Global Ambassadors
The Global CBT Ambassador program is a WCCBT initiative designed to meet several of the objectives of the WCCBT. These include:
- To support the development and profile of cognitive and behavioural therapies (CBT) and therapists worldwide
- To promote and advocate for mental health, CBT, and evidence-based treatments for psychological disorders and to improve wellbeing around the globe
- To develop and support effective implementation of CBT through training.
The activity of the Global CBT Ambassador program is to identify ambassadors in the field of CBT and to provide a forum in which they can share their knowledge and expertise to the world.
From emerging innovators to seasoned leaders, WCCBT honors CBT professionals whose impact merits global attention.
Dr. Ross Menzies
More about the program
The WCCBT invites each regional member organization to organize and host at least one Global CBT Ambassador event (lecture, panel discussion, clinical round table, workshop, master class, clinical grand rounds etc.) each year.
The WCCBT invites each regional member organization to name a mental health professional(s) each year whose work the organization believes is deserving of global attention and will invite the named professional to conduct a Global CBT Ambassador event. The professional could be someone who has made sustained contributions, is mid-career and has made noteworthy contributions, or who has a particular innovation but is quite early in their career. Member associations are encouraged to consider the potential characteristics of a ” Global CBT Ambassador” broadly while maintaining diversity among speakers with regard to but not limited to gender, race, country of origin, sexual orientation, and age. The WCCBT is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Global CBT Ambassadors may speak on any topic as approved by them and/or their regional membership organization.
Global CBT Ambassadors may present to students or professionals in any discipline, consumers, organizations, agencies, schools, or any other audience.
The Global CBT Ambassador event may be in person, remote, or hybrid, as determined by the speaker and the membership organization. If live, the presentation may be hosted at a university, conference or any other location. If virtual, the speaker event may live streamed or be recorded and accessed for a modest fee on an ongoing basis.
The Global CBT Ambassador event may be presented in a language chosen by the regional membership organization.
The Global CBT Ambassador event may be organized as part of a local, national or regional conference or other event organized by the regional member organization or its national members.
Global CBT Ambassador events will be paid events and all profits from the event will go to the WCCBT for fulfillment of its objectives. However, the price may be set by the speaker and/or the membership organization sponsoring the event.
Speakers will provide their services to the WCCBT on a pro bono basis and will not receive a speaker fee for any presentation as part of this program.
The member organization will be required to manage the logistics, host the event, and collect and submit fees. Or, as an option, ABCT has also kindly offered to host any virtual events, and has the ability to process access for a modest fee, which would need to be set.
The member organisation will not charge a fee to the WCCBT for organising the event, although they may recover costs associated with the event (eg. venue hire). They may also co-badge, or co-host, the event with the WCCBT.
Global CBT Ambassadors and the membership organization sponsoring the event will be listed on the WCCBT webpage as part of the Global CBT Ambassador program so that the ambassadors and their work can be recognized, and possibly used as a stimulus for other similar work elsewhere in the world. Once the speaker events are set, the WCCBT will also promote the events and people honored who are named as Global CBT Ambassadors. Virtual events that are recorded may also be placed on the WCCBT website via its You Tube channel.
The WCCBT looks forward to working with its member organizations to disseminate CBT in order to promote health and wellbeing, and to support the development and profile of cognitive and behavioural therapies (CBT) and therapists worldwide.
We are pleased to announce the WCCBT Global Ambassadors:
2025
Professor Heather Hadjistavropoulos
University of Regina, Canada
Webinar: Expanding CBT Horizons: What therapists should know about Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (ICBT)
18th June 2025
Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT)
Emeritus Professor Susan Spence
Workshop: Enhancing clinical practice with digital tools for child and adolescent mental health
23rd June 2025
Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT)
Professor Farooq Naeem
University of Toronto, Canada
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Psychosis
8th August 2025
Asian Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Association (ACBTA)
Professor Agnieszka Popiel
SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland
Workshops: Personalising PTSD Treatment: Self-Efficacy Focused Cognitive Therapy
(SEF-CT) for PTSD
11th November 2025
European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT)
Associate Professor Jenny Jordan
University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Workshop: To be announced
4th December 2025
Aotearoa New Zealand Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies
Professor Ann Marie Albano
Columbia University, New York, USA
Webinar: Anxiety, adolescents, and parenting on the pathway to adulthood!
17th December 2025
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)
2024
Dr Scott Waltman
Workshop: “How to Think Like Socrates: From Socratic Questioning to Stoicism to Modern CBT”
Center for Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
14th March 2024
International Association of Cognitive Behavior Therapy(IACBT)
Professor Kyong-Mee Chung
Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Webinar: “Developing a CBT-based mHealth Program: A to Z“
27th April 2024
Asian Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies Association (AACBT)
Dr Colleen E. Carney
Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada
Webinar: Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A demonstration of using case formulation for complex, comorbid insomnia cases
15th August 2024
Canadian Association of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CACBT)
Professor Susan Bögels
University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Workshop: Mindful Parenting in Challenging Times
21st October 2024
European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT)
Dr Oswaldo Rodrigues
Instituto Paulista de Sexualidade
Programme: ACTUALIZACIÓN EN ANÁLISIS DE CONDUCTA Y TCC EN LÍNEA
October and November 2024
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Analisis, Modificacion del Comportamiento y Terapia Cognitiva Conductua (ALAMOC)
Professor Tracey Wade
Flinders University
Workshop: Sharpening up your CBT skills: Treating Perfectionism and beyond
16th November 2024
Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT)
2023
Dr Matt Sanders
University of Queensland, Australia.
Workshop: The Power of Parenting
26th July 2023
Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT)
Professor Dr. Firdaus Mukhtar
Universiti Putra Malaysia, President of the ACBTA
Lecture: The Role of Culture, Religion & Spirituality in CBT Process
7th September 2023
Asian Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy Association (ACBTA)
Professor Paul Gilbert
Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, UK
Worshop: An Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy
4th February 2024
European Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT)
Dr Robert L. Leahy
American Institute for Cognitive Therapy (NYC)
Webinar: Why regret, jealousy, envy and boredom are essential
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Professor Laura Hernandez Guzmán
National University of Mexico (UNAM).
Conference on ALAMOC’s contributions to the global impact of Evidence-Based Therapies.”
November 2023
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Analisis, Modificacion del Comportamiento y Terapia Cognitiva Conductua (ALAMOC)
2022
Professor Mark Dadds
University of Sydney, Australia
Workshop: Beyond the manual: How behavioural family interventions work in the real world.
7th April 2022
Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT)
Dr. Freedom Leung
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Workshop: Doing CBTs with the help of neuroscience
7th April 2022
Asian Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy Association (ACBTA)
Professor David Barlow
Boston University, USA.
Webinar: Neuroticism and disorders of emotion: A new synthesis and approach to treatment
7th April 2022
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)