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January 16, 2004
Aaron Beck, MD, Receives Awards from the Institute of
Medicine and the
University of Louisville
(Philadelphia, PA) – Aaron T. Beck, MD,
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has received
the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in
Mental Health for the Year 2003 from the Institute of
Medicine. The prize consists of a medal and $20,000.
Dr. Beck was also selected by the University of Louisville
to receive the Grawemeyer Award in psychology for the
Year 2004. This award is a prize of $200,000. Both honors
recognize Beck’s outstanding and far reaching
contributions to psychiatry and mental health.
Beck, known as the “father of cognitive therapy,”
sidestepped the accepted theories of the day, most of
which relied heavily on Freudian analysis, and developed
a pragmatic and highly productive technique for helping
patients deal with emotional disorders. Believing these
disorders to be the result of distortions of thoughts
and/or biases, he showed patients how to successfully
use cognitive techniques to modify their thought processing
and bring about improvement of mood. Today, cognitive
therapy is used around the world to treat a wide range
of conditions -- including depression, bulimia nervosa,
obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social
phobia, schizophrenia, substance abuse, and post-traumatic
stress disorder.
Over the years, Beck has received funding from the National
Institute of Mental Health and the Centers for Disease
Control for his research in the areas of therapy and
assessment of disorders. Most recently his efforts have
been directed at using cognitive therapy to reduce
suicide attempts and ameliorate schizophrenia.
Beck joined Penn’s Department of Psychiatry in
1954, with an undergraduate degree from Brown University
and a medical degree from Yale University. He currently
heads the Psychopathology Research Unit in Penn’s
Department of Psychiatry. He has been a member of the
editorial boards of several academic journals and has
written over 450 articles. He is also
the author or co-author of 17 books.
Beck has also received awards from the American Psychological
Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and
the 2001 Heinz Award for the Human Condition.
Beck is the founder and president of the Beck Institute
for Cognitive Therapy and Research, which opened in
1994. It provides therapy for patients, as well as research
opportunities, and training at all levels, for cognitive
therapists.
The Institute of Medicine has awarded the Sarnat Prize
since 1992 to individuals, groups, or organizations
that have demonstrated outstanding achievement in improving
mental health. The prize recognizes achievements in
basic science, clinical application, and public policy
that lead to progress in the understanding, etiology,
prevention, treatment or cure of mental disorders, or
to the promotion of mental health. As defined by the
nominating criteria, the field of mental
health encompasses neuroscience, psychology, social
work, public health, nursing, psychiatry, and advocacy.
The award is supported by an endowment created by Rhoda
and Bernard Sarnat of Los Angeles, and speaks to their
concern about the destructive effects of mental illness.
Charles Grawemeyer was an industrialist, entrepreneur
and University of Louisville graduate, who chose to
recognize powerful ideas or creative works in the sciences,
arts and humanities. This has been continued by the
Grawemeyer Foundation at the University of Louisville,
which annually awards $200,000 each for works in music
composition, education, ideas improving world order,
psychology, and religion.
For
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PENN Medicine is a $2.2 billion
enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical
education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient
care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation’s
first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania
Health System (created in 1993 as the nation’s
first integrated academic health system).
Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the
nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked
#4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s
most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical
schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students,
the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its
superior education and training of the next generation
of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.
Penn Health System consists of four hospitals (including
its flagship Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania,
consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor
Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report),
a faculty practice plan, a primary-care provider network,
three multispecialty satellite facilities, and home
health care and hospice.
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