, the meeting brought together WCCBT board members, African leaders and supporters.
- WCCBT president, Dr. Lata McGinn outlined the vision and strategic priority of the WCCBT to support the growth of evidence-based mental health care in Africa and expressed the desire to have an African CBT regional association represented in the WCCBT. She stated that the first step was to assess the interest in the group about building an Africa led initiative regional association.
- Dr. Peter Phiri, head of the Kolabo project, seconded this vision. He discussed the mental health needs in Africa and the importance of Africa having a voice in global CBT.
- A lively discussion ensued with professionals sharing interest and wisdom.
CBTASA Inaugural Congress – Cape Town, South Africa (2024)
- The Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Association of South Africa (CBTASA) held its inaugural congress in Cape Town from August 30 – September 1, 2024, marking a major milestone for CBT development across Africa.
- Led by Dr. Shane Pienaar du Bruyn, Dr. Jaco Rossouw, and Prof. Charles Young, the congress centered on advancing evidence-based practice within the African context.
- The congress featured keynote addresses by prominent African leaders such as Dr. Dan Stein and Dr. Peter Phiri along with leading international experts in the field including Dr. Judith Beck, Dr. Lata McGinn, Dr. Frank Dattilio, Dr. Shirley Reynolds, Dr. Paul Salkovskis, and Dr. Helen Macdonald. With a focus on innovation, technology, and cultural adaptation, the meeting brought together clinicians, researchers, and policymakers from around the world, strengthening regional networks and underscoring Africa’s growing leadership within the global CBT community.
Ms. Tarisai Bere from Zimbabwe and Dr. Lata McGinn met at the CBTASA conference. Ms. Bere expressed an interest in forming a CBT organization in Zimbabwe.
Dr. Mark Van Ommeren, Head of the Mental Health Unit of the World Health Organization (WHO) facilitated an introduction between Dr. Lata McGinn and Dr. Chido Rwafa Madzvamutse, WHO AFRO representative in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Chido Rwafa Madzvamutse and Dr. Lata McGinn conducted meetings to discuss and collaborate on shared priorities and initiatives in Africa. Dr. Rwafa Madzvamutse shared knowledge and counsel on the status of mental health in Africa and on WHO’s initiatives and projects in Africa.

2025:

WCCBT President Dr. Lata McGinn conducted a series of virtual meetings and electronic communications with professional leaders across Africa to assess their interest in joining the WCCBT-CBT Association of Africa (CBTAA) Development Taskforce (Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe) and supporting the growth of CBT in Africa.
CBT professionals in Africa in Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe express an interest in proceeding.
Dr. Ronald Muyomba and Mr. James Sebuddee indicate an interest in developing a non-profit CBT organization in Uganda.
The Pan-African Committee officially transitions to the WCCBT-CBT Association of Africa Development (WCCBT-CBTAA) Taskforce.
- Leaders of CBT associations in Africa include Dr. Jamal Chiboub (Morocco), Dr. Stephanie Okolo (Nigeria), Dr. Shane Pienaar (South Africa), Dr. Ronald Muyomba and James Sebudee (Uganda), Ms. Tarisai Bere (Zimbabwe).
- Africa supporters on the committee include Dr. Helen MacDonald, Dr. Pierre Phillipot, Dr. Peter Phiri, and Dr. Lata McGinn, president of the World Confederation of CBT.
- The committee worked together to plan the virtual roundtable on October 28^th, 2025.
The Zimbabwe Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Association (ZCBTA) was established on October 6^th, 2025 by founding president Ms. Tarisai Bere, which aims to bring together practitioners of cognitive behavioural therapy across Zimbabwe, promote best practices, advance professional development, and advocate for the integration of CBT into national mental health services. The formation of ZCBTA reflects a collective commitment to enhancing culturally and contextually relevant mental health care and ensuring that practitioners adhere to high standards of practice.
The First WCCBT–WHO–CBT Association of Africa Development Committee Round Table was held on 28 October 2025 to present key evidence-based mental initiatives in the WCCBT, WHO, and in Africa and to discuss WCCBT’s strategic priority to support evidence-based mental health care in Africa and to have Africa represented in the WCCBT.

CBT Country Organizations in Africa

Egypt
Egyptian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (EACBT)
Founded in 2013
Current President, Dr. Reham Aly

Morocco
Moroccan Association of CBT / AMTCC (Association Marocaine de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive)
Foundedin 1999
President, Professor Meriem El Yazaji

Nigeria
Initiative for Cognitive Therapies and Mental Health (ICTMH)
November 2023
President, Stephanie (Rocky) Okolo

Tunisia
Tunisia’s CBT association (ATTCC – Association Tunisienne des Thérapies Comportementales et Cognitives)
Founded in 2012
President:Dr. Samir Ayadi

South Africa
CBT Association of South Africa (CBTASA)
October 2019
President, Dr. Shane Pienaar

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Association (ZCBTA).
Founded on October 6th, 2025
President, Dr. Tarisai Bere

What We’re Building (2025–2026)

Virtual CBTAA Conference
Regional governance: A consultative pathway to formalize a CBT regional association for Africa with inclusive representation.
Capacity & training: Co-facilitate training and competency pipelines aligned with WCCBT Training Guidelines, evidence-CBT interventions, notably WHO psychological intervention manuals and competency frameworks; local train-the-trainer models to scale reach.
Sustainability & equity: Emphasis on cost-effective, low-intensity, and task-sharing approaches to improve access in low-resource settings.
Implementation support: Facilitate country-level roadmaps (short, medium, long term) for service delivery, supervision, and quality assurance, with knowledge-sharing across countries.

How to Get Involved

Please contact leaders of CBT organizations in your country if you would like to join as a member.

If a CBT organization does not exist in your country and you have an interest in developing or supporting a CBT organization in your country, please contact the WCCBT.

Please contact the WCCBT if you would like to support the development of a CBT Regional association in Africa.

Please contact the WCCBT if you would like to translate WCCBT training guidelines or collaborate on implementing CBT curricula aligned with WCCBT standards.

Contact: president@wccbt.org

Related page: WCCBT × WHO Alliance

Learn More about WCCBT’s Advocacy Work

KOLABO Project

A survey to professionals all around the world including Africa to get people’s views on on the feasibility of forming a regional association in Africa.

Learn More

WCCBT & WHO

Explore trusted, evidence-based CBT resources from the World Health Organization to support global mental health efforts.

Learn More

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