Dr. Aaron Beck, father of cognitive therapy, dies at 100

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A groundbreaking psychotherapist known as the father of cognitive therapy has died at age 100. The Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy confirms that Dr. Aaron Beck died peacefully in his sleep at his Philadelphia home on Monday. Cognitive therapy helps patients to identify and dismiss irrational negative thoughts about themselves. Beck developed the treatment in the 1960s at the University of Pennsylvania. It soon revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of depression and other emotional disorders. Some critics called it superficial, but it became required training for psychiatry residents. Survivors include his wife, former state Judge Phyllis Beck, and four children.