July 18th marked the second annual Aaron T. Beck Day, and we were so happy to hear what individuals around the world did to mark what would have been Dr. Beck’s 102nd birthday. We started Aaron T. Beck Day to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Beck and carry his legacy into the future. Each year, we ask individuals to do one thing to improve mental health in their communities, honoring Dr. Beck with a day of action.
Here are just a few of the wonderful projects individuals undertook:
- Karen R. Gresham MS, LPC, NCC, CSC of Montgomery, TX pledged to start a blog for parents to help their children with bullying, behavioral challenges, communication issues, and more. She also gave a talk to parents about childhood challenges at two middle schools in her community.
- Burak Aygör of Turkey, translated Beck Institute’s patient pamphlets into Turkish so that individuals in Turkey can learn about CBT and benefit from psychoeducation about various mental health and quality of life concerns. We are hoping to share these translations on our international resources page soon! If you would like permission to translate any of our patient pamphlets, please contact us at info@beckinstitute.org.
- Beck Institute faculty member Michael Williston, PsyD, from Philadelphia, PA, pledged to promote access to quality mental health services for people from low socioeconomic status communities.
- Dr. Pandit Devjyoti Sharma of India organized a mental health talk at the Government Children’s Home for Boys. They also provided a free depression screening test for individuals in need, advertised in the local newspaper.
- Christine Wilson, MA, from the UK shared information about Aaron T. Beck Day locally, and supported others to make a video about their experiences with CBT. You can view one of the videos here.
- Friend and mentee of Dr. Beck, Dr. Thomas Treadwell, pledged to present a Fellows Talk for The American Psychological Association Society of Group Psychology & Group Psychotherapy. The title of the talk is “Integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Psychodrama, Theory and Practice.” Dr. Treadwell will be sharing his talk with Beck Institute in late August.
We love how creative people were in finding ways to spread awareness of CBT and Dr. Beck’s work and benefit those in need.
During his lifetime, Dr. Beck authored or co-authored 25 books and published over 600 articles. He taught, advised, and mentored so many people who have gone on to make their own important contributions to the field of CBT and mental health. His influence and his impact on the wellbeing of countless individuals worldwide continues to inspire all of us at Beck Institute.
Did you do something to honor Dr. Beck? Email us at communications@beckinstitute.org and let us know what you did! We look forward to hearing from you.