I am back from the WCCBT World Congress in San Francisco with a full heart and a renewed sense of possibility after an extraordinary week of science, connection, celebration, and global partnership.
This Congress marked the end of my 3-year term as President of the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, and it was deeply meaningful both personally and professionally.
Gathering in the US this year felt especially symbolic. With the energy of the World Cup in the air, I kept thinking about what happens when people from all over the world come together — bringing different languages, histories, identities, and hopes to discover what they can build together.
In a year when the US is marking 250 years, it felt meaningful to gather in a country whose promise, at its best, is not one story, one language, or one lineage, but a continuing, imperfect, plural experiment shaped by people from many histories and homelands. That same spirit - of crossing borders, meeting one another, celebrating difference, and finding shared purpose - was also the spirit of the Congress.
I had the honor of giving the opening keynote, leading the President’s Panel and General Assembly, leading and participating in panels with WHO and global colleagues on the Africa initiative, low-intensity CBT, safety behaviors, and interoceptive exposure, offering a three-hour OCD workshop, serving as a discussant, introducing other keynote speakers, presiding over the closing ceremony, and helping recognize extraordinary global leadership by presenting Professor David M. Clark with WCCBT’s inaugural Global Impact Award.
The Congress was intellectually and emotionally nourishing, but what I will remember most is its spirit. The opening reception, gala dinner, smaller dinner conversations, and many meetings throughout the week were just as meaningful as the formal sessions. I had the chance to connect with colleagues from WHO and from so many regions of the world. These conversations were hopeful, practical, energizing, and deeply human.
They reminded me that global mental health work depends not only on evidence, but also on relationships, trust, cultural humility, and shared commitment.
I am deeply grateful to the WCCBT Board, to ABCT’s conveners, organizers, and program committee, as well as to our member associations, speakers, volunteers, students, and everyone who made the week so powerful.
I leave this role with gratitude, hope, and great confidence in the future of WCCBT and the global CBT community.
Thank you to everyone who made this Congress so special.