This page will contain information of various events related to CBT, including conferences and training programmes.
Workshop Title:
CBT for Psychosis: Skill-based and Case Discussion
Date: 8 August 2025 (Friday)
🕗 Time:
▪ 8:00 PM – Malaysia / Hong Kong
▪ 5:00 PM – Pakistan
▪ 5:30 PM – India
▪ 7:00 PM – Thailand / Indonesia (WIB)
▪ 9:00 PM – Korea / Japan
Platform: Zoom (link will be shared upon registration)
Participation Fee: USD 25 / RM 100
Register here to secure your spot:
https://forms.gle/uv9vg5ySp1qYeKt38
This workshop will provide a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of CBT applications in psychosis through practical tools and real-life case discussions.
We look forward to your participation!
World CBT Day 7 April 2025
ACBTA Meet the Expert Talks
The ACBTA Meet-the-Expert Talk is a series of events that is open to professionals and the public to learn more about cognitive behavioural therapies from various experts. We look forward to your participation.
Next Talk:
December 2025: Dr Susmita Halder – AI-CBT Synergy: Exploring the Future of Mental Health Care
Dr. Susmita Halder is an accomplished academician, researcher, and clinician, currently serving as Professor of Psychology and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Studies at St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata. She is also the Secretary of the Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Association. With over two decades of experience in teaching, clinical practice, and research, Dr. Halder has made notable contributions to clinical psychology—particularly in CBT, cognitive training, aging, and suicide prevention. She was a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi, and has held leadership roles in academic and clinical settings. A prolific scholar, she has authored several books on mental health, including her most recent work AI in Mental Health (Springer Nature, 2024), which explores the intersections of artificial intelligence and psychological care. She has also published over 150 research papers in national and international journals. As a sought-after speaker at global forums, Dr. Halder continues to be a leading voice in advancing psychological science and promoting mental health across cultures.
Previous Talks
August 2025: Dr Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom – Integrating Third-Wave CBT and Spiritual Wisdom in Digital Mental Health: From Research to Real-World Impact.
Dr. Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the current President of the Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology (MSCP) for the 2025–2026 term. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Ministry of Health Malaysia and provides psychological services at IIUM’s Psychology Services Unit.
Dr. Jamilah graduated top of her class in Psychology from IIUM (2005), completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology at the University of Melbourne (2009), a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2011), and a PhD in Psychological Medicine from Universiti Putra Malaysia (2017), with a dissertation on Group CBT for anxiety.
Her clinical work integrates Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), mindfulness-informed approaches, and, when appropriate, Islamic spiritual principles to support the cultural and religious needs of Muslim clients. Her primary areas of research include psychological distress, anxiety and depressive disorders, with a focus on CBT and third-wave therapies such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is also actively involved in the digitalization of mental health assessment and intervention, including the development of mobile-based psychological tools and scalable digital intervention programs aimed at increasing access to care across diverse populations.
April 2025: Dr Mirrat Gul Butt – Mindfulness and CBT : The Way Forward
Dr. Mirrat Gul Butt is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Mayo Hospital, Lahore. She is currently serving as the President of the Pakistan Association of Cognitive Therapy (PACT) and is an Executive Member of the Pakistan Psychological Association (PPA). Dr. Mirrat also holds the position of Finance Secretary at the Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologists (PACP) and is a General Body Member of the Lahore Mental Health Association (LMHA) leading Fountain House chain in Lahore.
Web Forum
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is typically a therapeutic approach that is carried out in the clinical setting and with individuals or small groups. This call by the APA for a population-level impact has implications for scaling up CBT for community level use.
Join us in this forum to talk about existing initiatives by mental health professionals in scaling up applications of CBT in the community. Panelists are Prof Dr Shanaya Rathod from the UK, Prof Dr Kyongmee Chung from South Korea and Dr Joe Nuttorn Pityaratstian from Thailand who will be sharing their personal initiatives in reaching out to the public on the applications of CBT.
Prof Shanaya Rathod has her own YouTube and Instagram channels that where she posts videos on evidence-based mental health information to improve public mental health literacy. Prof Kyongmee Chung has interventional research projects that uses digital platforms and A.I. as mediators of delivering cognitive and behavioural approaches to users. Dr Joe Nuttorn runs CBT training for various professional groups in Thailand under the CBT Alliance of Thailand.
The forum will be hosted and moderated by Prof Dr Alvin Ng from Sunway University, Malaysia, who will lead discussions into how CBT can be scaled up for population-level impact. Audience will have chances to join in on the discussion as well.
We look forward to seeing you at the forum!
March 2025: Dr Emily Liu – CBT Tools for Depression: A Practical Resource Guide for Psychotherapists in Asia
Dr. Emily Tung-Hsueh Liu is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Clinical Psychology at Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and provides cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) at Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital.
Dr. Liu earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine, graduating summa cum laude in 1999. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco Bay Area campus, in June 2004. Immediately after graduation, she returned to Taiwan, where she has since been teaching, practicing, and supervising CBT.
Her clinical and research interests are diverse, with a particular focus on depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety in adults.
October 2024: Associate Professor Dr Daisuka Fujisawa – CBT in Cancer Care
Dr. Daisuke Fujisawa is the President of Japanese Association for Cognitive Therapy (JACT) and a board director of International Psycho-Oncology Society. An area of his expertise is psychosocial care of individuals with cancer, including cancer-related stigma (PMID:32776092), illness-understanding (PMID:34510654), mindfulness interventions (PMID:32105790), and grief (PMID: 36484246).
Dr. Fujisawa is also the President-Elect of the Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association (ACBTA). He is also an Associate Professor at Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Fujisawa is a qualified supervisor in cognitive behavioral therapy from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
June 2024: Dr John Jamir Benzon Aruta – Climate Change and mental health in the Global South: Experiences from the Philippines
John Jamir Benzon R. Aruta, PhD is an Associate Professor at the De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. His research program includes 1) the application of psychology principles in promoting environmental sustainability, 2) the interface between climate change and mental health in the Global South context, 3) planetary health, and 4) the mental health of neglected and marginalized populations.
Dr. Aruta is the inaugural director of the Sustainability Psychology and Planetary Health Research Laboratory (SPPHERE Lab) – a group of environmentally concerned students and professionals that work on research, advocacy, community building, and policy collaboration. Dr. Aruta is a founding Associate Editor of the journal Global Environmental Psychology and is a member of the Editorial Board of BMC Psychology and Nature Communications Psychology.
Dr. Aruta is also an active clinical practitioner in the Philippines, providing mental health assessment, counseling, and psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and early adults. He was awarded an Outstanding Young Scientist 2023 by the National Academy of Science and Technology, the highest award-giving body in science in the Philippines.
October 2023: Professor Chun Wang & Dr Sichu Wu – The Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Non-suicidal Self-Injury Behavior: Effectiveness and Mechanism
September 2023: Professor Dr Nimisha Kumar – CBT for Youth Mental Health: Reducing Distress & Building Resilience
March 2023: Professor Dr Kyong-Mee Chung – An RCT for Testing Effectiveness of an App-based Cognitive Rehab Program for Youths with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
January 2023: Professor Dr Shin-Ichi Ishikawa – Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders
November 2022: Professor Dr Kee-Hong Choi – The Dissemination of Behavioural Activation for Depression to Korean Mental Health Professionals: Evidence, Opportunities and Challenges.
August 2022: Professor Dr Firdaus Mukhtar – Management of Vaginismus using the Cognitive Behavioral Approach.
June 2022: Professor Dr Md Kamruzzaman Mozumder – Linking formulation and treatment plan in working with PTSD.
April 2022: Professor Dr Farooq Naeem – Sufism-based Cognitive Therapy for Building Resilience.
January 2022: Professor Freedom Leung – Doing CBT with the help of neuroscience
In partnership with Psychology Month at Sunway University, Malaysia
Asian Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Association (ACBTA) 