For the first annual Aaron T. Beck Day, people around the world pledged to improve mental health in their communities with acts of service. Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the father of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, passed away in 2021, a few months after his 100th birthday. He dedicated his life to helping people improve their mental health and urged the world to do the same. Aaron T. Beck Day is an annual day of action that brings together individuals with a common purpose. We received over 740 pledges, offering free talks, resources, therapy consultations, screenings, and so much more. We contacted some of the individuals who filled out our pledge form to learn how their projects went.
Insan Firdaus, Director of Cognitive Behavior Therapy Indonesia (CBTI), pledged:
“We are planning to celebrate Dr. Aaron T. Beck Day by giving a free talk and affordable workshops for the public and mental health professionals.”
Through Instagram Live, CBTI hosted a well-attended free talk on a variety of topics. You can learn more about the event and CBTI on their Instagram.
Psychologist Felicia Nechita of Romania pledged:
“I intend to create short videos or graphic presentations on topics such as preventing post-partum disorders, teaching about the importance of early interactions for healthy child development, preventing any form of child neglect and abuse, and other topics related to helping vulnerable mothers and infants. I have recently become a mother myself and I started researching child development themes. I came across so much suffering among mothers and small children in my community. I have a lot of trust and passion for CBT, and I am hoping that I will be able to use some of my knowledge to help those who are suffering.”
Dr. Nechita began working on her project on Aaron T. Beck Day and hopes to finish and distribute resources to parents in need by the end of 2022.
Dr. Nikolaos Kazantzis of Australia, a member of the Beck Institute International Advisory Committee (IAC), pledged:
“As editor of the practitioner journal “Cognitive and Behavioral Practice”, I will invite experts to reflect on different aspects of Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s career contributions and highlight these for the readership.”
As promised, Dr. Kazantzis oversaw the special commemorative issue about Dr. Aaron T. Beck.
Beck Institute president and co-founder Dr. Judith Beck and members of the IAC celebrated Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s legacy by creating a video. Barbara Marinelli, a longtime and invaluable administrative assistant to Dr. Aaron T. Beck, played an important role in enabling him to conduct some of his most important research. She wrote to Judy to share her thoughts on the video and on the day as a whole:
“I just watched the video honoring your dad today. The Global Day of Action is exactly what your dad had in mind when he stood beside my desk in ‘78 or ‘79 and shared what he envisioned for the future of Cognitive Therapy. He had [a] big white tablet on a stand that he was so fond of using when he wanted to make a point. On this day, he drew a big circle in the center of the tablet. He said this circle represented us in our offices located at 133 S 36th Street [at the University of Pennsylvania]. He then drew multiple smaller circles around the edges of the paper and then drew connecting lines to the center circle. These smaller circles represented Cognitive Therapy [later CBT] satellites that we would eventually see existing around the world. It was all connected. This was Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s goal and what a journey it was.”
Thank you to all who pledged and celebrated Aaron T. Beck Day. We look forward to celebrating with you next year.