{"id":2670,"date":"2023-05-01T11:47:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T15:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/?p=2670"},"modified":"2023-05-01T11:47:35","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T15:47:35","slug":"the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/eternal\/the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works","title":{"rendered":"The biography of Aaron Beck as a vivid example of how psychotherapy works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dr. Aaron Beck is a renowned American founder of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, who has proven the effectiveness of his methods in his own life.&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/uk\/eternal\/biografiya-aarona-beka-yaskravyj-pryklad-togo-shho-psyhoterapiya-diye\">Philadelphianka<\/a> will tell you about one of the top five most influential psychotherapists in world history, whose fate is particularly tied to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1be1ff66613\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #090909;color:#090909\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #090909;color:#090909\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1be1ff66613\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/eternal\/the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works\/#The_Son_of_Ukrainian_Immigrants\" >The Son of Ukrainian Immigrants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/eternal\/the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works\/#So_disillusioned_with_psychoanalysis_that_invented_a_new_direction\" >So disillusioned with psychoanalysis that invented a new direction&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/eternal\/the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works\/#He_felt_a_sense_of_anxiety_for_his_own_financial_well-being\" >He felt a sense of anxiety for his own financial well-being<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/eternal\/the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works\/#Has_written_over_600_articles_and_published_25_books\" >Has written over 600 articles and published 25 books<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Son_of_Ukrainian_Immigrants\"><\/span>The Son of Ukrainian Immigrants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>He was born in 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island. Aaron Beck came from a family of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. His father, Herschel Beck (Harry Beck), moved to the United States in 1906 from Proskurov (now the city of Khmelnytskyi) in Ukraine. His mother, Elizabeth Temkin, arrived in the United States from the Ukrainian city of Lyubetch (Chernihiv Oblast). The couple got married in 1909 and Aaron was their fourth child. As an adult and a professor, Beck noted that he grew up under the care of loving and attentive parents, which became a &#8220;problem&#8221; for him during his personal psychoanalysis. Beck could not give any examples of dissatisfaction or unresolved issues with his father or mother to his psychoanalyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2671\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In his childhood, Aaron suffered from a serious illness. As a result of a broken arm, he developed a blood infection that led to sepsis and put him in critical condition. Miraculously, he survived, but he seemed to develop a stutter and became extremely fearful of getting injured or undergoing surgery. Whenever Aaron found himself in situations related to these fears, he would immediately lose consciousness due to the intensity of his anxiety. Despite these challenges, Aaron continued to grow up, and he resolved to overcome his phobia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He achieved this by repeatedly exposing himself to the situations that made him uncomfortable. While studying at a medical institution, Aaron had a hard time avoiding visits to the operating room, which made him feel ill. Nonetheless, he persevered and kept going there. Eventually, his phobia faded away completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_disillusioned_with_psychoanalysis_that_invented_a_new_direction\"><\/span>So disillusioned with psychoanalysis that invented a new direction&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1942, Aaron Beck graduated from Brown University in Rhode Island. In 1946, he earned a Doctor of Medicine degree at Yale University. Despite receiving thorough psychoanalytic education and practicing for several years, Aaron Beck became disillusioned with Freudian psychoanalysis. In Beck&#8217;s view, it lacked scientific clarity, structure and evidence. He found his own direction and in the 1960s, while working at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Beck created cognitive therapy, a revolutionary approach to the study and treatment of emotional disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where psychoanalysis views neuroses as caused by unconscious factors that only become evident through psychoanalytic interpretation. Beck emphasized that the key to understanding and overcoming psychological problems lies in the conscious awareness of the patient. Rather than &#8220;digging up&#8221; conflicts and traumas in a patient&#8217;s unconscious past, Beck focused on their conscious thoughts, helping them to fight existing negative thoughts. Beck believed that patients should focus on the thoughts that arise in the present moment, analyze them, and change them to improve their lives. This was in contrast to Freudian psychoanalysis, where patients delved into childhood and searched for hidden inner conflicts. Beck also emphasized that patients can take an active role in their own psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, Beck rejected Freud&#8217;s theory that people become depressed because they need to suffer. According to Beck&#8217;s research, depression arises from low self-esteem rather than masochism. Beck&#8217;s cognitive therapy was a major breakthrough in the field of psychology and is still widely used today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-2.png 640w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-2-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aaron Beck developed a revolutionary method after noticing that his patients with depression often had distorted negative thoughts. This cognitive triad of depression consists of a person&#8217;s negative beliefs about themselves (such as &#8220;I&#8217;m worthless,&#8221; &#8220;I&#8217;m a failure&#8221;), a negative outlook on the world (&#8220;it&#8217;s cruel,&#8221; &#8220;it&#8217;s hostile&#8221;), and constant anticipation of bad things happening. As Beck noted, these &#8220;automatic&#8221; thoughts are formed in childhood and affect a person&#8217;s state of mind. Cognitive-behavioral therapy addresses them (unlike psychoanalysis) and helps find pleasant emotions and improve well-being. Aaron Beck&#8217;s method quickly gained popularity. In the 1990s in the United States, visiting a cognitive psychologist was as trendy as practicing yoga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"He_felt_a_sense_of_anxiety_for_his_own_financial_well-being\"><\/span>He felt a sense of anxiety for his own financial well-being<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At first, the new author&#8217;s method did not bring significant income to its &#8220;father&#8221;. Aaron Beck once recalled that when he rejected Freud&#8217;s methods, he felt anxious about his own financial well-being. After all, classical psychoanalysis takes years or even decades, and a psychoanalyst can make a living from just a few regular clients, while Beck&#8217;s method was &#8220;too fast&#8221; (maximum one year). That is, after a few sessions, satisfied patients would say that they began to see themselves and life differently and bid farewell to their savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;My profits were melting away before my very eyes,&#8221; summed up Beck<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The innovative professor had to look for additional work, but cognitive therapy eventually made him popular and wealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first, cognitive-behavioral therapy was used to overcome depression and improve patients&#8217; well-being by helping them change their thinking and behavior. Today, it is considered one of the most researched approaches to psychotherapy. Its effectiveness has been proven in the treatment of anxiety, eating disorders, insomnia, various addictions and other psychological problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"610\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-3.png 900w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-3-300x203.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-3-768x521.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-3-696x472.png 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aaron Beck with his daughter Judith Beck<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another significant contribution of the American psychotherapist Aaron Beck to psychiatry is his questionnaire, or Beck Depression Inventory (1961), which identifies more than 20 categories of symptoms and complaints for screening the severity of depression. This questionnaire has become one of the most popular tests of its kind for monitoring changes during depression treatment. Dr. Beck had many other developments in his favorite field as well. In 1994, Aaron Beck and his daughter Judith Beck founded the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Research on the outskirts of Philadelphia. He had the goal to popularize this therapy, studying its effectiveness and improving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Has_written_over_600_articles_and_published_25_books\"><\/span>Has written over 600 articles and published 25 books<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Aaron Beck is considered one of the five most influential psychotherapists in history, as well as a tireless champion of evidence-based medicine in the treatment of mental disorders. Like many experts in his field, he had favorite areas of focus, including depression, suicide, psychopathology and psychodiagnostics. Despite his advanced age, Aaron Beck remained actively engaged in scientific work until the end of his life. He authored over 600 articles in professional journals and published 25 books. The doctor noted that many of his contemporaries, who were still alive and had reached a similarly advanced age, had long since retired from their fields. Aaron, however, said that he was not thinking about his own age and accomplishments, but rather about what he still had left to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"297\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-1.png 400w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-1-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphianka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2023\/05\/image-1-80x60.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aaron Beck was a fashion enthusiast until the very end, having amassed a vast and colorful collection of ties-bowties<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Beck lived a long and fruitful life, having been married and a father to many children. At the time of his passing in 2021 at the age of 100, he had 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. His daughter noted that throughout his life, Dr. Beck dedicated himself to improving the lives of countless individuals worldwide who suffered from mental illness, by developing and applying various treatment methods. Through his decades of work in the field of cognitive-behavioral therapy, he significantly influenced the field of mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Beck considered his biography to be a shining example of the power of psychotherapy, as he himself had been a timid boy who became one of the most influential psychologists in the world. He recalled feeling like a traveling salesman peddling some sort of universal remedy, like snake oil, when he first began practicing. He remembered having to describe the essence of his method to each client and asking them to give him recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And in conclusion, Aaron Beck added: &#8220;Today, my daughter is the head of the institute named after me. Isn&#8217;t this proof that cognitive therapy really changes lives for the better?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Aaron Beck is a renowned American founder of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, who has proven the effectiveness of his methods in his own life.&nbsp; Philadelphianka will tell you about one of the top five most influential psychotherapists in world history, whose fate is particularly tied to Philadelphia. The Son of Ukrainian Immigrants He was born in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":291,"featured_media":2518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1035],"tags":[1413,1406,1405,1409,1410,1407,1411,1403,1412,1408,1401,1404,1402],"motype":[1045],"moformat":[127],"moimportance":[34],"class_list":{"0":"post-2670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-psychology-of-women","8":"tag-aaron-beck-once-recalled-that-when-he-rejected-freuds-methods","9":"tag-aaron-suffered-from-a-serious-illness-as-a-result-of-a-broken-arm","10":"tag-beck-could-not-give-any-examples-of-dissatisfaction","11":"tag-beck-rejected-freuds-theory-that-people-become-depressed-because-they-need-to-suffer","12":"tag-becks-cognitive-therapy-was-a-major-breakthrough-in-the-field-of-psychology-and-is-still-widely-used-today","13":"tag-he-achieved-this-by-repeatedly-exposing-himself-to-the-situations-that-made-him-uncomfortable","14":"tag-he-felt-a-sense-of-anxiety-for-his-own-financial-well-being","15":"tag-he-was-born-in-1921-in-providence","16":"tag-practicing-yoga","17":"tag-so-disillusioned-with-psychoanalysis-that-invented-a-new-direction","18":"tag-the-biography-of-aaron-beck-as-a-vivid-example-of-how-psychotherapy-works","19":"tag-the-couple-got-married-in-1909-and-aaron-was-their-fourth-child","20":"tag-the-son-of-ukrainian-immigrants","21":"motype-eternal","22":"moformat-longrid-korotka","23":"moimportance-golovna-novina"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2683,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670\/revisions\/2683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2670"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=2670"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=2670"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphianka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=2670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}