How Did CBT Start?

There is no one source of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). However Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis are two individuals who separately came up with ideas which many now see as forming the bedrock of CBT approaches.

At the link below you can here an account by Aaron Beck of how originally as a psychiatrist believing in pyschoanalytic theory he thought that depressed people were masochists who wanted to punish themselves. He then conducted research which showed that actually they weren't masochists, they wanted positive outcomes. So he started to develop a new cognitive theory of depression in which therapists tried to encourage 'patients' or 'clients' to manage or challenge the negative thoughts and negative views they had of themselves in  balanced and constructive ways. Sounds eminently more sensible and practical than psychoanalysis! As Aaron Beck describes in the interview, he then found that his patients got better much quicker and soon didn't need his help!

Listen to the audio below (I seem to find that it breaks into a song at the end don't ask me why that's not part of the interview!!!):-

 
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