Manualizing psychotherapy: Aaron T. Beck and the origins of Cognitive Therapy of Depression |
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Authors: | Rachael I Rosner |
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Institution: | 1. Independent Scholar, Boston, MA, USArachael@denenberg.com |
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Abstract: | AbstractThis paper examines the origins of psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck’s 1979 Cognitive Therapy of Depression (CTOD). CTOD was the first psychotherapy manual designed to be used in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Making psychotherapy amenable to the RCT design had been a ‘holy grail’ for leading American psychotherapy researchers since the late 1960s. Beck’s CTOD – which standardized his treatment so it could be compared with drug treatments in a clinical trial – delivered that holy grail, and ushered in the manualized treatment revolution. Manuals are now a sine qua non in psychotherapy research. In this paper, I explore some of the personal, political, and economic variables that made the idea of a manual irresistible to Beck and to those who first championed him. |
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Keywords: | Psychotherapy manual Beck’s CTOD history |
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