We’d be hard-pressed to find a therapist today who hasn’t in some way been shaped by Dr. Aaron Beck. The founder of Cognitive Therapy, and “one of the five most influential psychotherapists of all time” according to The American Psychologist, Beck revolutionized the way millions of clinicians approach clients in distress. Here is a chance to hear directly from one of the most innovative thinkers in our field.
In this engaging interview, Beck discusses his process of developing cognitive therapy—from his early days as a psychoanalyst, through his disillusionment with psychoanalysis and creation of a therapeutic model that reflected his research and actual experiences with clients. He shares his insights about depression, from its evolutionary origins and how our thinking sustains it, to how best to treat it. Addressing his thoughts on why other models of therapy persist enthusiastically despite the proven success of cognitive therapy, Beck also offers his opinions on integrative models of psychotherapy and his concerns about therapists jumping from one approach to another.
