11th Annual World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies Congress
Health for All: Affirming, Equitable, and Sustainable CBT
Marriott Marquis San Francisco | June 25–28, 2026

Congress Overview

The World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies (WCCBT) is a global multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the promotion of evidence-based cognitive behavioral strategies designed to evaluate, prevent, and treat mental conditions and illnesses. ABCT is a member of WCCBT. The WCCBT 2026 Congress will take place in San Francisco, California, from Thursday, June 25 to Saturday, June 27. Post-Congress workshops will be held on Sunday, June 28.

San Francisco has a rich history of innovative psychological research in areas including CBT, neuroscience, mental health disparities, and health services for underserved populations. The theme of the 2026 Congress is “Health for All: Affirming, Equitable, and Sustainable CBT.” This theme emphasizes WCCBT’s aim to promote mental and physical health for individuals worldwide through cognitive-behavioural approaches that affirm personal agency, resilience, and identities; meet individual needs while also reducing health disparities at the population level; and are sustainable in their intended settings. The Scientific Committee will especially encourage submissions that target the 2026 Congress theme.

The congress also provides opportunities for professional networking & consists of General Sessions, Keynotes, and Ticketed Events.

Submission Information

  1. DEADLINE: Friday, January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST
  2. CHARACTER LIMIT: Character count does not include spaces.
  • Symposia: 13,800 characters for the entire text. The summary abstract: 2800 characters. Individual presentation abstracts: 2200 characters each; three to five presentations total.
  • In-Congress Workshop & Master Clinician Seminar: 1950 characters
  • Panel Discussions, Clinical Round Tables, Technical Demonstration, & Skills Class: 1950 characters
  • Poster Sessions: 2800 characters
  • Individual Oral Presentation: 2800 characters
  • Individual Three Minute Oral Presentation: 2800 characters
  1. ABSTRACT LIMIT: An individual must limit to 6 the number of submissions in which he or she is the first author (including posters), the chair or moderator, the discussant, panelist, or an invited speaker. Acceptances will be limited to 4 first author presentations.

For Detailed Submission Instructions:

Review Criteria

  • Abstracts are reviewed based on several criteria including significance, approach, innovation, inclusion of diverse populations, relevance to the WCCBT’s mission, and contributing team. Although the contributing team question is asked, the ratings will not count in the overall score for any abstract.
  • Ratings range from 0 (poor) to 4 (excellent) and are uniquely tailored for each type of submission (e.g., clinical roundtables have different objectives than symposia, thus description of ratings are different within these broad categories). The inclusion of diverse population question is rated as either 0 or 1. Please see below for review criteria utilized for each type of submission.
  • Submissions are masked. That is, reviewers do not have access to author names or affiliations to reduce bias in ratings (just like a manuscript peer review process). Reviewers may still recuse themselves if it is readily apparent that the data/submission comes from their own lab, a close collaborator, or a project they have previously been involved with.
  • Relevance to the WCCBT mission and contributing team are rated based on the information provided to these questions in the submission portal.
  • Submissions are reviewed and scored independently by 3 Scientific Program Committee members (2 for posters).
  • Program chairs utilize the composite scores of the reviewer ratings to make final program decisions.
  • Given the large number of high-quality submissions across submission types, acceptance decisions are difficult, and we are unable to provide individual feedback on submissions or reconsider rejected submissions.

Sample Abstracts: