World CBT Day 2026 – CBT in Action: Mental Health Support in Humanitarian Crise

World CBT Day was launched by the WCCBT in 2019 to increase awareness of evidence-based mental health care. Next year, it will take place on April 7, 2026, and, in recognition of mental health as a fundamental aspect of health, it will be on the same day.

The theme for World CBT Day 2026 will be CBT in Action: Mental Health Support in Humanitarian Crises. This theme aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emphasis on mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian crises, emergencies, and disaster contexts (click these links for more information: World Mental Health Day; WHO fact sheet).

Humanitarian emergencies — whether conflict, disaster, displacement, or large-scale disruption — not only destroy physical infrastructure; they also fracture social support, disrupt mental health services, and expose individuals and communities to profound psychosocial strain. As a community of CBT practitioners, scientists, and organisations, we have a unique role to play: to offer evidence-based psychological interventions that can be adapted, scaled, and applied in humanitarian or crisis-affected settings; to raise awareness of the impact of emergencies on mental health; and to contribute to system-strengthening, capacity-building, and advocacy.

WCCBT member organizations will be running activities on World CBT Day, which we hope will:

1. Raise awareness among practitioners, clients, policy-makers, and the public about the mental health consequences of humanitarian emergencies and the role of CBT and psychosocial interventions in these contexts.
2. Build capacity (for exampl,e through training, webinars, peer-learning) so that CBT organisations are better prepared to contribute in emergency settings.
3. Foster collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and networks across CBT organisations, humanitarian actors, health systems, and NGOs working in crisis contexts.

To assist people who wish to contribute, David Dozois, our Canadian representative on the Board and Communication Group, has developed a menu of suggested activity ideas which you are welcome to adapt and can be viewed on the WCCBT website.

We believe that, together, we can make World CBT Day meaningful and impactful by highlighting the power of CBT and demonstrating its important to mental health in humanitarian emergencies.

A historic Roundtable took place on October 28, 2025, when representatives of the WCCBT, World Health Organization (WHO), Pan-African Special Interest Group, and national CBT leaders from Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe met for the first time. The purpose of the meeting was to advance the creation of a Pan-African CBT Organization and work towards strengthening regional workforce capacity, and expand access to evidence-based mental health care across Africa. Dr Lata McGinn, President of the WCCBT, opened the roundtable, emphasizing WCCBT’s mission to expand access to high-quality CBT worldwide and highlighting the importance of partnership, capacity building, and cultural adaptation to ensure that evidence-based care reaches every community.

The meeting provided the opportunity to hear from Dr. Peter Phiri, who presented findings from the KOLABO feasibility study, sponsored by WCCBT. Over 780 professionals from Africa and the Global South participated, revealing the strong support for creating a Pan-African CBT organization. Dr. Jamal Chiboub (Moroccan Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy), Dr. Shane Pienaar-Du Bruyn (Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy Association of South Africa), Dr. Stephanie Okolo (Initiative for Cognitive Therapies and Mental Health, Nigeria), Dr. Tarisai Bere (Zimbabwe Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies Association) and  Dr. James Sebuddee & Mr. Ronald Muyomba, Leaders of Therapy Uganda Associates, updated the roundtable on the developments in their countries.

From the WHO, Dr. Ken Carswell gave a presentation on Scaling Psychological Interventions Globally and emphasized task-shifting, digital delivery, and cultural adaptation, which are interventions now active in over 30 countries. Dr. Chido Rwafa Madzvamutse, the WHO Regional Advisor for Mental Health in the African Region, emphasized the need to integrate mental health into primary care, while simultaneously strengthening higher-level, specialist care, where CBT-trained professionals play a crucial role.