From the President’s Desk – October 2019

It is my distinct pleasure to serve as the inaugural President of the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT), at the request of the Board of Directors. I want to sincerely thank Dr. Sarah Egan from Perth, Australia who served as the Interim President, while we launched the organization earlier in 2019.  She and many others have been working hard in the background over the years to develop this confederation, as we have a joint belief in its value.

The WCCBT is intended as a global organization, and indeed as an “organization of organizations” to provide a mechanism for the many regional, national, disciplinary and model-based organizations related to CBT training, service delivery, research and development to come together and have a forum in which to relate.  The aims of the WCCBT, as stated in its draft bylaws are to:

(a) Support the development and profile of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (CBT) worldwide.

(b) Develop a worldwide network to share news, information, and issues in CBT.

(c) Promote and advocate for mental and physical health, CBT, and evidence based treatments for psychological disorders and to improve wellbeing around the globe.

(d) Develop and support effective implementation of CBT through training.

(e) Facilitate and support research in CBT.

These are huge obligations, and they require the active involvement of all CBT people, wherever you are and in whatever capacity you work. To begin, we are engaged in some basic building block activities.  These include formalizing our organizational by-laws, registering the organization, forming the inaugural budget, and basically getting going!  We will continue to support the tri-annual World Congress of CBT, to be held next in South Korea from June 2-5, 2022, but we want to do so much more.  Through this newsletter we will begin to disseminate materials related to CBT, and once we are registered we will begin to interact with other groups such as the World Health Organization to promote our aims.  We have already engaged in some advocacy, trying to ensure that CBT is recognized as an evidence-based treatment model and that it is able to be delivered by a range of qualified health professionals.

As President, my responsibility is first and foremost to help the WCCBT function as well as possible, but I am interested in your concerns, too.  If there is any way in which you believe the WCCBT can advocate for the development of CBT in your part of the world, promote training, or in other ways advance causes of mutual interest, please do let me know. Although based in Canada, I would be pleased to do what I can, or to put you in touch with the best possible person or people.  The WCCBT was created for you, so please do make use of it!

Keith S. Dobson

President, WCCBT