About - ACBM

About ACBM

The Association for Cognitive Bias Modification (ACBM) is committed to improving CBM research and application in a manner that reflects scientific rigour, clinical integrity, and dissemination of evidence-based assessment and therapeutics.

Consistent with this mission, the Association engages in the following three key activities:

Developing guidelines and software resources to promote the adoption of reliable and valid approaches for assessing cognitive biases.
Designing and evaluating methods of delivering cognitive bias modification procedures that maximise their capacity to engage their targets.
Translating the resulting scientific advances into empirically-validated CBM interventions that are accessible, scalable, and sustainable within the clinical setting.

A description of ACBM’s founding process, preliminary meetings in London, Washington DC, Amsterdam, and Berlin will appear soon.

ACBM is run by a committed group of elected and unelected volunteers from the field of CBM around the world. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 10-15 members, including a membership-elected President, the Past-President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Science Director, Membership Secretary, Public Engagement Director, and directors at large. Every two years, ACBM holds an open election to fill expiring board terms and the President-Elect position. Board Members serve a three-year term and the President serves for two years. To secure smooth continuity in leadership, Past-, Present-, and Elect-Presidents serve together on the board. Download the Bylaws that govern ACBM.

Yair Bar-Haim, PhD

President

Board Term 2022-2026

Professor Bar-Haim is based at Tel Aviv University’s, School of Psychological Science and Sagol School of Neuroscience. He is the Director of the Adler Center for Development and Psychopathology and the Israeli National Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience (NC-TSR). Professor Bar-Haim’s research focuses on cognitive, neural, and genetic mechanisms underlying stress-related disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. The primary effort of his research is translation of basic science into effective evidence-supported CBM therapies. Professor Bar-Haim’s group developed and tested various mechanized treatments for anxiety and stress-related disorders as well as largescale CBM prevention programs for combat-related PTSD.

Eni Becker, PhD

President Elect

Board Term 2023-2024

Professor Eni S. Becker is the Chair of Clinical Psychology at Radboud University, The Netherlands, focusing on cognitive processes and their role in psychopathology, with a specific interest in anxiety and affective disorders. Her passion for bridging the gap between fundamental and applied research in clinical psychology is evident in her work. She firmly believes that CBM is an essential tool in achieving this goal. Eni brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and a strong team spirit that fosters critical discourse and interdisciplinary collaboration. She is committed to leveraging her expertise to drive ACBM’s mission to promote and advance the field of cognitive bias modification towards better research, ultimately benefiting patients.

Colin MacLeod, PhD

Immediate Past President

Board Term 2022-2024

Professor MacLeod is based at The University of Western Australia’s School of Psychological Science where he is Director of the Rutherford Memorial Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion (CARE). Professor MacLeod’s research is focused on the types of cognitive biases that underlie emotional vulnerability and resilience, and on Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) techniques designed to directly alter these biases in ways that can therapeutically alleviate mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. His research spans patterns of selective attention, interpretation and memory that give rise to emotional resilience and emotional dysfunction.