Cognitive Therapy of Depression (The Guilford Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology Series)

I ordered this book for work and when it arrived as scheduled and in good condition I was excited. I’ve shared it with my co workers and they too thought the book was informative!! Thank you so much!T. Carr

The book is old, and it is not easy reading but you can't beat Beck. Every word is such a treasure. I got so much out of this book. This book is for professionals only. For patients, this is way too technical.

Clear, thorough, understandable, and practical. Provides a workable way forward with realistic expectations.

Many depressed people have a negative self-image and are always expecting something bad to happen. Beck's theory is that this is the cause, rather than a result, of depression. The depressed make "depressogenic assumptions" and have to be shown that these are false. It sounds as if zealous Beckian therapists must spend a lot of time arguing with their patients."Cognitive Therapy of Depression" is an excellent book, obviouly written by a wise and experienced clinician. It reads as if directed at other professionals, and is full of sound advice to them.Like other neo-Freudians (and I would classify him as a neo-Freudian) Beck recommends ignoring the patient's childhood memories. I suspect this is an effort to distinguish them from the orthodox Freudians. Sometimes it makes sense but in cases it is like "apart from that Mrs. Lincoln how did you enjoy the play?" (For example childhood bereavement is well-documented as associated with depression).I thought Chapter 10 "Specific Techniques for Dealing with the Suicidal Patient" could have been improved or else the reader referred to a general psychiatry text. The authors seem undecided as to whether they are writing a comprehensive review of how to handle the suicidal or merely giving advice about the content of therapy sessions. Suicidal risk factors are covered in an incomplete way. Suicide hotlines are not mentioned.Chapter 14 on "Technical Problems" could be read with profit by anyone who works with the depressed.Chapter 17 "Cognitive Therapy and Anti-depressant Medications contains a wonderfully succinct and clear summary of the taxonomy and natural history of depression. (My copy want printed in 1979 but I did not think the information was outdated). It contains a frank and full list of the kind of patient who does NOT respond to cognitive therapy, which is basically the kind of patient psychotherapists avoid. (Although in non-academic real life we do have to spend time, often a lot of time, talking to such patients and have to know how to do it)Beck and his co-authors (all male judging by their first names) write in a pleasant, readable and old-fashioned style, with frequent references to "our clinic" and an assumption that the therapist is male. Most of the advice is completely in accordance with psychodynamic technique and common sense. The warm (but not too warm) and empathetic (but not too empathetic) therapist is to let the patient talk and to be nice to to her. The talking will uncover previously unsuspected conflicts, at which point the patient may show strong emotion, which is to be encouraged because it produces "catharsis" (sic). Freudian mechanisms of defense are assumed.One case described is a woman suffering from fatigue and lack of energy, which were finally found to be due to her struggle to avoid unpleasantness in her relationship with her husband. All was well when she learned to accept his imperfections. One detects a flavor of old Vienna.The biggest selling point of Beckian therapy has been its use of controlled trials to demonstrate its superiority to other brands of psychotherapy. Controlled trials run by psychotherapists are often in the same category as Dr Johnson's preaching woman and dancing dog. The evidence is well presented in Chapter 18 "Outcome Studies of Cognitive Therapy." Obviously you don't go to a book by Beck to get and completely unbiassed meta-analysis of the evidence for Beckian therapy, so you'd have to supplement this with following the reviews in the professional journals.

Beck is the architect of research in the area of depression and anxiety. This text is a must for every therapist!

The real deal for the work of Aaron Beck.

Great book

Anything by the master Dr. Aaron Beck is excellent. Very helpful and informative.