'Father of cognitive therapy' Aaron Beck dies at 100

American psychiatrist Aaron Temkin Beck,  widely regarded as the father of cognitive therapy, died on Monday at the age of 100.

Beck died at his home in Philadelphia, according to a statement from his daughter, Judith, the president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

"My father dedicated his life to the development and testing of treatments to improve the lives of countless people throughout the world facing health and mental health challenges," Beck said. "He truly transformed the field of mental health."

Beck's work revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of depression and other psychological disorders.

He died peacefully in his sleep, the Beck Institute said. Beck developed the field of cognitive therapy, a clinical form of psychotherapy, at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s. The institute trains patients to identify and dismiss irrational negative thoughts about themselves, the world and the future.

Different approach from Freud's psychoanalysis

Contrary to the psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud, which emphasized the role of the subconscious and memories, cognitive therapy is concerned with the present.

Throughout his early years as a psychiatrist, Beck noticed that his patients frequently expressed negative thoughts such as "I am incapable of," which he called "automatic thoughts."

Cognitive therapy says that turning around a self-disparaging inner monologue is key to alleviating many psychological problems, often in a dozen sessions or fewer.

Beck discovered that patients who learn to recognize the faulty logic of negative automatic thoughts such as "I'll always be a failure" or "no one likes me" could learn to overcome their fears and think more rationally, diminishing anxiety and improving mood.

Cognitive therapy sessions follow a strict format, which always includes setting goals and completing homework assignments.

Some skeptical of CBT's benefits

The therapy has its skeptics. Some psychologists called cognitive therapy superficial and little more than a morale booster, but it has become required training for psychiatry residents and the most widely practiced therapy method around the world.

Beck was born in July 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Ivy League schools Brown University and Yale University, and wrote or co-wrote around 20 books.

In 1994, he and Judith Beck founded the Beck Institute, which has since trained more than 25,000 mental health professionals in 130 countries. More than 2,000 studies have demonstrated the efficacy of CBT, the institute said.

lc/wmr (AFP, AP)