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

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 establishes 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 facilitates an introduction to EABCT’s Pan-African Committee co-chaired by EABCT members Dr. Helen MacDonald and Dr. Pierre Phillipot.
• Past-President Keith Dobson facilitates an introduction to Dr. Shane Pienaar, President of the CBT Association of South Africa
• Board member Dr. Nimisha Kumar facilitates 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 are 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 Phillipot, Dr. Helen MacDonad, Dr. Jeremy Moster, Dr. Amelia Stanton; Dr. S. Kagee, Dr. Mariam Salie, Dr. A. Padmana) and CBTAA 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 is 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 facilitates an introduction to CBT leaders heading these organizations. 
• In November 2023, tNigeria sees the formation of its first national CBT body under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Okolo, serving as founding president. The organization—branded as 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. cognitiveng.org

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 leading international experts including Judith Beck, Lata McGinn, Frank Dattilio, Shirley Reynolds, Paul Salkovskis, and Helen Macdonald, alongside African leaders such as Dan Stein and Peter Phiri. 
  • 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.
• Dr. Tarisai Bere from Zimbabwe and Dr. Lata McGinn meet at the CBTAA conference. Dr. Bere expresses 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)  facilitates an introduction between Dr. Lata McGinn and Dr.  Chido Rwafa Madzvamutse, WHO AFRO representative in Genega, Switzerland.  
• Dr. Chido Rwafa Madzvamutse and Dr. Lata McGinn conduct meetings to discuss and collaborate on shared priorities and initiatives in Africa. Dr. Rwafa Madzvamutse shares 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 conducts a series of virtual meetings and electronic communications with professional leaders across Africa to assess their interest in joining the WCCBT-CBT African Association (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 Organization of Africa Development Taskforce.
  • Africa Members include Dr. Jamal Chiboub (Morocco), Dr. Stephanie Okolo (Nigeria), Dr. Shane Pienaar (South Africa), Dr. Ronald Muyomba and James Sebudee (Uganda), Dr. Tarisai Bere (Zimbabwe). 
  • Africa supporters on the committee include Dr. Helen MacDonald, Dr. Pierre Phillipot, Dr. Peter Phiri, and Dr. Lata McGinn. 
  • The committee plans a virtual roundtable on October 28^th, 2025. 
• The Zimbabwe Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Association (ZCBTA) is established on October 6^th, 2025 by founding president Dr. 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 Organization of Africa Development Committee Round Table Date is held on 28 October 2025

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. 

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