Dear Colleagues,
It has been so heartwarming to hear from so many of you. My brother, Dan Beck, and I really appreciate your kind words and messages about our father.
He had been bedridden for the past 10 months, having broken his hip in January. But his passion for his work kept him going. About 12 years or more ago, he teamed up with Paul Grant and colleagues (now at Beck Institute) to develop, test, refine, and study Recovery-Oriented Cognitive Therapy (CT-R) for individuals diagnosed with serious mental health conditions, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We’re convinced that his excitement for this work (which was greater than for anything else he did in his career) is what kept him alive, especially this year. He had an iron will to live, but his heart probably just gave out. He died peacefully in his sleep sometime around 5 am on November 1st, at the age of 100.
My dad was so proud of his colleagues throughout the world, whether he knew you personally or not. He lived long enough to see CBT becoming the dominant psychotherapy in most countries. But he didn’t devote his life to the development of CBT for fame or status. He truly wanted to alleviate suffering.
The best way to honor Aaron Beck? Keep working hard for the benefit of individuals, their families, their communities, and beyond.
Warm regards,
Judy Beck
