View source for Biography:Aaron Beck

{{Short description|American psychiatrist and academic (1921–2021)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Aaron Beck
| image             = Liber Brunensis 1942, Aaron T. Beck.jpg
| caption           = Beck in 1942
| birth_name        = Aaron Temkin Beck
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1921|7|18}}
| birth_place       = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2021|11|1|1921|7|18}}
| death_place       = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| alma_mater        = {{unbulleted list|[[Organization:Brown University|Brown University]]|Yale Medical School}}
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for         = His research on [[Medicine:Psychotherapy|psychotherapy]] (especially [[Medicine:Cognitive therapy|cognitive therapy]] and [[Medicine:Cognitive behavioral therapy|cognitive behavioral therapy]]), [[Philosophy:Psychopathology|psychopathology]], [[Medicine:Suicide|suicide]], and [[Psychometrics|psychometrics]]
| influenced        = {{hlist|Martin Seligman|[[Biography:Judith S. Beck|Judith S. Beck]]|David D. Burns}}
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = Phyllis W. Beck (1950-2021)
| children          = 4, including [[Biography:Judith S. Beck|Judith]]
| field             = [[Biology:Psychiatry|Psychiatry]]
| work_institution  = {{hlist|[[Organization:University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]]|Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy|Center for the Treatment and Prevention of Suicide}}
| prizes            = [[Biography:Aaron Beck#Selected awards and honors|See ''Selected awards and honors'']]
}}

'''Aaron Temkin Beck''' (July 18, 1921&nbsp;– November 1, 2021) was an American psychiatrist who was a professor in the department of [[Biology:Psychiatry|psychiatry]] at the [[Organization:University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Grawemeyer">[http://grawemeyer.org/2004-aaron-beck/ 2004 - Aaron Beck] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606133751/http://grawemeyer.org/2004-aaron-beck/ |date=June 6, 2016 }}, ''The Grawemeyer Awards'', Louisville, KY: University of Louisville/Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2009, Retrieved February 21, 2014.</ref><ref name="heinzawards">[http://www.heinzawards.net/recipients/aaron-beck Aaron Beck bio], ''The Heinz Awards'' Undated, Retrieved February 21, 2014.</ref> He is regarded as the father of [[Medicine:Cognitive therapy|cognitive therapy]]<ref name="Grawemeyer" /><ref name="heinzawards" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beck|first1=Judith S.|last2=Fleming|first2=Sarah|date=June 18, 2021|title=A Brief History of Aaron T. Beck, MD, and Cognitive Behavior Therapy|url=https://cpe.psychopen.eu/index.php/cpe/article/view/6701|journal=Clinical Psychology in Europe|language=en|volume=3|issue=2|pages=1–7|doi=10.32872/cpe.6701|s2cid=237383023|issn=2625-3410}}</ref> and [[Medicine:Cognitive behavioral therapy|cognitive behavioral therapy]] (CBT).<ref>Folsom, Timothy D., et al. "Profiles in history of neuroscience and psychiatry." The Medical Basis of Psychiatry. Springer, New York, NY, 2016. 925-1007.</ref> His pioneering methods are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression and various anxiety disorders. Beck also developed self-report measures for [[Medicine:Depression (mood)|depression]] and [[Medicine:Anxiety|anxiety]], notably the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which became one of the most widely used instruments for measuring the severity of depression.<ref name="Measuring">{{Cite journal|author =Beck, A.T. |author2=Ward, C.H. |author3=Mendelson, M. |author4=Mock, J. |author5=Erbaugh, J. |title=An inventory for measuring depression |journal=Archives of General Psychiatry |volume=4 |pages=561–571 |date=June 1961 |pmid=13688369 |doi= 10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004|issue=6|citeseerx=10.1.1.934.7580 }}</ref> In 1994 he and his daughter, [[Social:Psychologist|psychologist]] [[Biography:Judith S. Beck|Judith S. Beck]], founded the nonprofit Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which provides CBT treatment and training, as well as research.<ref>[http://www.beckinstitute.org/aaron-beck/ About Beck Institute: Leadership] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221184532/http://www.beckinstitute.org/aaron-beck/ |date=December 21, 2015 }}, ''Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy'', Bala Cynwyd, PA: Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 2014, Retrieved February 21, 2014.</ref> Beck served as President Emeritus of the organization up until his death.

Beck was noted for his writings on [[Medicine:Psychotherapy|psychotherapy]], [[Philosophy:Psychopathology|psychopathology]], [[Medicine:Suicide|suicide]], and [[Psychometrics|psychometrics]]. He published more than 600 professional journal articles, and authored or co-authored 25 books.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/index.html|title=Department of Psychiatry: Aaron T. Beck, M.D.|date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914094322/http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/index.html|archive-date=September 14, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>  He was named one of the "Americans in history who shaped the face of American psychiatry", and one of the "five most influential psychotherapists of all time"<ref>{{cite journal|year=2002|title=Dix Personalité Qui Ont Changé le Visage de la Psychiatric Américaine|journal=L'Information Psychiatrique|volume=78|issue=7|pages=667–675|last1=Talbott|first1=J.A.}}</ref> by ''The American Psychologist'' in July 1989. His work at the University of Pennsylvania inspired Martin Seligman to refine his own cognitive techniques and later work on [[Philosophy:Learned helplessness|learned helplessness]].<ref>Hirtz, R. (1999). [http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0199/hirtz.html Martin Seligman's journey: From learned helplessness to learned happiness], ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, January/February 1999, Retrieved February 21, 2014.</ref>

==Early life and career==
Aaron Temkin Beck was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 18, 1921. He was the youngest of four children born to Elizabeth Temkin and Harry Beck, [[Religion:Jews|Jewish]] immigrants from Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishexponent.com/2017/10/18/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-expert-aaron-beck-going-strong-96/|title=Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Expert Aaron Beck Going Strong at 96|publisher=Jewish Exponent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agiRAgAAQBAJ&q=Harry+and+Elizabeth+Temkin+Beck&pg=PA260|title = Theoretical Models of Counseling and Psychotherapy|isbn = 978-1-135-84639-8|last1 = Fall|first1 = Kevin A.|last2 = Holden|first2 = Janice Miner|last3 = Marquis|first3 = Andre|date = January 19, 2011}}</ref> Harry worked as a printer and Elizabeth's family found financial success in tobacco wholesaling; the family belonged to the upwardly-mobile vanguard of Providence's Eastern European-Jewish immigrant community. At the time of Aaron's birth, the Temkin-Becks lived a "comfortable, lower-middle class lifestyle" and were in the process of putting down roots on Providence's East Side. In 1923, when Aaron was two years old, the family purchased a house at 43/41 Sessions Street in the city's Blackstone neighborhood.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Rosner|first=Rachael I.|date=November 2016|title=Aaron T. Beck, the "Golden Ghetto" of Providence, and Cognitive Therapy|url=http://www.rijha.org/wp-content/uploads/RIJH-Notes/Notes%20PDF/Notes%2017.2%202016.pdf|journal=Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association|volume=17 #2}}</ref>
[[File:Aaron_T._Beck,_1939.jpg|thumb|Beck's Hope High School yearbook photograph]]
Beck attended John Howland Grammar School, Nathan Bishop Junior High, and Hope Street High School, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1938. As an adolescent, Beck dreamed of becoming a journalist.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Rosner|first=Rachael I.|date=November 2016|title=Aaron T. Beck, the "Golden Ghetto" of Providence, and Cognitive Therapy|url=http://www.rijha.org/wp-content/uploads/RIJH-Notes/Notes%20PDF/Notes%2017.2%202016.pdf|journal=Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association|volume=17 #2}}</ref> Beck matriculated at [[Organization:Brown University|Brown University]], where he graduated ''[[Social:Latin honors|magna cum laude]]'' in 1942.<ref name=CAO>{{cite book|title=Aaron T(emkin) Beck|work=Contemporary Authors Online|publisher=Gale|location=Detroit, Michigan|year=2004}}</ref> At Brown, he was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, was an associate editor of ''The Brown Daily Herald'', and received the Francis Wayland Scholarship, William Gaston Prize for Excellence in Oratory, and Philo Sherman Bennett Essay Award.<ref name="Beck" /> Beck attended Yale Medical School, planning to become an internist and work in private practice in Providence. He graduated from Yale with a [[Medicine:Doctor of Medicine|Doctor of Medicine]] in 1946.<ref name=doctor/>

After receiving his M.D., Beck completed a six-month junior residency in [[Biology:Pathology|pathology]] at Rhode Island Hospital and a three-year residency in [[Biology:Neurology|neurology]] at Cushing Veterans Administration Hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts. During this time, Beck began to specialize in neurology, reportedly liking the precision of its procedures.<ref name=doctor/> However, due to a shortage of psychiatry [[Medicine:Residency|residents]], he was instructed to do a six-month rotation in that field, and he became absorbed in [[Social:Psychoanalysis|psychoanalysis]], despite initial wariness.<ref name=doctor/>

After completing his medical [[Social:Internship|internship]]s and [[Medicine:Residency|residencies]] from 1946 to 1950, Beck became a [[Social:Fellow|fellow]] in psychiatry at the Austen Riggs Center, a private mental hospital in the mountains of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, until 1952.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691618804187|title=A 60-Year Evolution of Cognitive Theory and Therapy|year=2019|publisher=Sage Journals|doi=10.1177/1745691618804187|access-date=November 1, 2021|last1=Beck|first1=Aaron T.|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=14|issue=1|pages=16–20|pmid=30799751|s2cid=73467073}}</ref> At that time, it was a center of [[Social:Ego psychology|ego psychology]] with an unusual degree of collaboration between psychiatrists and psychologists, including David Rapaport.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/679421|title=The "Splendid Isolation" of Aaron T. Beck|year=2014|publisher=JSTOR|doi=10.1086/679421|jstor=10.1086/679421|access-date=November 1, 2021|last1=Rosner|first1=Rachael I.|journal=Isis|volume=105|issue=4|pages=734–758|pmid=25665381|s2cid=19112063}}</ref>

Beck then completed military service as assistant chief of neuropsychiatry at Valley Forge Army Hospital in the United States Military.<ref name="archives.upenn.edu">{{Cite web |url=http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upt/upt50/beck_at.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 6, 2015 |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106084336/http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upt/upt50/beck_at.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Penn psychiatry==
Beck then joined the Department of Psychiatry at the [[Organization:University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p20036|title=Aaron T. Beck|publisher=Med.Upenn.edu|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> The department chair was Kenneth Ellmaker Appel, a psychoanalyst who was president of the American Psychiatric Association, whose efforts to expand the presence and relatedness of psychiatry had a big influence on Beck's career.<ref name=atbb>{{cite web|url=https://www.guilford.com/author/Aaron-T-Beck|title=Aaron T. Beck|publisher=Guilford|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> At the same time, Beck began formal training in psychoanalysis at the Philadelphia Institute of the American Psychoanalytic Association.<ref name=atbb/>

Beck's closest colleague was Marvin Stein, a friend since their army hospital days to whom Beck looked up to for his scientific rigor in [[Biology:Psychoneuroimmunology|psychoneuroimmunology]].<ref name=splendid/> Beck's first research was with Leon J. Saul, a psychoanalyst known for unusual methods such as therapy by telephone or setting homework, who had developed inventory questionnaires to quantify ego processes in the manifest content of dreams (that which can be directly reported by the dreamer). Beck and a graduate student developed a new inventory they used to assess "masochistic" hostility in manifest dreams, published in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-00029-002|title=Aaron T. Beck's Dream Theory in Context: An Introduction to His 1971 Article on Cognitive Patterns in Dreams and Daydreams.|publisher=Psycnet|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> This study found themes of loss and rejection related to depression, rather than inverted hostility as predicted by psychoanalysis.<ref name=splendid/> Developing the work with funding from the [[Organization:National Institute of Mental Health|National Institute of Mental Health]], Beck came up with what he would call the Beck Depression Inventory, which he published in 1961 and soon started to market, unsupported by Appel.<ref name=splendid>{{cite journal | jstor = 10.1086/679421 | pmid = 25665381 | volume=105 | title=The "Splendid Isolation" of Aaron T. Beck | year=2014 | journal=Isis | pages=734–58 | last1 = Rosner | first1 = RI | issue = 4 | doi=10.1086/679421| s2cid = 19112063 }}</ref> In another experiment, he found that depressed patients sought encouragement or improvement following disapproval, rather than seeking out suffering and failure as predicted by the Freudian anger-turned-inwards theory.<ref name=doctor/>

Through the 1950s, Beck adhered to the department's psychoanalytic theories while pursuing experimentation and harboring private doubts.<ref name=splendid/> In 1961, however, controversy over whom to appoint the new chair of psychiatry—specifically, fierce psychoanalytic opposition to the favored choice of biomedical researcher Eli Robins—brought matters to a head, an early skirmish in a power shift away from psychoanalysis nationally.<ref name=splendid/> Beck tried to remain neutral and, with Albert J. Stunkard, opposed a petition to block Robins.<ref name=splendid/> Stunkard, a [[Philosophy:Behaviorism|behaviorist]] who specialized in obesity and who had dropped out of psychoanalytic training, was eventually appointed department head in the face of sustained opposition which again Beck would not engage in, putting him at bitter odds with his friend Stein.<ref name=splendid/>

On top of this, despite having graduated from his Philadelphia training, the American Psychoanalytic Institute rejected (deferred) Beck's membership application in 1960, skeptical of his claims of success from relatively brief therapy and advising he conduct further supervised therapy on the more advanced or termination phases of a case, and again in 1961 when he had not done so but outlined his clinical and research work.<ref name=doctor/> Such deferments were a tactic used by the institute to maintain the orthodoxy in teaching, but Beck did not know this at the time and has described the decision as stupid and dumb.<ref name=doctor>{{Cite journal|author =Smith, Daniel B.|title=The doctor is in |date=Autumn 2009|journal=The American Scholar|publisher=Phi Beta Kappa Society|access-date=July 29, 2016| url= https://theamericanscholar.org/the-doctor-is-in/}}</ref><ref name=splendid/>

Beck usually explained his increasing belief in his cognitive model by reference to a patient he had been listening to for a year at the Penn clinic.<ref name=doctor/> When he suggested she was anxious due to her ego being confronted by her sexual impulses, and asked her whether she believed this when she did not seem convinced, she said she was actually worried that she was being boring, and that she thought this often and with everyone.<ref name=doctor/><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/11/science/scientist-at-work-aaron-t-beck-pragmatist-embodies-his-no-nonsense-therapy.html Scientist At Work: Aaron T. Beck], Erica Goode, ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'', January 11, 2000</ref>

==Private practice==
Beck requested a sabbatical and would go into private practice for five years.<ref name=splendid/> {{when|date=November 2021}}

In 1962, he was already making notes about patterns of thoughts in depression, emphasizing what can be observed and tested by anyone and treated in the present.<ref name=beckmd/> He was engaged by George Kelly's [[Social:Personal construct theory|personal construct theory]] and [[Biography:Jean Piaget|Jean Piaget]]'s [[Philosophy:Schema (psychology)|schema]]s.<ref name=eor>{{cite web|url=https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/22859-personality-theory/12/view|title=Personality Theory|access-date=November 1, 2021|publisher=Oercommons}}</ref> Beck's first articles on the cognitive theory of depression, in 1963 and 1964 in the ''Archives of General Psychiatry'', maintained the psychiatric context of [[Social:Ego psychology|ego psychology]] but then turned to concepts of realistic and scientific thinking in the terms of the new cognitive psychology, extended to become a therapeutic need.<ref name=splendid/>

Beck's notebooks were also filled with self-analysis, where at least twice a day for several years he wrote out his own "negative" (later "automatic") thoughts, rated with a [[Percentile|percentile]] belief score, classified and restructured.<ref name=splendid/>

The psychologist who would become most important for Beck was Albert Ellis, whose own faith in psychoanalysis had crumbled by the 1950s.<ref name=eor/> He had begun presenting his "rational therapy" by the mid-1950s.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A Historical and Theoretical Review of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: From Structural Self-Knowledge to Functional Processes|year=2018|publisher=NCBI|pmc=6208646|last1=Ruggiero|first1=G. M.|last2=Spada|first2=M. M.|last3=Caselli|first3=G.|last4=Sassaroli|first4=S.|journal=Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy |volume=36|issue=4|pages=378–403|doi=10.1007/s10942-018-0292-8|pmid=30416258}}</ref> Beck recalled that Ellis contacted him in the mid-1960s after his two articles in the ''Archives of General Psychiatry'', and therefore he discovered Ellis had developed a rich theory and pragmatic therapy that he was able to use to some extent as a framework blended with his own, though he disliked Ellis's technique of telling patients what he thought was going on rather than helping the client to learn for themselves empirically.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0tIM3w4yXs Who Influenced Dr. Aaron Beck's Work? (Students Ask Dr. Beck - Part Two] Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, CBT Workshop on Depression and Anxiety for students and post-doctoral fellows, August 15–17, 2011</ref> Psychoanalyst Gerald E. Kochansky remarked in 1975 in a review of one of Beck's books that he could no longer tell if Beck was a psychoanalyst or a devotee of Ellis.<ref name=splendid/> Beck highlighted the classical philosophical [[Philosophy:Socratic method|Socratic method]] as an inspiration, while Ellis highlighted disputation which he stated was not anti-empirical and taught people how to dispute internally.<ref>[http://www.choixdecarriere.com/pdf/5671/28-2010.pdf Rational-emotive therapy and cognitive behavior therapy: Similarities and differences] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513000725/http://www.choixdecarriere.com/pdf/5671/28-2010.pdf |date=May 13, 2013 }} Albert Ellis, ''Cogn Ther Res'' (1980) 4: 325. {{doi|10.1007/BF01178210}}</ref> Both Beck and Ellis cited aspects of the ancient philosophical system of [[Philosophy:Stoicism|Stoicism]] as a forerunner of their ideas, though Ellis wrote more about this; both mistakenly cited [[Biography:Cicero|Cicero]] as a stoic.<ref name="Robertson_2010">{{Cite book | author=Robertson, D | title=The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: Stoicism as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy| year=2010| page=14| publisher=Karnac| location=London| isbn=978-1-85575-756-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsOFyJaR5vEC}}</ref>

In 1967, becoming active again at [[Organization:University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]], Beck still described himself and his new therapy (as he always would quietly) as neo-Freudian in the ego psychology school, albeit focused on interactions with the environment rather than internal drives.<ref name=splendid/><ref>[http://www.fenichel.com/Beck-Ellis2002.shtml On Therapy-- A Dialogue with Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis] reported by Michael Fenichel, American Psychological Association, 110th Convention Chicago, August 22–25, 2002</ref> He offered cognitive therapy work as a relatively "neutral" space and a bridge to psychology.<ref name=splendid/> With a monograph on depression that Beck published in 1967, according to historian Rachael Rosner: "Cognitive Therapy entered the marketplace as a corrective experimentalist psychological framework both for himself and his patients and for his fellow psychiatrists."<ref name=splendid/>

==Cognitive therapy==
Working with depressed patients, Beck found that they experienced streams of negative thoughts that seemed to arise spontaneously.<ref name=att>{{cite web|url=https://beckinstitute.org/blog/automatic-thoughts-in-cbt-part-2/|title=Automatic Thoughts in CBT (Part 2)|date=June 8, 2021|publisher=Beck Institute|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> He termed these cognitions "automatic thoughts", and discovered that their content fell into three categories: negative ideas about oneself, the world, and the future. He stated that such cognitions were interrelated as the cognitive triad.<ref name=att/> Limited time spent reflecting on automatic thoughts would lead patients to treat them as valid.<ref name="past and future">{{cite journal|last=Beck|first=Aaron|title=The Past and the future of Cognitive Therapy|journal=Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research|year=1996|volume=6|issue=4|pages=276–284|url=http://jppr.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/6/4/276.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215210611/http://jppr.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/6/4/276.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2011|access-date=June 7, 2011|pmid=9292441|pmc=3330473}}</ref>

Beck began helping patients identify and evaluate these thoughts and found that by doing so, patients were able to think more realistically, which led them to feel better emotionally and behave more functionally.<ref name="past and future" /> He developed key ideas in CBT, explaining that different [[Medicine:Mental disorder|disorders]] were associated with different types of distorted thinking.<ref name="past and future"/> Distorted thinking has a negative effect on a person's behaviour no matter what type of disorder they had, he found.<ref name="past and future"/> Beck explained that successful interventions will educate a person to understand and become aware of their distorted thinking, and how to challenge its effects.<ref name="past and future"/> He discovered that frequent negative automatic thoughts reveal a person's core beliefs. He explained that core beliefs are formed over lifelong experiences; we "feel" these beliefs to be true.<ref name="past and future"/>

Since that time, Beck and his colleagues worldwide have researched the efficacy of this form of psychotherapy in treating a wide variety of disorders including depression, [[Medicine:Bipolar disorder|bipolar disorder]], [[Medicine:Eating disorder|eating disorder]]s, drug abuse, [[Medicine:Anxiety disorder|anxiety disorder]]s, [[Medicine:Personality disorder|personality disorder]]s, and many other medical conditions with psychological components.<ref name="past and future" /> Cognitive therapy has also been applied with success to individuals with anxiety disorders and [[Medicine:Schizophrenia|schizophrenia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cognitive behavioral therapy for schizophrenia |url=https://nyulangone.org/conditions/schizophrenia/treatments/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-schizophrenia |website=NYU Langone Health |access-date=March 20, 2021}}</ref> He also focused on cognitive therapy for schizophrenia, [[Medicine:Borderline personality disorder|borderline personality disorder]], and for patients who have had recurrent suicide attempts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://beckinstitute.org/blog/validation-for-patients-with-borderline-personality-disorder/|title=Validation for Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder|date=June 8, 2021|publisher=Back Institute|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref>

Beck's recent research on the treatment of schizophrenia has suggested that patients once believed to be non-responsive to treatment are amenable to positive change.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Beck|first=Aaron T.|date=January 2019|title=A 60-Year Evolution of Cognitive Theory and Therapy|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|language=en|volume=14|issue=1|pages=16–20|doi=10.1177/1745691618804187|pmid=30799751|issn=1745-6916|doi-access=free}}</ref>  Even the most severe presentations of the illness,&nbsp;such as those involving long periods of hospitalization, bizarre behavior, poor personal hygiene, self-injury, and aggressiveness, can respond positively to a modified version of cognitive behavioural treatment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grant|first1=Paul M.|last2=Bredemeier|first2=Keith|last3=Beck|first3=Aaron T.|date=October 2017|title=Six-Month Follow-Up of Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy for Low-Functioning Individuals With Schizophrenia|journal=Psychiatric Services|language=en|volume=68|issue=10|pages=997–1002|doi=10.1176/appi.ps.201600413|pmid=28566022|issn=1075-2730|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grant|first=Paul M.|date=February 1, 2012|title=Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy for Low-Functioning Patients With Schizophrenia|journal=Archives of General Psychiatry|language=en|volume=69|issue=2|pages=121–7|doi=10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.129|pmid=21969420|issn=0003-990X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

However, some mental health professionals have opposed Beck's cognitive models and resulting therapies as very mechanistic or too limited in which parts of mental activity they will consider.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16470716/|title=Hypothesized mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for borderline personality disorder|year=2006|publisher=Pubmed|pmid=16470716|access-date=November 1, 2021|last1=Wenzel|first1=A.|last2=Chapman|first2=J. E.|last3=Newman|first3=C. F.|last4=Beck|first4=A. T.|last5=Brown|first5=G. K.|journal=Journal of Clinical Psychology|volume=62|issue=4|pages=503–516|doi=10.1002/jclp.20244}}</ref> Beck's work was presented as a far more scientific and experimentally-based development than psychoanalysis (while being less reductive than behaviourism), Beck's key principles were not necessarily based on the general findings and models of cognitive psychology or [[Biology:Neuroscience|neuroscience]] developing at that time but were derived from personal clinical observations and interpretations in his therapy office.<ref name=beckmd>{{cite web|url=https://www.pearsonassessments.com/professional-assessments/products/authors/beck-aaron.html#:~:text=Beck%20is%20noted%20for%20his,widely%20used%20instruments%20for%20measuring|title=Aaron T. Beck, MD|access-date=November 1, 2021|website=Pearsonassessments.com}}</ref> And although there have been many cognitive models developed for different mental disorders and hundreds of outcome studies on the effectiveness of CBT—relatively easy because of the narrow, time-limited and manual-based nature of the treatment—there has been much less focus on experimentally proving the supposedly active mechanisms; in some cases the predicted [[Causality|causal]] relationships have not been found, such as between dysfunctional attitudes and outcomes.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc = 3673298 | pmid=18223042 | doi=10.1136/ebmh.11.1.5 | volume=11 | title=Cognitive-behavioural therapies: achievements and challenges | journal=Evid Based Ment Health | pages=5–7 | last1 = Gaudiano | first1 = BA| issue=1 | year=2008 }}</ref>

==Organizations==
Beck was involved in research studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and conducted biweekly Case Conferences at Beck Institute for area psychiatric residents, graduate students, and mental health professionals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beckinstitute.org/beck-institute-facilities/|title=World-Class Facilities {{!}} Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy|date=January 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129101443/http://www.beckinstitute.org/beck-institute-facilities/|archive-date=January 29, 2012|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> He met every two weeks with conference participants and generally did two to three role plays. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref>

Beck was the founder and President Emeritus of the non-profit Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy, and the director of the Psychopathology Research Center (PRC), which is the parent organization of the Center for the Treatment and Prevention of Suicide.<ref name=":0" /> In 1986, he was a visiting scientist at [[Organization:University of Oxford|Oxford University]].<ref name="Grawemeyer" />

He was a professor emeritus at Penn since 1992,<ref name=":0" /> and an adjunct professor at both Temple University and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.<ref name="Grawemeyer" />

==Personal life==
Beck was married in 1950 to Phyllis W. Beck (* October 7, 1927), and they had four children together: Roy, Judy, Dan, and Alice.<ref name="Beck">[http://aaronbeckcenter.org/about/staff/beck/ Aaron T. Beck, M.D.], ''Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center'', Philadelphia, PA: Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center, 2014, Retrieved February 21, 2014.</ref> Phyllis was the first woman judge on the appellate court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://marinolegalcle.com/faculties/facultydetail/258|title=Faculty Details|date=September 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929093758/http://marinolegalcle.com/faculties/facultydetail/258|archive-date=September 29, 2015|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> Her youngest daughter, Alice Beck Dubow, is a judge on the same court,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/superior-court-judges/judge-alice-beck-dubow|title = Judge Alice Beck Dubow &#124; Superior Court Judges &#124; Superior Court &#124; Courts &#124; Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania}}</ref> while the older daughter [[Biography:Judith S. Beck|Judith]] is a prominent CBT educator and clinician, who wrote the basic text in the field<ref name=beckins/> and is a co-founder of the non-profit Beck Institute.<ref name=beckins>{{cite web|url=https://beckinstitute.org/about-beck/|title=Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy|location=Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania|publisher=Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy|date=2014|access-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> He [[Biology:Centenarian|turned 100]] on July 18, 2021, and died later in the year on November 1 in his sleep at his home in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stateofmind.it/2021/07/100-anni-aaron-t-beck-monografia/|title=100 anni di Beck: un acrobata tra cognitivismo e psicoanalisi – Monografia|date=July 17, 2021|publisher=State of Mind|access-date=September 11, 2021|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://beckinstitute.org/draaronbeck/|title=In Memory of Aaron Temkin Beck, MD|website=Beck Institute|access-date=November 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Carey|first=Benedict|date=November 1, 2021|title=Dr. Aaron T. Beck, Developer of Cognitive Therapy, Dies at 100|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/01/health/dr-aaron-t-beck-dead.html|access-date=November 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Obituaries|first=Telegraph|date=November 1, 2021|title=Aaron Beck, psychiatrist whose development of cognitive behavioural therapy transformed millions of lives around the world – obituary|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/11/01/aaron-beck-psychiatrist-whose-development-cognitive-behavioural/|access-date=November 1, 2021|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://getindianews.com/how-did-dr-aaron-beck-die-and-what-was-his-cause-of-death-developer-of-cognitive-therapy-dies-at-100/|title=How did Dr. Aaron Beck die and what was his cause of death? Developer of Cognitive Therapy, Dies at 100|website=Getindianews.com|access-date=November 10, 2021}}</ref>

==Questionnaires==
Along with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck developed the Beck Hopelessness Scale,<ref>Beck A.T. (1988). ''Beck Hopelessness Scale.'' San Antonio, TX: [[Company:Harcourt Assessment|The Psychological Corporation]].</ref> Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS), [[Medicine:Beck Anxiety Inventory|Beck Anxiety Inventory]] (BAI), Beck Youth Inventories,<ref>[http://www.beckinstitute.org/beck-inventory-and-scales/ "Beck Scales for Adults and Children"] Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research. Retrieved January 11, 2007.</ref> Clark-Beck Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (CBOCI),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Personality-%26-Biopsychosocial/Clark-Beck-Obsessive-Compulsive-Inventory/p/100000201.html|title=Clark-Beck Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory|publisher=Pearsonassessments.com|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> and BDI–Fast Screen for Medical Patients.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Personality-%26-Biopsychosocial/Brief/BDI---FastScreen-for-Medical-Patients/p/100000173.html|title=BDI - FastScreen for Medical Patients|publisher=Pearsonassessments.com|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref>

Beck collaborated with psychologist Maria Kovacs in the development of the Children's Depression Inventory, which used the BDI as a template.<ref>Kovacs, M. (1992).  ''Children's Depression Inventory.''  North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.</ref><ref>Kovacs, M., & Beck, A.T. (1977).  "An empirical-clinical approach toward a definition of childhood depression."  In Schulterbrandt, J.G., & Raskin, A. (Eds.).  ''Depression in children: Diagnosis, treatment, and concept models.''  New York, NY: Raven.</ref>

==Selected awards and honors==
{{Div col}}
* The 7th Annual Heinz Award in the Human Condition<ref name="heinzawards" /> 
* The 2004 [[Organization:University of Louisville|University of Louisville]] Grawemeyer Award for Psychology<ref name="Grawemeyer" /> 
* The 2006 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award<ref>{{cite web|url=https://laskerfoundation.org/winners/development-of-cognitive-therapy-theory-and-practice/|title=Aaron T. Beck|publisher=Lasker Foundation|access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref>
* The 2010 Bell of Hope Award<ref name="heinzawards" />
* The 2010 Sigmund Freud Award<ref name="Awards">{{cite journal|journal=Penn Psychiatry Perspective |year=2012 |issue=11 |pages=9–10 |url=http://www.med.upenn.edu/psych/documents/PPP_Spring2012.pdf |title=Awards and Honors |access-date=March 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301045251/http://www.med.upenn.edu/psych/documents/PPP_Spring2012.pdf |archive-date=March 1, 2014 }}</ref>
* The 2010 Scholarship and Research Award<ref name="Awards"/>
* The 2011 Edward J. Sachar Award<ref name="Awards"/>
* The 2011 Prince Mahidol Award in Medicine<ref name="Awards"/>
* The 2013 Kennedy Community Mental Health Award<ref name="Awards"/>
{{Div col end}}

Beck received honorary degrees from [[Organization:Yale University|Yale University]], University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Assumption College, and [[Organization:Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine|Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine]].<ref name="Beck" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Yale awards nine honorary degrees at 2012 graduation|date=May 21, 2012|url=http://news.yale.edu/2012/05/21/yale-awards-nine-honorary-degrees-2012-graduation|publisher=Yale University|location=New Haven, CT|access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/biography.html|title=Beck Research: Biography|date=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708034136/http://www.med.upenn.edu/suicide/beck/biography.html|archive-date=July 8, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Medicine:Medscape|Medscape]] named Beck the fourth most influential physician in the past century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2017-influential-physicians-6009095 |title=The 25 Most Influential Physicians in the Past Century |last=Rourke |first=Steven |date=September 25, 2017 |website=medscape.com |access-date=December 30, 2019}}</ref>

==Works==
=== Selected books ===
*Beck, A.T. (1967).  ''The diagnosis and management of depression''. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8122-7674-9}}
*Beck, A.T. (1972).  ''Depression: Causes and treatment''. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8122-7652-7}}
*Beck, A.T. (1975).  ''Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders''. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-8236-0990-1}}
*Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979).  ''Cognitive therapy of depression''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-0-89862-000-9}}
*Beck, A.T. (1989).  ''Love is never enough: How couples can overcome misunderstandings, resolve conflicts, and solve relationship problems through cognitive therapy''. New York, NY: Harper Paperbacks. {{ISBN|978-0-06-091604-6}}
*Scott, J., Williams, J.M., & Beck, A.T. (1989).  ''Cognitive therapy in clinical practice: An illustrative casebook''. New York, NY & London, England: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-00518-0}}
*Beck, A.T., Wright, F.D., Newman, C.F., & Liese, B.S. (1993). "Cognitive therapy of substance abuse." New York: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-57230-659-2}}
*Alford, B.A., & Beck, A.T. (1998).  ''The integrative power of cognitive therapy''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-57230-396-6}}
*Beck, A.T. (1999).  ''Prisoners of hate: The cognitive basis of anger, hostility, and violence''. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. {{ISBN|978-0-06-019377-5}}
*Clark, D.A., & Beck, A.T. (1999).  ''Scientific foundations of cognitive theory and therapy of depression''. New York, NY: Wiley. {{ISBN|978-0-471-18970-1}}
*Newman, C., Leahy, R. L., Beck, A. T., Reilly-Harringon, N. A., Gyulai, L. (2002). ''Bipolar disorder: A cognitive therapy approach''. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. {{ISBN|978-1-55798-789-1}}
*Beck, A.T., Freeman, A., & Davis, D.D. (2003).   ''Cognitive therapy of personality disorders''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-57230-856-5}}
*Wright, J.H., Thase, M.E., Beck, A.T., & Ludgate, J.W. (2003).  ''Cognitive therapy with inpatients: Developing a cognitive milieu''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-0-89862-890-6}}
*Winterowd, C., Beck, A.T., & Gruener, D. (2003).  ''Cognitive therapy with chronic pain patients''. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. {{ISBN|978-0-8261-4595-6}}
*Beck, A.T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R.L. (2005).  ''Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective''. New York, NY: Basic Books. {{ISBN|978-0-465-00587-1}}
*Beck, A.T., Rector, N.A., Stolar, N., & Grant, P. (2008).  ''Schizophrenia: Cognitive theory, research, and therapy''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60623-018-3}}
*Wenzel, A., Brown, G. K., & Beck, A. T. (2008). ''Cognitive therapy for suicidal patients: Scientific and clinical applications''. Washington, D.C.: APA Books. {{ISBN|978-1-4338-0407-6}}
*Beck, A. T. & Alford, B. A. (2009). Depression: Causes and Treatments (2nd ed). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8122-1964-7}}
*Clark, D.A., & Beck, A.T. (2010).  ''Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: Science and practice''. New York, NY: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60623-434-1}}
*Creed, T.A., Reisweber, J., & Beck, A.T. (2011). ''Cognitive therapy for adolescents in school settings''. New York: Guildford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60918-133-8}}
*Clark, D. A., & Beck, A. T. (2012).''The anxiety and worry workbook: The cognitive behavioral solution''. New York: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|978-1-60623-918-6}}
*Wenzel, A., Liese, B.S., Beck, A.T., Friedman-Wheeler, D. (2012). ''Group cognitive therapy of addictions''. New York: Guildord Press. {{ISBN|978-1-4625-0566-1}}

=== Selected articles ===
*Beck, A.T., & Haigh, E. A.-P. (2014). "Advances in Cognitive Theory and Therapy: The Generic Cognitive Model". ''Annual Review of Clinical Psychology'', 10, 1–24. {{doi|10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153734}}
*Beck, A. T., & Bredemeier, K. (2016). "A Unified Model of Depression Integrating Clinical, Cognitive, Biological, and Evolutionary Perspectives". ''Clinical Psychological Science'', 4(4), 596–619. {{doi|10.1177/2167702616628523}}
*Beck, A. T. (2019). "A 60-Year Evolution of Cognitive Theory and Therapy". ''Perspectives on Psychological Science'', 14(1), 16–20. {{doi|10.1177/1745691618804187}}

==See also==
* David D. Burns

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=Aaron T Beck}}
{{Div col}}
*[http://www.beckinstitute.org Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research]
*[http://www.cttoday.org Cognitive Therapy Today] (Beck Institute's Blog)
*[http://www.academyofct.org Academy of Cognitive Therapy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313031601/http://www.academyofct.org/ |date=March 13, 2019 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170711151328/https://aaronbeckcenter.org/ Aaron T. Beck Psychopathology Research Center]
*[http://www.cpaaronbeck.com/ Centro de Psicología Aaron Beck España]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150618230345/http://www.psychotherapy.ro/ The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071012025153/http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/05/23/1/a-discussion-about-the-legacy-of-sigmund-freud Charlie Rose interview of Aaron T. Beck and others (video)]
*[http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/story/10.1146/multimedia.2012.11.06.15 Aaron T. Beck interviewed by daughter Judith Beck (video)]
{{Div col end}}

{{Psychotherapy}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Aaron T.}}
[[Category:Cognitive scientists]]
[[Category:Cognitive therapy]]

{{Sourceattribution|Aaron Beck|1}}