Welcome to the official website for the 44th National Conference of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy to be held in Brisbane, Meeanjin, (Queensland, Australia) 17–19 October 2024.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we will meet. We pay our respect to their ancestors and their descendants, who continue cultural and spiritual connections to Country. We recognise their valuable contribution to Australian and global society.
Our national conference will provide a great opportunity to engage with national and international thought leaders from across the family of the cognitive behavioural therapies. With this conference we bring together innovative clinical researchers and research clinicians working across the life span. Coming from research, community, and private practice settings, they will present recent evidence-based advances and emerging ideas in their fields for working with cognitions, behaviours, schemas, and emotions for common and complex psychological and health conditions.
This year’s conference theme is “Making meaning with cognitive and behavioural therapies”.
The widespread loss of valued activities and personal agency during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of meaning and meaning making for mental health. Working with meaning has always been at the core of the cognitive and behavioural family of therapies. Despite differences in formulation and therapeutic techniques, the overarching aim of all the cognitive and behavioural approaches is to help people we work with find more hopeful, more purposeful, and less threatening ways to live in the world. Understanding and working with meaning is fundamental to this aim. Meaning is also central to culture and offers a trans-therapeutic and transdiagnostic lens for improving our field’s capacity to meet the changing needs of our diverse Australian community.
Extending the very best traditions of previous conferences, we are bringing together high quality and innovative work using evidence-based methods to identify or work with meaning-making. Meaning comes in many forms, including through language, imagery, behaviour, emotions, and connections. We champion basic mechanism science through to clinical outcome and translational studies across the range of meaning domains as relevant to the cognitive and behavioural family of therapies. We invite you to consider presenting your work at this high-profile, national forum.
Our conference also offers an excellent opportunity to connect or re-connect with colleagues regardless of the stage of your career. You will be able to network with like-minded practitioners, share best-practice tips and tricks and be inspired to shape the future of evidence-based practice. Please join us in Brisbane to hear from leading clinical researchers and leading private practitioners to enrich your knowledge of the latest in evidence-based treatments.
Ticket sales – coming soon!
2-day scientific program (Thursday and Friday, 17-18 October 2024):
- AACBT student members $250
- AACBT members (early-bird) $750
- AACBT members $880
- Non-members $1,110
Workshops (Saturday 19 October 2024):
- AACBT student members $110
- AACBT members (early-bird) $295
- AACBT members $325
- Non-members $455
Both workshop options are all-day, and can choose either Emily Holmes on mental imagery with CBT or Melissa Day with a clinician-focussed session for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for chronic pain, other health conditions and comorbidities.
What can I expect at #AACBT24?
- Presentations from leading researchers and practitioners
- Panel discussions on current topics related to the cognitive and behavioural families
- A clinical master class included in scientific program
- Opportunities to network with your peers
- Up-to-date information in CBT
- Awards, recognitions, and special events
Keynote and Invited speakers (click through to learn more about them)
We are excited to be hosting our international keynote speakers:
- Professor Emily Holmes
- Professor Tim Dalgleish
We also have some great invited speakers presenting!
- Professor Maree Toombs
- Professor Mark Dadds
- Associate Professor Melissa Day
- Dr Rob Brockman
- Dr Aaron Frost
On Saturday we will be hosting two all-day workshops:
- Professor Emily Holmes
- Associate Professor Melissa Day
Abstract portal
The abstract portal is open and submissions are now being accepted for symposium (max time 60 min), open papers or poster presentations.
Full details on our information page, including guidelines and templates.
Our abstract portal is hosted via SurveyMonkey this year.
Abstract portal is closing on Monday 15 April 2024.
Early Career Researcher and Clinician mentoring meeting!
This is a networking event for PhD students, Post-Doctoral fellows, Honours students, clinicians in training, clinicians and anyone who may be early in their career. The networking event will provide an opportunity for people to chat with senior clinicians and researchers who will share their knowledge and tips for success! There will also be the opportunity for networking with peers.
This event is organised by the AACBT ECR sub-committee and is **free** for delegates who are registered for the scientific program.
Conference venue
This year we are excited to return to Royal on the Park, 152 Alice Street Brisbane, QLD 4000.
And we are even more excited to share the discount code for 15% off your accommodation booking – GROUP 15 – delegates can enter the discount code into the promocode box on their website.
https://www.royalonthepark.com.au/rooms-suites
Get directions to the venue on Google Maps.
The conference venue is opposite the picturesque (Brisbane) City Botanic Gardens, with plenty of space for a brain break, or a quiet chat away from the conference, but close enough so your coffee doesn’t get cold.
We also have this page with alternative accommodation options and things to do around Brisbane, if you want to extend you stay!
The AACBT National Conference Committee 2024
- Dr Fiona Maccallum (Scientific Convenor 2024)
- Dr Heidi Saunders (Convenor 2024, Qld Branch Chair)
- Prof Peter McEvoy (National Conferences – Chair)
- Prof Ross G Menzies (National President)
- Ms Natasha Dean (National Workshops Coordinator)
- Dr Carolina Gonzalez (Marketing)
- Dr Rebecca Anderson (Convenor 2025, WA Branch Chair)
- Miss Adela Kiveric (Social Events Coordinator)
- Ms Renee Calligeros (Volunteer Coordinator)
- Dr Luke Ney (Early Career Research Chair)
- Ms Gia Nhi (Nhi) Lam (Sponsorship Coordinator)
- TBA (Scientific Convenor 2025 – WA)
The conference is supported by Mr Peter Pohlman (Conference Secretariat).
The AACBT Board is grateful for the assistance of the many volunteers it takes to put on a successful conference of this scale.