Skip to main content
11th WCCBT Congress Main banner
Final Program


Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Symposium

Training, supervision, and credentialing
Symposium

Symposium 4 - International Issues on Training in CBT

Thursday, June 25, 2026
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Location: Yerba Buena Salon 4, B3 Level
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Education and Training , Dissemination , Supervision
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: Evidence-Based CBT Supervision: Principles and Practice. Derek Milne (2017),   CBT Supervision Paperback – April 14 2015 by Sarah Corrie (Author), David Lane (Author),   Teaching and Supervising Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Nov. 2 2015
by Donna M. Sudak (Author), R. Trent Codd III (Author), John W. Ludgate (Author), Leslie Sokol (Author), & 3 more,   ,  

Training is a critical component of the ethical and effective delivery of any model of psychotherapy. In this symposium leaders in the field of training and credentialing will present various considerations and models for CBT training and credentialing. The first speaker (Sungur) will review of the critical nature of training and credentialing, including a discussion of the past and present of training issues, and the journey of disseminating good CBT training issues until now. The second presenter (Mukhtar) will discuss the use of training guidelines in diverse regions of the world, and recent experiences with training in Malysia in particular. The region’s rapid expansion of mental health services brings both opportunities and challenges, including limited supervision capacity, uneven credentialing systems, and the need for culturally responsive training. Emerging opportunities include digital learning, regional co-supervision networks, and train-the-trainer initiatives to strengthen sustainability. A coordinated approach emphasizing competency-based practice, cultural relevance, and scalable supervision models will be central to advancing CBT training across Asia. The third speaker (Macdonald) will highlight the development and promotion of guidelines within Britain and Europe more broadly, including expectations for academic achievement, requirements for experience and qualifications in mental health professions, minimum standards for content of CBT training and supervised clinical practice in CBT. These are assessed using academic assignments, validated measures of clinical competence, demonstrating ethical and inclusive professional behaviour and reflective practice. The presentation will discuss how these developments have interacted in CBT with the variability in statutory and professional requirements in different European nations. The fourth speaker (Shafran) will outline key challenges and proposed solutions in developing global training guidelines for low-intensity or programme-led interventions. These challenges include task-sharing and workforce variation, terminology and conceptual clarity, supervision models, and defining appropriate competencies and scope of practice. Consultation with member organisations is central to ensuring that the guidelines are useful, practical, credible, and flexible enough to be adapted to local contexts. Presenters will also discuss some of the issues and obstacles related to training and dissemination.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain where to find international training guidelines.
  • Describe the issues related to international training in CBT.
  • Explain the difference between guidelines and competence in CBT practice.
  • Describe challenges of CBT training in diverse parts of the globe.

Presentations:

  • 9:36 AM - 9:57 AM PDT
    (SYM 4) The Importance of Training Guidelines in Diverse Regions of the World

    Speaker: Firdaus Mukhtar, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Universiti Putra Malaysia

  • 9:57 AM - 10:18 AM PDT
    (SYM 4) The Development and Promotion of Training Guidelines in the United Kingdom and Europe

    Speaker: Helen F. Macdonald, M.S. (she/her/hers) – British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and University of Sheffield UK

  • 10:18 AM - 10:39 AM PDT
    (SYM 4) Developing Training Guidelines for Low Intensity CBT Interventions

    Speaker: Roz Shafran, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health

  • 10:39 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
    (SYM 4) Past-present and Future Challenges during Dissemination of the Good Practice of CBT and the Importance of a Global Training Standards of CBT

    Speaker: Mehmet Zihni Sungur, M.D. (he/him/his) – WCCBT Executive Board Member, Uskudar University

    Co-Author: Keith S. Dobson, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Calgary

    Co-Author: Mehmet Zihni Sungur, M.D. (he/him/his) – WCCBT Executive Board Member, Uskudar University

    Co-Author: Roz Shafran, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health