Annual Meeting
Society for Psychotherapy Research
Ritsumeikan University Osaka, Japan
June 24 – 27, 2026

It is with enormous pleasure that we invite you to SPR’s 57th International Annual Meeting for the first time in Japan! The meeting will take place in Osaka from June 24-27, 2026.

The theme of the 57th International Annual Meeting is Reimagining Psychotherapy: A Dialogue on Innovations Across Approaches and Cultures.

We envision this first conference in East Asia as an opportunity to reinvigorate dialogue across theoretical approaches and cultures, united by a shared focus: innovation. Despite decades of effort, psychotherapy outcomes have shown limited improvement. There
remains significant room to enhance access to therapy, improve outcomes, the quality of care provided, and the integration of psychotherapy into everyday life.

In addition, emerging opportunities—particularly those offered by digitalization and artificial intelligence—hold promise for supporting both clients and therapists.
Around the world and within different theoretical communities, important developments are taking place. Yet these advances too often remain isolated in separate silos. To truly benefit the field, dialogues, fostering mutual learning and cross-fertilization, may be useful.

The Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR) is uniquely positioned to facilitate this exchange, bringing together diverse research traditions, theoretical perspectives, modalities, and cultural contexts.
With this spirit of openness and collaboration, the international annual meeting offers a remarkable opportunity to take another step forward in advancing psychotherapy research and practice.

Call for Submissions