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Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond

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Written in a clear, step-by-step style, this ideal teaching text makes cognitive therapy immediately accessible to students as well as to professionals new to cognitive therapy. The author uses a single case example to demonstrate how to conceptualize patients according to the cognitive model, plan treatment, conduct an initial session, structure therapy within and across sessions, incorporate homework, and use cognitive and behavioral techniques. Instructors will appreciate the book's emphasis on formulating cases, making decisions within therapy sessions, diagnosing problems in therapy, and using advanced techniques to modify core beliefs and underlying assumptions. Transcripts in every chapter richly illustrate the narrative.

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

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About the author

Judith S. Beck

38 books138 followers
Dr. Beck has written nearly 100 articles and chapters on different aspects of cognitive therapy. She is the author of the primary text in the field, which has been translated into 20 languages, as well as books, workbooks, and pamphlets for consumers.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., is an eminent clinician and educator who previously served as director of Clinical Services at the Center for Cognitive Therapy and now serves as president of Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She is also clinical associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her doctoral degree from Penn in 1982.
Dr. Beck directs the three major functions of Beck Institute, professional education and training in cognitive therapy, clinical care and outreach.

Dr. Beck divides her time among administration, supervision and teaching, clinical work, program development, research, and writing. She has been a consultant for several National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) studies, has developed widely adopted assessment scales for children and adolescents, and has presented hundreds of workshops nationally and internationally on various applications of cognitive therapy. She is also a Distinguished Founding Fellow and Past President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

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5 stars
1,438 (44%)
4 stars
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3 stars
459 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
Profile Image for Mohammed Abbas.
186 reviews211 followers
May 9, 2021
كتاب جيد عن العلاج المعرفي الذي يركز بشكل كبير على تغيير المعتقدات السلبية لدى المريض أو المضطرب نفسيا ومساعدته على التفكير بشكل منطقي بهدف تغيير سلوكياته وعاداته
مؤلفة الكتاب هي جوديث بيك، ولا أدري أن كان لها صلة قرابة بمؤسس مدرسة العلاج المعرفي آرون بيك أم لا
ميزة الكتاب هي التركيز على التطبيق العملي من خلال حالة مريضة مع عرض نماذج لحوار المعالج معها من أجل تغيير أفكارها
لا يمكنني تقييم العلاج المعرفي بالطبع، لكن من خلال قراءتي للعمل أعتقد أنه لا يناسب فئات معينة كالأطفال مثلا أو مرضى الفصام، وهو ما تعترف به الكاتب على استحياء
بوجه عام كتاب جيد، الترجمة مميزة وفكرة أن يكون الحوار بالعامية لم تكن سيئة
Profile Image for الشناوي محمد جبر.
1,267 reviews308 followers
July 10, 2017
العلاج المعرفي "الأسس والأبعاد"
جوديث بيك
.......................
هذا الكتاب يقع في أكثر من خمسمائة صفحة، أغلبها عبارة عن حوارات بين الطبيب المعالج ومريضة بقوم بإرشادها للعلاج علي أسس من علم النفس المعرفي، وهذا الحوار تم ترجمته بالعامية المصرية لجعله اكثر تلقائية بالنسبة للقارئ، وقد أسهب المؤلف في تفاصيل الحوارات بين المعالج والمريضة كإرشاد لممارسي هذا النوع من العلاج، إلا أن هذا الجزء _ وهو يشكل أغلب الكتاب _ لا أعتقد انه يشكل أهمية بالغة للقاريء العادي، لذلك فالقارئ العادي لن يحتاج من هذا الكتاب أن يقرأ كل صفحاته، بل سيحتاج ففقط التعرف علي الأفكار الرئيسية للكتاب والتي لا تشكل من عدد صفحاته إلا الخمس تقريب��، وهذه الأفكار الرئيسية فيما يلي اختصارها.
تأسس العلاج المعرفي بواسطة آرون بيك في جامعة بنسلفانيا في أوائل الستينات كعلاج منظم ومختصر ومتمركز حول الحاضر لمرض الاكتئاب، وهو موجه أساسا إلي التعامل مع مشاكل المريض الحالية مع إعادة تشكيل التفكير السلبي والسلوك المترتب عليه.
يفترض النموذج المعرفي أن التفكير المشوه والسلبي هو الغالب في معظم الاضطرابات النفسية، وإن تعديل التفكير يؤدي إلي تحسن في السلوك. وينشد المعالج إلي تغيير طريقة تفكير المريض ومعتقداته بهدف إحداث تغيير دائم في مشاعره وسلوكه.
لكل إنسان معتقدات جوهرية وأفكار تلقائية هما _ المعتقدات الجوهرية والأفكار التلقائية _ ما يحكم سلوك الإنسان ومشاعره واتجهاته ويحددان طرق تفكيره سلبا وإيجابا، وعن طريقها يمكن إحداث تغيير تدريجي في السلوك.
المعتقدات الجوهرية هي أكثر أفكار الإنسان مركزية عن النفس، ويشار إليها بالمخططات أو المنظومات المعرفية. تغيير الاعتقاد يصاحبه تعديل في السلوك، وهذا التعديل في السلوك يؤدي إلي مزيد من التغيير في الاعتقاد، وهذه العلاقة المتبادلة بين الاعتقاد والسلوك تجعل العلاج السلوكي المعرفي سهلا.
بتسليط الضوء علي أفكارك التلقائية، لن تتمكن فقط من تعزيز مهاراتك العلاجية، بل سيمكنك أيضا أن تعدل من أفكارك المعطلة، والتي تؤثر علي مزاجك (وسلوكك)، وتجعل نفسك أكثر قدرة علي التعلم.
....................
Profile Image for Sheri.
1,282 reviews
September 3, 2022
So this is a recommended book for a class I am taking this fall, but on the syllabus we only read Chapter 3...in an effort not to be a complete sloth this week, I read everything BUT Chapter 3.

I have been using CBT skills my whole life personally (they are ver intuitive to me) and recently employing CBT with consuers as a novice therapist. I thought I had a decent grasp and am also very aware that I am not yet very good at therapy (and reframing those thoughts; I am far from the worst therapist that ever was while also being far from the best therapist that I can be).

This is the first whole training book on CBT that I had read and the emphasis on skills and rationale is very different from the theoretical material with which I am more familiar. It is full of useful lists of questions and suggestions, particularly when working with folks who are stuck or more emotionally vested in their dysfunctional thinking.

Particularly, I am looking forward to being much more deliberate in session (setting agendas! who'd have thought?) as well as utilizing homework more deliberatly.

Overall it is a very useful text and I think will be helpful as a reference material as I start to build up my caseload again this fall.
Profile Image for Jeremy.
638 reviews33 followers
November 14, 2012

Ch 2
What did you think about the session? Was there anything that bothered you, or you thought I misunderstood? Is there anything you want to do differently next time?

What is the evidence that your thought is true? What is the evidence on the other side?
What is an alternative way of viewing this situation?
What is the worst that could happen, and how could you cope if it did? What's the best that could happen? What's the most realistic outcome of this situation?
What is the effect of believing your automatic thought, and what could be the effect of changing your thinking?
If your friend or family member were in this situation and had the same automatic thought, what advice would you give him or her?
What should you do?

What are some of your strengths and positive qualities?

Ch 13
Changing rules and attitudes into assumption form makes them easier to evaluate
e.g. I should do things myself/It’s terrible to ask for help/I shouldn’t ask for help → If I ask
for help, it means I’m incompetent
Beliefs are:
- Ideas, not necessarily truths
- Are learned, so they can be unlearned or modified

Ch 20
- Do I appropriately and gently interrupt the patient when needed, or do we spend too much time on unproductive discourse?
- Do we not only identify key cognitions, but also evaluate and respond to them?
- Do I avoid assuming a priori that the patient’s cognitions are distorted? Do I use guided discovery and avoid persuasion and challenge?
- Having collaboratively formulated an alternative response, do I check to see how much the patient believed it? Does his emotional distress decrease?

Ch 21
Do not try to eliminate negative emotion, try to reduce dysfunctional degrees of emotion
Core belief themes: helplessness, unlovability, worthlessness
Profile Image for Jeanne.
1,142 reviews86 followers
June 26, 2023
Judith Beck's father is more well-known than his daughter, but her Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond is lovely. It is thoughtful, carefully outlining the steps to help therapists recognize and implement the steps necessary to help therapists help their clients change. She used two cases and copious transcripts from these, illustrating the strategies she used (85-90% are from Abe rather than Maria). Video and transcripts of two sessions in their work together is also available, as is her case conceptualization and their treatment plan. Beck included 60-100 figures and tables concretely illustrating her process and work with Abe.

Judith Beck's father was humble, respectful, and wise. I saw him and brash and deaf Albert Ellis several times, the latter of whom had all the poor communication skills of someone who could not hear the person next to him. Although I've seen her in person only once, Judith Beck has her father's interpersonal style. She was graceful throughout, sharing power with her clients, readily admitting errors.

This is from the end of the book, as she talks about problems in therapy, before outlining questions that one might ask to get treatment on a better start:

"You shouldn't be able to help every client (or help every client enough. I certainly haven't helped every client over the course of my career. It's not reasonable to expect yourself to avoid problems. It is reasonable to develop your skills in uncovering problems, specifying them, conceptualizing how they arose, and developing a plan to remediate them" (p. 365, italics in original).

Directive therapies are not for everyone, but if they are for you, this may be the best book on teaching a therapy approach that I've seen.
Profile Image for Bryan.
49 reviews
February 28, 2013
This is a very solid book. This book gives a very comprehensive look at most aspects of CBT as well as offering some dialogue and examples. This is the book I chose to use in my Masters Level CBT class and I got very good reviews from students. This book offered a case example that spanned the entire book so you really get an idea from session to session how the techniques evolve and when to apply them. The dialogue is easy to follow and it helps new therapists to "hear" how these topics are approached. This book truly, is in many ways the new revision of the "how to" manual for new therapists and old.

My only critique is that the book primarily focuses on depression in adults and touches very little on anything else. While I know that a comprehensive book on all the variations on where CBT can be used would be a 4000 page book, it would have been nice to have some information related to these subjects.
Profile Image for Диляна Георгиева.
Author 45 books58 followers
December 10, 2018
Трудно ми е, но като бивш професионален читател, ще се опитам да разгранича личното си мнение от качествата на книгата. Ще започна с второто.
Ако имате интерес към прилагането на КПТ, това е чудесно четиво! Джудит Бек отлично синтезира идеите на баща си и също като самата КПТ представя една безобразно добре структурирана книга, която разбива основните елементи, които трябва да се знаят за практикуването на този тип терапия.
Личното ми мнение е за самата КПТ. Посегнах към книгата, защото съм тъп оптимист и исках да дам шанс на този тип терапия, но от нея излязох само втрещена и ужасена! :) Та свърши ми прекрасна работа - вече съм непоклатимо убедена, че не искам да си имам вземане-даване с КПТ, макар че съвременните ѝ вариант, предполагам (или силно се надявам и моля), не са толкова ригидни.

И все пак искам да подчертая, че все още държа на силната си препоръка на "Да се чувстваш добре" - най-добрата слефхелп книга за депресията, която оставя и едно много по-човешко впечатление за КПТ.
Profile Image for Richard.
259 reviews69 followers
February 19, 2012
Cognitive Behavior Therapy: nothing was ever so practical, so grounded, or so boring. Beck and Beck have reduced psychotherapy to....one of the most boring practices on the planet. The frustrating part is that it works. Oh well. Did I mention that it's boring? But it works, thus 3 stars.
Profile Image for Akgul.
166 reviews
November 6, 2022
I think this is the first book I have read for my studies. I surprisingly enjoyed it and learned a lot from the book.
Profile Image for Aneri.
42 reviews2 followers
June 27, 2024
Labai praktiška ir naudinga knyga KET taikymui gyvenime sau ir kitiems.
Profile Image for Ayşegül.
24 reviews
May 23, 2020
Kitap kendi dilinde okunduğunda daha fazla verim alınacağına eminim, çünkü çeviri dili okunabilirlikten uzak.
Profile Image for Halime.
224 reviews
November 2, 2022
Did I start this book 4 months ago at the start of my uni semester?
Yes

Did I just finish it one day before my exam?
Also yes.
Profile Image for Dawn.
40 reviews26 followers
July 6, 2024
Judith Beck’s “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Basics and Beyond” (Third Edition) is a must-have for any clinician looking to deepen their understanding and application of CBT. This comprehensive guide stands out with its practical approach, offering practice exercises at the end of each chapter that are invaluable for reinforcing learning and honing skills.
One of the book’s highlights is the inclusion of resources and links to the Beck Institute website, providing readers with access to a wealth of additional materials and support. The case summary and treatment plan at the end of the book serve as excellent examples of how to implement CBT techniques in real-world scenarios.
Overall, this edition is an excellent reference for clinicians, blending theoretical foundations with practical tools to effectively integrate CBT into their practice. Highly recommended for both new and experienced practitioners!
Profile Image for Crinoid.
71 reviews
May 7, 2021
A very useful guide, I got lots of prompts and pointers from it. It reads a bit like a recipe from a cookbook (that was written by a robot) but that just goes to show how structured CBT is meant to be. It's actually very useful that it's so step-by-step and explains everything that you would ideally do in practice, because it demystifies the process. It's definitely more cognitive than behavioural but overall it gives you a good idea of what you need to cover on both fronts. The case study used to illustrate the techniques is a low-mood presentation and the explanations are mostly around this type of problem, although adaptations for anxiety disorders and personality disorders are sometimes included.

I have to say, some of the dialogue excerpts came across as pretty dismissive of the client's worries and wishes. I understand the need to make sure that you cover the 'important' stuff, but I felt like the book promotes this idea that it is better to prioritise what 'needs' to be done in session and get to what the patient wants to discuss if and when there is time left for it.
Profile Image for Noah Tiegs.
97 reviews
October 15, 2023
Hahahahahha Judith Beck the icon that you are. I feel kind of insane to rate what is essentially a manual to Cognitive Behavior Therapy five stars but like… it was so good. So clear in what the goals of CBT is, how you tackle each of those goals, what the terms in CBT mean, all of that. And also, the excerpts she used to illustrate what she’s explaining were SO well chosen. Really effective book.

Oh, and I continually come back this from the first chapter: “I’d like you to know that I wasn’t a very good therapist when I first started doing CBT. How could it have been any different? I had never done therapy before. So, give yourself a break if you’re just starting out or if you’re fairly new to CBT. You’re in good company.” Like that’s very very nice of you Dr. Beck thank you 🥹
Profile Image for Asta.
169 reviews18 followers
December 6, 2022
Having already read several books on CBT, I did not expect Judith Beck's book would have much to offer. I was pleasantly surprised by her approach, which taught me to implement several familiar CBT techniques more effectively. I liked how she highlights the importance of individual case conceptualization, working transparently, and collaboratively choosing the techniques with the client.

The chapter on mindfulness I found lacking, but luckily there are better books on the subject. As Beck herself emphasizes, the therapist is never complete, and must continuously educate oneself.

Do note that the book centers on treating unipolar depression, so for anything else one must significantly adapt the approach. Luckily Beck also gives good tips on further reading.
Profile Image for Mehrdad M..
85 reviews16 followers
June 14, 2024
“The way people get better is to make small changes in their behavior and thinking everyday”

درمان شناختی‌-رفتاری
CBT
برای من تجسم امیدواری در زندگی است. فلسفه‌ای روشن، شفاف و کاربردی که چاره‌ای‌ست برای بسیاری از مشکلات ریز و درشت زندگی آدمیزادی.

این رویکردِ درمانی بر مبنای «افکار» ما انسان‌ها کار می‌کند؛ باورهای عمیقی که سفت‌وسخت به آن‌ها چسبیده‌ایم، قواعد و اصول و بایدهایی که برای خود تعیین کرده‌ایم و فکرهای گذرای خودکاری که دائم در ذهن ما رفت‌وآمد می‌کنند. این «افکار» عینکی می‌شوند جلوی چشمان ذهن، تا دنیا و اتفاقاتش را چگونه ببیند و چه برداشتی از آنها کند.
این عینک می‌تواند قرمز باشد و در همه‌چیز حادثه‌ای قریب‌الوقوع و اضطرابی بی‌نهایت ببیند، یا سیاه، تا ناامیدی و یأس از هر خرده‌اتفاقی بیرون بزند. چیزی که واضح است این است که آنچه ما از دنیا، دیگران و حتی خودمان برداشت می‌کنیم، "می‌تواند" هیچ تناسبی با واقعیتِ موجود نداشته باشد، حتی اگر به چشم "ما" حقیقت مطلق بیاید.

در ادامه، این «افکار» در رابطه‌ای دو��رفه باعث می‌شوند احساسات، حالت‌های بدنی و یا میل به رفتارهای خاصی سراغ ما بیایند. واضح است که هرچه بیشتر «افکار» مُعَوج و دور-از-واقعیت باشند، مجموعه‌ای که از پی‌اش می‌آید هم ناکارآمدتر خواهد بود. ناکارآمد برای چه؟ برای زندگی در این دنیا با واقعیت‌ها و قوانینی که دارد. نه دنیایی خیالی که خودمان در ذهن ساخته‌ایم.

در رویکردی که جودیث بک در این کتاب ارائه می‌دهد «ذهنیت رشد» نقشی کلید دارد. باور به اینکه تغییر در زندگی به مثابه‌ی تمرینی نیازمند صبر و با قدم‌های کوچکِ کودکانه است. زمانی که ارزش‌هایتان در زندگی شفاف شود، هدف‌هایی در مسیر آن شکل می‌گیرند و از آنجا شما فقط باید شهامت این را داشته باشید که از برداشتن کوچکترین قدم‌ها در مسیر ارزشمند خودتان خجالت نکشید؛ چونکه همان قدمِ شاید-کوچک هم شایسته‌ی تقدیر برای انگیزه‌ی ادامه‌دادن است.

در هر حال ما کنترلی بر خیلی از وقایع زندگی نداریم، اما تصمیم اینکه به آن چه واکنشی نشان دهیم در دست ماست. درمان شناختی‌رفتاری با انبوهی پشتوانه‌ی علمی تلاش می‌کند واکنش‌های ناسالمی که باعث افسردگی، اضطراب، وسواس و بسیاری دیگر از اختلال‌هایی که کیفیت زندگی را می‌بلعند، می‌شوند را اصلاح کند. اگر عینک مذکور به حد معقولی شفاف شود و رنگ واقعی هرچیز به درستی عیان شود، کمتر از پا می‌افتیم، گسترده‌تر به زندگی نگاه می‌کنیم و میان این تجربه‌ی یک‌بار-برای-همیشه، معناداری زندگی را انتخاب می‌کنیم. حتی اگر رنج هم در کنارش باشد.
Profile Image for The Angry Lawn Gnome.
596 reviews20 followers
August 7, 2011
An excellent overview of the topic, from its history, to its empirical verification and effectiveness (so claimed)to the methodology, which I would liken to an invading army, smashing all before its path to achieve certain tactical goals. In all probability Judith gives dear ol' Dad a smidgen more credit than he probably deserves as pioneering trailblazer, and shorts Albert Ellis and others. But so what? I'd probably do the same.

Some sections were a bit more heavy lifting than my philistine background could easily assimilate, but overall I'd say an average reader of average intelligence comes away from this survey with a very good idea of this brand of therapy does and does not offer, and of the theory behind it.
28 reviews
August 5, 2018
A comprehensive CBT manual. Very helpful, easy to read, and straight forward. I will refer to it often. Though I don't like the idea of solely using CBT as a therapy, the tools are incredibly valuable.
Profile Image for Moneim.
117 reviews42 followers
November 28, 2020
الحقيقة انه مبذول فيه جهد محترم في الترجمة، كتاب تاسيسي للعلاج المعرفي السلوكي بمثال تخيلي لحالة بسيطة وواضحة نوعا ما، لا يغني ولا يسمن من جوع التطبيق والتجريب والمحاكاة للمتخصصين ولا يناسب غير المتخصصين ولا حتي لهواه لمجال السيكلوجي والعلاج النفسي.
Profile Image for Adrian.
397 reviews3 followers
October 31, 2018
Basic CBT skills book. Highly recommend it for beginners.
Profile Image for Dmitry.
1,023 reviews78 followers
July 14, 2021
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Мне трудно оценить ценность этой книги, т.к. она о��иентирована на практикующих психотерапевтов, а не на обычных читателей, кому просто хочется расширить своё понимание человеческой психологии, т.е. для кого психология не является профессиональной деятельностью. Таким людям я бы всячески не советовал покупать эту книгу, ибо с очень большой вероятностью они бросят чтение уже на первой или второй главе.

Итак, хотя эта книга не является учебником, она, тем не менее, призвана научить или показать суть метода когнитивно-поведенческой терапии. Поэтому мы имеем пошаговое объяснение каждого действия, каждой детали и каждого вопроса который может возникнуть при использовании этого метода.

Я не нашёл в книге привычной структуры «от простого к сложному» т.е. постепенное усложнение материала по ходу знакомства с принц��пами работы. Тут скорее используется стиль, когда в книге разбирается один какой-то метод, но не направление деятельности в котором он используется. К примеру, инструменты маркетингового исследования, но не маркетинг в целом. А это означает, что вначале автор коротко описывает проблему, а дальше, большая часть главы, будет посвящена примерам, призванные в качестве иллюстрации. Плюс, рассмотрение обозначенного вопроса с разных точек зрения.

В данной книге представлено огромное количество диалогов, т.е. текстовая версия общения автора с клиентом, где будет показано, как автор использует все возможности, что предоставляет когнитивно-поведенческая терапия на практике.

В принципе, не будучи специалистом в этой области, предлагаемые автором методы, а также диалоги, что иллюстрируют сказанное автором, выглядят довольно убедительными. Они чем-то напоминают общение психоаналитика с клиентом, который лежит на знаменитой фрейдовской кушетке. Разумеется, это верно лишь отчасти, ибо в описываемом методе используется множество инструментов, многие из которых требуют от клиента более активного действия, а не простое перечисление того, что приходит в голову. К примеру, большую роль будут играть домашние задания, которые терапевт даёт клиенту, чтобы тот прорабатывал их вне стен кабинета психотерапевта. Можно даже сказать, что в данном методе психотерапевт лишь направляет клиента, задаёт вопросы, а большую часть работы совершает именно клиент.

Так же стоит отметить, что в книге будет использоваться только проблема, связанна с депрессией, т.е. в качестве примера будут приводиться диалоги и решаться проблема человека страдающего депрессией. Из-за чего трудно представить, как эта методика работает в других случаях, и какие случаи могут использовать когнитивно-поведенческую терапию.

В заключении стоит упомянуть, что главная проблема, с которой сталкивается психотерапевт в данной книге и которую она пытается решить, это проблема автоматических мыслей, точнее, их ликвидация или изменение. Ибо благодаря негативным автоматическим мыслям, которые возникают зачастую незаметно, человек погружается в спираль депрессии. Возможно именно благодаря данной теме, книгу было относительно интересно читать неспециалисту, т.е. мне. Автор интересно показывает, как благодаря упражнениям можно добиться изменения негативных установок в отношении себя и как подобные люди искажают объективную реальность, вводя себя в состояние депрессии, т.е. убеждая, что всё плохо и будет только хуже и хуже. Многие упражнения, которые описывает автор, способны как бы разгладить эти искажения.

It is difficult for me to evaluate the usefulness of this book because it is aimed at practicing psychotherapists, not at ordinary readers who simply want to broaden their understanding of human psychology, i.e. for whom psychology is not a professional activity. To such people, I would strongly advise against buying this book because it is very likely that they will give up reading it as early as the first or second chapter.

So, although this book is not a textbook, it is nevertheless intended to teach or show the essence of the cognitive-behavioral therapy method. Therefore, we have a step-by-step explanation of every action, every detail, and every question that may arise when using this method.

I did not find in the book the usual "from simple to complex" structure, i.e. a gradual increase in the complexity of the material as you get to know the principles of work. Rather, it uses a style in which the book parses a particular method, but not the line of business in which it is used. For example, the tools of market research, but not marketing in general. And this means that at the beginning the author briefly describes the problem, and then, most of the chapter will be devoted to examples, designed as illustrations. Plus, the consideration of the designated issue from different points of view.

This book presents a huge number of dialogues, i.e. a text version of the author's communication with the client, which will show how the author uses all the possibilities that cognitive-behavioral therapy provides in practice.

In principle, being no specialist in this field, the methods offered by the author, as well as the dialogues that illustrate what the author has said, seem quite convincing. They somewhat resemble the communication of a psychoanalyst with a client who is lying on the famous Freudian couch. Of course, this is only partly true since the method described uses many tools, many of which require the client to be more active rather than simply enumerating what comes to mind. For example, homework assignments, which the therapist gives the client to work on outside of the therapist's office, will play a major role. It is even possible to say that in this method, the therapist only guides the client and asks questions, while it is the client who does most of the work.

It is also worth noting that the book will use only the problem associated with depression. Because of this, it is difficult to imagine how this technique works in other cases, and what cases can use cognitive-behavioral therapy.

In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the main problem faced by the psychotherapist in this book, which she tries to solve, is the problem of automatic thoughts, or rather, their elimination or change. Because of the negative automatic thoughts, which often occur unnoticed, a person plunges into a spiral of depression. Perhaps it is because of this topic that the book was relatively interesting to read for the non-specialist, i.e., me. The author interestingly shows how through exercises one can achieve a change in negative attitudes about oneself and how such people distort objective reality by putting themselves into a state of depression, i.e., by convincing themselves that everything is bad and will only get worse and worse. Many of the exercises that the author describes are able to sort out these distortions.
Profile Image for Hussein.
2 reviews5 followers
April 11, 2024
يعتبر العلاج المعرفي من أنجع أنواع العلاج النفسي و أكثرها انتشارا. فالنموذج المعرفي الذي صاغه و طوره عالم النفس آرون بيك (والد مؤلفة هذا الكتاب) في الستينيات من القرن الماضي، و الذي ينص على أن الأفكار التي نتبناها حول أنفسنا و الآخرين و حول العالم من حولنا، من شأنها أن تؤثر تأثيرا كبيرا على مشاعرنا و سلوكنا، و بالتالي فأي تغيير في هذه الأفكار سيؤدي إلى تغيير في المشاعر و السلوك.
هذا النموذج أثبت فاعليته في علاج الاكتئاب والقلق والرهاب بأنواعه و القلق الاجتماعي و تدني تقدير الذات و الغضب و الوسواس القهري واضطرابات الأكل وغيرها من الاضطرابات النفسية.
في هذا الكتاب تتناول د. جوديث بيك بشكل واضح و سلس المفاهيم الأساسية للعلاج المعرفي، بما في ذلك فهم العلاقة بين الأفكار و المشاعر و السلوك، و طرق التعرف على الأفكار و المعتقدات السلبية وتغييرها.
و بالرغم من أن هذا الكتاب موجه بالأساس إلى المعالجين النفسيين المبتدئين، إلا أنه بإمكان أي شخص غير متخصص و مهتم بالمجال أن يقرأه ويستفيد منه و يطبق مبادئ العلاج المعرفي في حياته اليومية.
Profile Image for Mohammad Almahmeed.
177 reviews13 followers
December 9, 2022
A fantastic introduction to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

A book written for therapists in mind, but is quite readable even for the layman.

Includes some useful pointers and dialogues for beginner therapists to use in therapy, as well as theory, techniques, case examples…etc.

An important book to add to your arsenal.
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