Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association (ACBTA)

This website is the new official website of the Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association. We have moved from an old website (https://asiancbt.weebly.com/) that is now defunct.

Welcome to ACBTA! Our next event is the ACBTA Meet-the-Expert Talk on 27th August 2022 by our very own President, Professor Firdaus Mukhtar, who will be speaking on “Management of Vaginismus using the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach”.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE DETAILS ON REGISTERING FOR THE 10TH WORLD CONGRESS OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL THERAPIES 2023 THAT WILL BE HELD IN SEOUL, KOREA FROM 1st to 4th JULY 2024!

Today, July 24, 2022 is the 15th anniversary of the passing of a great man, Dr Albert Ellis. He is the originator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, a method that many find to be one of the most efficient approaches for not just coping with troubles, but also to avoid trouble by skillful means of intrapersonal and interpersonal communication. It has its roots in various ancient philosophical schools and Dr Ellis made them practical through his therapeutic approach. His work is now continued by his wife, the delightful Dr Debbie Joffe Ellis, who tirelessly champions REBT all around the world. We now have many practitioners of REBT and an International Association of REBT, which is a confederation of REBT associations from around the world. Today, we pay tribute to Dr Albert Ellis.

The 18th of July 2022 was Aaron T. Beck Day! Dr Beck would have been 101 years-old.

The late Dr Beck, a psychiatrist, is known as the Father of Cognitive Behavior Therapy – a therapeutic approach that uses cognitive and behavioural approaches in helping individuals learn skills to problem-solve and cope with personal challenges, while moving towards better resilience and to thrive. CBT does not just treat psychological disorders, but also promotes mental health.

So, for Aaron T. Beck Day, we pay tribute to a pioneer who developed CBT and made it his lifelong work to keep on perfecting his craft, along with others at Beck Institute, led by his daughter Dr Judith S. Beck, and together with clinicians and researchers from rest of world.

We believe CBT is for all – not just mental health professionals but for anyone who uses it to help themselves and others. Recovery from any mental illness is not in the clinic, but in the community. The more familiar people are with CBT techniques, the better likelihood of recovery for individuals who are going through therapy as they would be better supported by their community.

Why CBT? Because it is very well-researched and found to be effective in reducing symptoms of various mental illnesses, and to help individuals get better. It is an evidence-based method that is continually studied to improve on delivery and practice. As with any treatment method, it is not 100% – therefore needs to be researched and these new findings are shared at professional conferences of CBT.

In 2023 – 1st-4th June, we will have the 10th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies held in Seoul, Korea. This is a conference that pulls together professionals, students and interested parties to exchange new knowledge about the development of CBT and other cognitive and behavioural approaches to improving quality of life. It is organised by the Korean Association of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (KACBT) on behalf of the Asian Cognitive Behavior Therapies Association (ACBTA; www.acbta.org).

Being in Asia – this conference would be more accessible to Asian mental health practitioners, students and any interested parties. Those who are interested, do check out : https://www.wccbt2023.org/ – for updates on the event.

We had the Inaugural WORLD CBT DAY – 7 APRIL 2022 !For this, the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies will be having a series of talks. Please see the message from WCCBT President, Dr Keith Dobson below:

World CBT Day Message from Dr Keith Dobson, WCCBT President Download

For more talks and other events, please see: Events – Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association (ACBTA)

Our biggest event for the year 2021 was the 7th Asian Cognitive Behavior Therapy Conference on 5th to 7th July 2021. We had 7,472 registered participants from 80 countries!

We thank all speakers and participants for being part of our conference and making it a successful one. Our gratitude also goes out to our sponsors for the conference awards – Naluri and the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology, as well as to Sunway University for providing the virtual platform for free! We also congratulate the award winners – see: Conference Awards. For more details please see: https://acbta.org/archives/.

The Conference Program and Abstract Book can be found here: Publications | MSCP

Cognitive therapy seeks to alleviate psychological stresses by correcting faulty conceptions and self-signals. By correcting erroneous beliefs we can lower excessive reactions

Aaron T. Beck, Father of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you feel better. But you don’t get better. You have to back it up with action, action, action.

Albert Ellis, Founder – Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy