PRESS RELEASE
JULY 15, 2021

BALA CYNWYD, PA – On July 18th, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BI) will celebrate the 100th birthday of its co-founder and President Emeritus, Dr. Aaron T. Beck. Dr. Beck is globally recognized as the father of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), after developing the revolutionary therapy at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s. CBT has since been found to be effective in treating a wide range of psychiatric disorders, psychological problems, and medical conditions with psychological components in over 2,000 clinical studies. In recognition of his work, The American Psychologist has called him “one of the five most influential psychotherapists of all time.”

“My father continues to be an inspiration to health and mental health practitioners, researchers, and academics all over the world,” said Dr. Judith Beck, President of Beck Institute and Dr. Beck’s daughter. “Even at 100 years of age, he is passionate about continuing his life’s work of alleviating human suffering through the development of evidence-based psychological therapies.” CBT is currently the most extensively researched and widely practiced form of psychotherapy in the world.

A prolific and productive researcher with a career spanning more than 70 years, Dr. Beck has published over 600 articles and authored or co-authored 25 books. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research and the Gustave O. Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine for “outstanding national achievement in improving personal health care services in the United States.”

His most recent work is the development of Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R), a revolutionary new practice that may change the future of psychotherapy. Originally developed to empower individuals given a diagnosis of schizophrenia, CT-R extends the principles of traditional CBT to help individuals suffering from extensive behavioral, social, and physical health challenges. Practitioners and researchers are now applying the underlying principles of CT-R to the treatment of depression, anxiety, substance use, self-injury, aggression and more. Dr. Beck is lead author on the recent book Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy for Serious Mental Health Conditions.