Aaron Beck
American psychiatrist who developed cognitive therapy
American psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania who began as a supporter of psychoanalysis and developed cognitive therapy from his work with depressed patients. He also created the Beck Depression Inventory and co-founded the Beck Institute.
Why this person matters
Beck's cognitive therapy became the basis of cognitive behavioural therapy, a major approach to treating depression and anxiety. A 1977 trial reported it to be as effective as antidepressant medication for depression. His daughter Judith Beck co-founded the Beck Institute, and Albert Ellis's earlier work developed in parallel.
Main contributions
Cognitive theory and therapy of depression
Beck began publishing on cognitive therapy in 1963, with the article Thinking and Depression. He developed the approach from his work with depressed patients and set it out in his 1967 book The Diagnosis and Management of Depression.
Beck Depression Inventory
Beck published the Beck Depression Inventory in 1961 as a questionnaire for measuring depression. He later developed other scales, but the sources read give no detail on these.
Testing and training in cognitive therapy
The Beck Institute reports that a 1977 trial found cognitive therapy as effective as antidepressant medication for depression. In 1994 Beck and his daughter Judith Beck co-founded the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Context and limits
Beck endorsed psychoanalysis as a young psychiatrist and underwent analysis himself. The American Psychoanalytic Institute rejected his membership application in 1960 and again in 1961. Researchers have noted that the proposed mechanisms of cognitive therapy have been tested less than its outcomes, and some predicted causal links were not found. Albert Ellis contacted Beck in the mid-1960s, and both men drew on Stoicism.
In your introductory course
Treatment and therapy.Beck appears in chapters on psychological disorders, especially depression, and on treatment. Students meet cognitive therapy and the Beck Depression Inventory in both.
Related course reading: Psychology 2e, section 15.7. This is course context rather than a biographical source.
Years of active work
- 1961
Beck published the Beck Depression Inventory.
- 1963
He published his first article on cognitive therapy, Thinking and Depression.
- 1967
He published The Diagnosis and Management of Depression, with the University of Pennsylvania Press.
- 1977
A clinical trial comparing cognitive therapy with antidepressant medication was published.
- 1994
He co-founded the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy with his daughter Judith.
Sources
- Beck Institute, Dr. Aaron T. BeckSociety or association. Institutional biography inspected.
- Wikipedia, Aaron T. BeckReference work. Reference article inspected.