From the President’s Desk – November 2025

As we reflect on the months since our last newsletter in April 2025, I am filled with pride and gratitude for the collective strides the WCCBT and our global partners have made in advancing access to evidence-based psychological care worldwide.

World CBT Day 2025: A Global Celebration of Evidence and Impact

In April, we marked World CBT Day with the theme “CBT: A Solid Return on Investment.” Across continents, our members highlighted the robust evidence showing that CBT not only effectively treats the acute phase of numerous mental disorders but also reduces relapse risk, improves functioning, and yields sustained benefits for individuals and societies. Investing in CBT saves lives — and strengthens communities and economies.

As part of this celebration, I had the privilege of interviewing Professor David M. Clark on Transforming Mental Health Across the World. Our conversation explored the remarkable Talking Therapies program in the UK — one of the most ambitious and successful global initiatives expanding access to psychological treatments. Professor Clark shared invaluable insights into how evidence-based therapies, when scaled systematically, can transform population health, reduce healthcare costs, and promote economic growth.
???? Listen to the full conversation: Transforming Mental Health Across the World

WCCBT and WHO: Marking World Mental Health Day 2025

On October 10th, the WCCBT joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in commemorating World Mental Health Day. This year’s WHO theme focused on the urgent need to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by humanitarian crises. With an estimated 305 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 67 million individuals with mental disorders living in conflict, disaster, or displacement settings, the mental health equity gap remains staggering.

Supporting mental well-being during crises saves lives, fosters resilience, and strengthens recovery — not just for individuals but for entire communities. The WCCBT continues to collaborate with the WHO, governments, and our regional member organizations across Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa to disseminate scalable, evidence-based interventions and integrate mental health within humanitarian responses.

Our shared efforts include situational needs assessments, training frontline health workers, implementing Psychological First Aid and WHO Psychological Interventions, and ensuring ongoing care for vulnerable populations. These efforts embody our mission — to promote global mental health equity through CBT-based science and implementation.

Expanding Access and Collaboration: WCCBT-WHO-Africa Development Round Table

On October 28th, the WCCBT hosted the first WCCBT–WHO–CBT Organization of Africa Development Committee Round Table.

This historic meeting will bring together representatives from emerging CBT organizations across Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, alongside WHO leadership, to discuss strategies for establishing a unified CBT Organization of Africa.

This initiative represents a major milestone toward fulfilling our mission of ensuring that every region of the world has access to high-quality, culturally responsive CBT training and services.

Global Advocacy and Professional Contributions

In line with our mission, Dr. Keith Dobson and I provided feedback to the WHO on the Self-Help Plus Manual on behalf of the W.H.O.The WCCBT also hosted a live webinar with Dr. Ken Carswell on the WHO Psychological Interventions Implementation Manual,which I had the pleasure to moderate. I have also had the distinct privilege of participating in several conferences organized by our member organizations to:

• Give an invited keynote, “Navigating the Mental Health Tsunami of the 21^st Century: The Role of Universal Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” at the 50^th Anniversary Commemoration of the Latin American Association of Behavior Analysis, Modification and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ALAMOC), Bogotá, Colombia.
• Participate in a panel discussion on Navigating the Intersection: A Clinical Roundtable on Social Media and Youth alongside Drs. Micco, Chronis-Tuscan, and Galanti at the ADAA Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Conduct a half day workshop titled“OCD Unlocked: Evidence-Based CBT Strategies for Immediate Impact” at the European Association of CBT (EABCT) congress in Glasgow, Scotland, UK in September, 2025.
• Participate in a clinical roundtable on “Elevating Access to Care: School-Based Models for Prevention and Intervention Mental Health Care” alongside Drs. Domingues, Mendel, and Emanuele in April at the ADAA Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Present on the WCCBT’s “Training and Credentialing Standards in CBT”  alongside Dr. Keith Dobson, Dr. Helen MacDonald, and Dr. Mehmet Sungur at the EACBT Congress in September 2025 held in Glasgow, Scotland UK.
• Participate in a panel discussion on “Innovations in Delivery of CBT: Doing More with Less—Using Low Intensity, Digital, and Task-Shifting Approaches to Improve Access to Psychological Therapies Globally” alongside Dr. Shirley Reynolds, Dr. Anne Marie Albano, Dr. Bronwyn Coetzee, Dr. Cathy Cresswell, and Dr. Ron Rapee at EABCT’s 55th Congress, in Glasgow, Scotland in September, 2025.
• Give an invited keynote on “Expanding Access to CBT in Latin America: Equity, Youth Mental Health, and Scalable Innovations” at ALAMOC’s 50th Anniversary Congress, Mexico City coming up in November 2025.

As we prepare for the 11th World Congress of CBT in San Francisco (June 25–28, 2026) — themed “Health for All: Affirming, Equitable, and Sustainable CBT” — we remain committed to our vision: a world where evidence-based psychological care is accessible to all, regardless of geography or circumstance.

Many thanks to WCCBT Board members, Dr. Rod Holland (EABCT), Dr. Ross Menzies (AACBT), Dr. Andreas Veith (EACBT), Dr. Mehmet Sungur (IACBT), Dr. Daisuke Fujisawa (ABCTA), Dr. Nimisha Kumar (ACBTA), Dr. Maria do Céu Salvador (EABCT), Dr. David Dozois (CACBT), Dr. Ron Chambers (AnzaCBT), Dr. Luis Flores (ALAMOC) and Julio Obst Camerini (ALAMOC) for their partnership in achieving these milestones. I also want to give a special note of thanks to Dr. David Dozois for developing the World CBT Day theme, to Drs. Andreas Veith, Dr. Ross Menzies, and Mehmet Sungur for their work leading WCCBT committees, to Dr. Rod Holland for his creative and tireless efforts to disseminate our work across our website and newsletter, to Joshua Plutchik for doing a remarkable job on our social media platforms and for representing us at the WCCBT booths, to Anne D’Alessandro, Lila Bruynesteyn and the ABCT central office led by Mr. Courtney White for continuing to do do a tremendous job of supporting the WCCBT with their efforts. Together, through partnerships, advocacy, and shared purpose, we continue to transform mental health care — one community at a time.

Warm regards,

Lata K. McGinn, PhD
President, World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT)
www.wccbt.org