Aaron Beck is an American psychiatrist and professor emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is considered the father of cognitive therapy. Over the years, he has developed several groundbreaking theories that are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression and anxiety disorders. Beck is currently honorary president of his own Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Early biography
Aaron Beck was born on July 18, 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the youngest of four siblings in a family of Jewish immigrants who settled in the United States in the early 1900s. During his studies at school, Beck was interested in the humanities. Most of all, the boy was fascinated by psychology. In the local library, he read almost all books on mental and behavioral development.
Later, Aaron entered the American University of Brown at the Faculty of Psychology. In 1942 he graduated with honors and was elected a member of the oldest Phi Beta Kappa alumni society. Immediately after graduation, Beck decided to try his hand at journalism. He took a job as a freelance editor for The Brown Daily Herald. In 1945, the young man received the William Gaston Award for excellence in public speaking.
Beck quite successfully combined his publishing duties with his studies at Yale Medical School. Convinced that personality psychology is inextricably linked with anatomical features, he studied the structure of the human body every day. In 1946, Aaron received his second degree in medicine and concentrated on practical research.
Between 1946 and 1950, Beck completed his medical practice at the Osting Riggs Private Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts. Here he treated patients with the latest neuropsychiatric tools. In 1952, Aaron got a job as a medical assistant in the US Armed Forces, but a year later he decided to go back to science.
In 1954, Beck entered the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. During his studies, he met the leading chair of the department, Kenneth Appel, who had a significant impact on the entire future career of Aaron. As an influential psychoanalyst, the teacher helped his student to determine the main professional direction. It was at this time that Beck finally realized that he should connect his life with psychoanalysis.
Professional career
Aaron conducted his first major research in 1959 with his colleague Leon Saul. They developed a new inventory that they used to assess the "masochistic" hostility of the individual. The results of their work were subsequently published in leading medical journals. Later Beck continued his observations alone. As he interacted with patients in psychiatric clinics, he realized that people who are prone to depression most often seek encouragement and comfort from other members of society. In 1962, the scientist wrote a new work in which he collected personal recommendations on how to properly treat depressive disorders.
In addition, while working with patients suffering from depression, Beck found that they experienced streams of negative thoughts that arose completely spontaneously in their minds. He called this phenomenon "automatic thoughts." Subsequently, the psychoanalyst found out that such thoughts can be divided into three main categories: negative ideas about oneself, about the world and about the future. Aaron stated that such knowledge is interconnected as a kind of cognitive triad. And since depressed individuals devote a lot of time to sorting out "automatic thoughts", they begin to treat them as real events.
The scientist's conclusions helped save several dozen patients in psychiatric clinics from severe forms of depression. He helped them identify and evaluate spontaneously emerging thoughts. As a result, people started to feel much better. Beck was able to prove in practice that various personality disorders arise from distorted thinking. The author of theoretical manuals still believed that it was possible to cope with the negative of life. The main thing is to carefully analyze all thought processes every day and write them down on paper.
However, using the above methods, Aaron was able to treat not only depression, but also bipolar disorders, drug addiction, schizophrenia, aggression and fatigue syndromes. He has saved many patients with borderline personality disorder who have attempted suicide more than once.
In 1992, Beck received an honorary professorship from Temple University. He still regularly participates in scientific research, conducts symposia for young professionals, and also still collaborates with psychiatric organizations.
Hobbies and personal life
Aaron Beck has been fond of role-playing games for several years and even participates in championships among gamers. In addition, the scientist is interested in contemporary art. Together with his colleagues and family, he goes to museums, galleries and cultural centers every weekend.
Beck married an American woman named Phyllis in 1950. The famous scientist's wife was the first female judge in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court of Appeals. Together they raise four grown children: Roy, Judy, Dan and Alice.
Interestingly, Judy Beck followed in her father's footsteps and became an outstanding educator and clinician. In 1994, Aaron, together with his daughter, opened his own non-profit institute, within the walls of which scientists are engaged in research in the field of psychiatry.
The professor is also actively engaged in introspection. Twice a day for several years, he writes out his own negative thoughts, and then analyzes them. This helps him to stay positive and get rid of unnecessary worries in time.
