Aaron Beck
Aaron Beck
A psychiatrist who founded Cognitive Therapy. He argued that negative automatic thoughts play a central role in depression and anxiety, and developed a cognitive model showing that changing thoughts can influence emotions and behavior.
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Aaron Beck (Aaron T. Beck, 1921–2021)
Aaron Beck was an American psychiatrist and the founder of Cognitive Therapy, which provided the theoretical foundation for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), one of the most widely used forms of psychotherapy today.
Originally trained in psychoanalysis, Beck observed that negative automatic thoughts have a major influence on emotion, especially in depression. He proposed the cognitive triad of depression: negative views of the self, the world, and the future.
He also helped systematize the concept of cognitive distortions, identifying patterns such as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, catastrophizing, and mind reading. He developed therapeutic methods to help people recognize and revise these distorted patterns of thinking. Beck's cognitive therapy is one of the most scientifically supported treatments for depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other mental health conditions.
💡 Real-Life Example
People's emotions are shaped not by situations themselves, but by how they interpret those situations.
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This content is for educational purposes and does not replace professional medical diagnosis.