A native of Rhode Island, Aaron Beck had an early interest in psychology. After graduating from Brown University, he embarked on a career in medicine at Yale University with the intention of specializing in psychiatry. Dissatisfied with classical psychoanalysis, he turned to modified psychoanalytic approaches and was particularly influenced by ego psychology advanced by Rapaport. Ego psychology directed his interest in cognition, and over time Beck abandoned the psychoanalytic framework and formulated his own cognitive theory-behavior therapy for patients with depression and other psychiatric disorders. He developed numerous measurement scales, including the Beck Depression Inventory, the… Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Self-Concept Test, which are widely used as diagnostic and research tools in the field. Beck continues to teach, consult, and write about the use of cognitive therapy in treating emotional disorders and other problems.
Aaron T. Beck, MD,is University Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and President of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy. He has authored more than 500 publications and has received numerous honors from professional and scientific organizations, including "America's Nobel," the Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award. Dr. Beck has worked extensively with personality disorders and has been an investigator on two studies using cognitive therapy with borderline personality disorder. nbsp; Arthur Freeman, EdD, ABPP, ACT,is Visiting Professor at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, and Clinical Professor at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic… Medicine. He has been the president of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy and of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy. He is a Distinguished Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and has earned diplomates in Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Psychology, and Family Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Freeman’s research and clinical interests include marital and family therapy, and cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. nbsp; Denise D. Davis, PhD,is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and has collaborated with Drs. Beck and Freeman and other associates of the Beck Center since completing an extramural postdoctoral fellowship there in 1984. A contributor to the first edition of this volume as well as to numerous other chapters, articles, and workshops on cognitive therapy, Dr. Davis was a founding editor of the journalCognitive and Behavioral Practice. She currently serves as Assistant Director of Clinical Training in Psychology at Vanderbilt University and has also maintained an independent practice of cognitive therapy for 20 years.