Rogers leaders respond to death of Dr. Aaron Beck, considered father of Cognitive Behavior Therapy
11/23/21 12:10:pm
Within hours of the news that Dr. Aaron Beck had died, many were crediting him for changing the shape of the psychiatry field. In a statement issued by his daughter, Dr. Judith Beck, she shared that the psychiatrist and groundbreaking psychotherapist passed away peacefully in his home on November 1 at the age of 100 surrounded by his family.
“His intellect and passion for his work continued until his last few days. My father dedicated his life to the development and testing of treatments to improve the lives of countless people throughout the world facing health and mental health challenges. In the 1960s, my father revolutionized the practice of psychotherapy through the development of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which is now one of the most widely adopted and studied treatments for anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. He continued trailblazing well into his 90s, working first with his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and then with colleagues at the Beck Institute Center for Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R) to develop a revolutionary treatment called Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy that has transformed the way that severe mental health conditions are conceptualized and treated. His decades of work have forever changed the field of mental health. ~ Dr. Judith Beck, president of the Beck Institute
Rogers experts shared the following reflections on his impact on the field:
“Dr. Beck had an enormous impact on our field. He was also a great man who generously gave time to young professionals in the field. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to have several conversations with him regarding cognitive therapy and CBT. He was always very supportive and encouraging. What an experience! He was like royalty.” ~ Brad Riemann, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer/Chief Operating Officer
“Aaron Beck was a giant of the field. We have been very fortunate to take a lot of what he has propagated and treat and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients. His work developing Cognitive Behavior Therapy has become the foundation of our treatment, and we see people get better because we use his techniques.” ~ Jerry Halverson, Chief Medical Officer
“Dr. Beck has had a tremendous influence on the field of psychology and on the core, evidence-based treatments we use at Rogers every day to improve the lives of our patients. We all owe Dr. Beck gratitude for questioning the approaches that were historically accepted and scientifically developing and providing empirical support for many of the treatments in widespread use today.” ~ Rachel Leonard, PhD, Executive Director of Clinical Strategy
“A truly extraordinary person and an intellectual giant whose contributions to the field were immeasurable. He made many of those contributions in an era when psychodynamic psychotherapy was the gold standard despite the lack of a strong evidence base for its efficacy, and his focus on what people were thinking in the moment was considered superfluous at best and heresy at worst. Most founders are well-suited to manage the withering criticism and continue their work, test their theories, and modify them when the data suggest that they should, rather than when opinion ran hot against them. Beck was exactly that kind of guy: a role model for all of us who seek to help others, as well as those who wish to practice scientifically. I will miss our regular lunches when he would absolutely grill me over some topic such as trichotillomania or Tourette Syndrome to the point where our allotted time would simply run out, and I would pack the lunch and eat it later since he never gave me a chance to take a single bite. He was very generous with his time and effusive with his praise: another prime example of how incredibly lucky and grateful I am for having crossed paths with such a luminary. I bought one of his books at a bookstore on my 21st birthday in Rockport, Massachusetts and read it cover to cover on the trip back to Long Island. An enormous influence of mine, and to later have that influence extended over the course of my academic career has been most fortunate indeed. We are all truly in his debt. Dr. Beck, you will most certainly be missed, but your influence will be felt forever.” ~ Martin Franklin, PhD, Clinical Director of Rogers’ Philadelphia clinic
“I had the great opportunity to work with Dr. Beck in the late ‘90s in my post-doctoral years at the University of Pennsylvania. At that time, Dr. Beck was working on one of his many passions, developing a CBT treatment for the prevention of suicide attempts. What people may not know about Dr. Beck, more than his vast body of work, is of how inquisitive, enthusiastic, and supportive he was as a mentor. He was always curious about what kind of work you were doing and what you were learning as a result. He was quick to send an email to comment on a recent publication or pose an interesting question. As famous and successful as he was, Dr. Beck was happy to meet and speak with anyone who was interested in learning. Students of psychology who approached him at a conference would come away delighted to find him welcoming and interested in them. He was a great and kindly mentor to so many of us in the field. His energy, compassion, and dedication to his life’s mission of bettering human lives persisted through his 100th birthday celebrated earlier this year. I am grateful for what he contributed both to my own career and to the wider field in which we work. I am thinking of how ironic it is now that I write this, just how many negative thoughts I am having about how this is not good enough to reflect just how much he has influenced the lives of clinicians and patients alike. Touché, ATB!” ~ Paula Young, PhD, Clinical Director in Skokie and Hinsdale
According to the New York Times, Dr. Beck wrote or co-wrote 22 books in all, on technical psychiatric topics, as well as love, anger, and chronic pain, including three with his daughter Judith. He clearly touched all disciplines of behavioral health and addiction treatment from medical to clinical psychology to nursing and others.
