Aaron T. Beck, M. D.

Aaron T. Beck, MD, is globally recognized as the father of cognitive therapy and one of the world's leading researchers in psychopathology. He has been credited with shaping the face of American psychiatry, and the American Psychologist has called him "one of the five most influential psychotherapists of all time."

Dr. Beck has developed a number of scales to measure psychopathology that are used broadly throughout the world. He has been a visiting scientist of the Medical Research Council at Oxford and a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale and Columbia, and is currently a visiting fellow of Wolfson College. He is also the honorary president of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a nonprofit organization of more than 800 certified cognitive therapists and 100 general members worldwide. His many professional honors include the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research and the Gustave O. Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine for "outstanding national achievement in improving personal health care services in the United States."