Cognitive therapy loses one of its "fathers": psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, one of the first to practice this form of psychotherapy, died at 100.
The first applications of Beck's theories at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s to help patients identify and reject negative irrational thoughts about themselves, the world, and the future.
Beck's approach is still one of the most popular for treating many types of psychological and psychiatric disorders.
Beck died at his home in Philadelphia, according to daughter Judith Beck, president of the Beck Institute, an organization of thousands of professionals who practice cognitive behavioral therapy.
"My father - recalled Judith Beck - has dedicated his life to the development and testing of treatments to improve the lives of countless people around the world who face health problems, transforming the field of mental health".
Unlike Freudian psychoanalysis, which emphasized the role of the subconscious and encouraged patients to deepen their memories, cognitive therapy deals with the present.
In his opinion, depression does not derive from masochism, as Freud believed, but from low self-esteem.
(Unioneonline / vl)
