Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond [Hardcover]

Judith S. Beck Phd (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898628474 | ISBN-13: 978-0898628470 | Publication Date: May 19, 1995 | Edition: 1

Written in a clear, step-by-step style, this ideal teaching text makes cognitive therapy immediately accessible to students as well as to professionals new to cognitive therapy. The author uses a single case example to demonstrate how to conceptualize patients according to the cognitive model, plan treatment, conduct an initial session, structure therapy within and across sessions, incorporate homework, and use cognitive and behavioral techniques. Instructors will appreciate the book's emphasis on formulating cases, making decisions within therapy sessions, diagnosing problems in therapy, and using advanced techniques to modify core beliefs and underlying assumptions. Transcripts in every chapter richly illustrate the narrative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Beck has provided a clearly written description of cognitive therapy, with helpful examples, that fills a need in the process of teaching and training students of cognitive therapy."--James L. Shenk, PhD, California School of Professional Psychology, course: Individual Psychotherapy: Cognitive

"A superb textbook that fully realizes the promise of its title....This is essential reading for any student or therapist new to cognitive therapy, but even experienced therapists will find the author's ideas a rich source for enhanced skill-building." --Riki Koenigsberg, PhD in Readings

"This is a most useful manual for beginning students and clinicians in mental health professions. Its emphasis on the pragmatics of cognitive therapy makes it a valuable tool for therapy educators and supervisors. Among the existing books on cognitive therapy that emphasize its theoretical foundations, this stands out as a concise, practical guide.****"--Sara J. Knight, PhD, Northwestern University Medical Schools

"Judith Beck has written an uncommonly useful text both for therapists who want to learn about the concepts and procedures of cognitive therapy as well as for those involved in clinical teaching and supervision. All too often the phrase cognitive therapy' is applied to any effort at helping people construe their world in more productive ways. But it is more subtle and more complex than simply telling a person to stop thinking in a particular way. This lucid, informative book makes the job of understanding cognitive therapy and how to apply it a good deal clearer and easier. I look forward to assigning it to my graduate students."--Gerald C. Davison, PhD, Dean and Professor of Psychology, Annenberg School for Communication, Univ of Southern California; Past President, Assoc for Advancement of Behavior Therapy

"A practical, no-nonsense text that is extremely conprehensive and reader-friendly. Throughout the book, Ms. Beck offers clinical examples taken from actual transcripts of therapy sessions that clearly and practically illustrate each technique and concept...an important, timely, and valuable resource for psychiatric professionals who engage in formal cognitive behavioral therapy or who practice cognitive behavioral techniques in other contexts. This text provides a clarity of conceptualization and a review of techniques that will prove extremely useful to students as well as experienced therapists. This volume certainly will serve as the basic text for cognitive behavioral therapists and should be necessary reading for psychiatric professionals."--D. Thomas Blair in Journal of Psychosocial Nursing

About the Author

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., is Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in suburban Philadelphia, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been invloved in training cognitive therapists for the past 10 years. In addition to supervising intramural and extramural supervisees, she is an acclaimed speaker and has presented numerous workshops nationally and internationally on cognitive therapy for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorders, personality disorders, relapse prevention, and couples problems.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (May 19, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898628474
• ISBN-13: 978-0898628470
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior

More About the Author

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., is an eminent clinician and educator who previously served as director of Clinical Services at the Center for Cognitive Therapy and now serves as president of Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She is also clinical associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her doctoral degree from Penn in 1982.

Dr. Beck directs the three major functions of Beck Institute:

Professional education and training in cognitive therapy
Clinical care
Research

Professional activities

Dr. Beck divides her time among administration, supervision and teaching, clinical work, program development, research, and writing. She has been a consultant for several National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) studies, has developed widely adopted assessment scales for children and adolescents, and has presented hundreds of workshops nationally and internationally on various applications of cognitive therapy. She is also a Distinguished Founding Fellow and Past President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

Publications

Dr. Beck has written nearly 100 articles and chapters on different aspects of cognitive therapy. She is the author of the primary text in the field, which has been translated into 20 languages, as well as books, workbooks, and pamphlets for consumers. Her publications include:

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond (2nd ed)
Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems: What to Do When the Basics Don't Work
The Oxford Textbook of Psychotherapy
Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders
The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
The Beck Diet Solution Weight Loss Workbook
The Complete Beck Diet for Life

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for the literate patient, December 16, 2001

By 

me (Foster city, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond (Hardcover)

I was introduced to cognitive therapy by a therapist
who recommended David Burns's popular "Feeling Good
Handbook". That is certainly a good book to start with,
but I wanted to learn more so I went to a bookstore and
found this book by Judith Beck. It is actually a textbook
for therapists and is not addressed to patients at all.
Nevertheless I have found it very useful because it is
much more structured than Burns's books. I particularly
found her schema of automatic thoughts (also found in
Burns), intermediate beliefs and core beliefs (the latter
two not found in Burns) to be very helpful. My personal
conclusion is that Burns's less disciplined approach is
probably helpful for simpler kinds of problems, whereas
Beck's formalism is going to be more relevant once you
discover that you want or need to get down below the
surface. The strength of Burns's book is he provides
lots of exercises. Since Beck's book is a text for
the therapist, it does not have exercises for the
patient reading it as self help. If you are reasonably
dedicated you can (and must) create your own exercises.
If you think you can make that bridge from text to
self help, then this may be a good book for you.

[ By the way, I think that Burns's discussion of
communication techniques in his "Feeling Good Handbook"
is the single most useful treatment of that subject I
have found for the single person (he doesn't consider
how committed couples can work on their communication
issues together, but there are lots of couples books
for that).]

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for clinicians learning Cognitive Therapy, December 21, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond (Hardcover)

A concise and comprehensive book that provides a basic understanding of cognitive therapy written by one of the leading cognitive therapists. Written with the beginner in mind, it is the only book I have found that provides specific instructions in actually DOING cognitive therapy with clients. Beck takes the reader from the initial session, through case conceptualization, specific interventions, to terminitation. There is even a section on trouble-shooting that is especially useful for students who may have little experience. One of the greatest benefits of the book is that it is written like a manual that beginners can use as a foundation for developing their own style of therapy. If you are a graduate student in a clinical training program, you should have this book whether you conduct cognitive therapy or not.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference, June 13, 2002

By 

Joe (Dallas, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond (Hardcover)

This is an excellent introductory source for anyone who is interested in learning Cognitive Therapy. I am a Master's level Professional Counselor in training, and therefore, needed to learn the basics of Cognitive Therapy. The book progresses from the basics of Cognitive Therapy to using advanced techniques. One of the greatest challenges for a Cognitive Therapist is to "teach" the client how to practice Cogntive techniques on their own. Dr. beck does a great job of explaining the rationale, as well as ways to empower the client to be their own therapist.