Biography of Aaron Beck and his contribution to Cognitive Behavioral Psychology

Aaron Temkin Beck was born on July 18, 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the youngest of five children. Beck graduated in Political Science from Brown University. He later graduated from Yale University School of Medicine.

 In 1950, Beck married Phyllis W. Beck and the couple went on to have four children. His daughter, Judith S. Beck, is also an influential cognitive behavioral therapist and president of the Beck Institute for cognitive behavior therapy.

 Biography
Being still very young Beck somehow managed to cure or at least improve the symptoms of depression suffered by his mother due to the loss of two of their children. It was then that he decided to become a psychologist, in fact, that is why he started studying medicine at Yale University.

 From the beginning his intention was to study psychiatry, but during his psychiatric training he became interested in the psychoanalytic approach and his way of understanding psychological disorders. He spent much of the first part of his career studying and investigating psychoanalysis, particularly in the use of depression treatment .

 After a few years of practicing psychoanalytic therapy , Beck observed that the approach lacked the scientific rigor, structure and empirical evidence that he wanted. His interests then shifted towards the cognitive approach , and his research in this area intensified after doing work in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, where he established a depression research clinic.

 Beck discovered that his depressed patients often experience spontaneous negative thoughts about themselves and their surroundings . Patients who focus on these thoughts live them as valid and realistic.

He then focused on helping patients identify these negative automatic thoughts and replace them with more realistic and accurate thoughts in order to minimize the distorted thought patterns that contribute to depression. Beck found that to achieve successful treatment of any disorder, the key is to make patients aware of these negative thinking patterns. This treatment approach was then called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) .

 Contribution to Psychology
Beck is widely recognized as the father of cognitive therapy . The American Psychologist named him one of his five most influential psychologists of all time . In addition to his assessment scales, Beck has published more than 600 articles and 25 professional books throughout his career. He has also received numerous awards for his work, including five honorary titles, the Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine for his development of cognitive therapy, and the Kennedy Community Health Award.

 He has also been named one of the most influential people in mental health and one of the ten most influential people in psychiatry in the United States. Beck's CBT is now taught as a standard therapeutic technique in all postgraduate programs in psychology .

 Beck is now professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.