The Legacy Of Dr. Aaron Beck, Father Of Cognitive Therapy, Lives On In Psychedelic Medicine

Dr. Aaron T. Beck, the father of cognitive therapy, died on Monday at his home in Philadelphia at age 100.

Beck’s contributions to the fields of psychology and psychiatry have had a tremendous influence on the way mental health treatment is administered today, marking one of the most substantial leaps in the field since the introduction of Freudian psychoanalysis decades earlier.

The cognitive model developed by Beck has also become a basis for the development of psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy: the main mode of administration of compounds in the psychedelic class, currently rising as a novel and disruptive alternative in mental health treatment.

Dr. Beck’s Influence In Psychedelic Medicine

Dr. Dara Friedman-Wheeler is a clinical psychologist and researcher who recently joined the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, where much of today’s academic research into psychedelics is being conducted.

Friedman-Wheeler worked with Beck as a postdoctoral fellow in 2006 and 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine where Beck worked since 1954.

“It is hard to imagine what contemporary psychotherapy would look like without Dr. Beck’s work,” Friedman-Wheeler said.

“In addition to being innovative, influential, and, obviously, enormously productive, Dr. Beck was pragmatic, evidence-based, and compassionate. He was committed to decreasing suffering, and toward that end -- he embraced what 'worked,' whatever strategies were demonstrated to help people, through systematic research.”

Friedman-Wheeler said that what drew her to work with psychedelics in the first place is directly in line with Dr. Beck’s own values: “It works. It eases suffering.”

Dr. Rakesh Jetly, chief medical officer at Mydecine MYCO MYCOF, a company developing therapeutics in the psychedelics space, said

Beck was likely the most influential figure in modern psychotherapy. 

“He introduced the idea —with cognitive behavioral therapy— that using a present-oriented and skill-based approach can help people to deal with mood, anxiety and substance use,” Jetly said.

Mydecine is currently advancing a Phase 2/3 clinical trial using psilocybin (a psychedelic naturally produced by the Psilocybe mushroom) in the treatment of nicotine addiction in partnership with Johns Hopkins University.

“Our smoking cessation study is hoping to accelerate and strengthen traditional CBT that Dr. Beck gave us," Jetly added.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) And Psychedelics-Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP)

Bigs Robertson, chief medical officer at Delix Therapeutics, said that Beck made an unparalleled contribution to the field of psychiatry as we know it and that he had a very interesting perspective on psychedelics. 

“His views continue to thrive and drive debate today, as he looked at psychedelics primarily as a pharmacological tool to enhance cognitive behavioral therapy, counterintuitive to developing psychedelics as the mainstay of treatment and psychotherapy as a potential adjunct.”

Some psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research protocols specifically incorporate CBT into the treatment, Friedman-Wheeler told Benzinga. Plenty of others incorporate principles of CBT into treatment.

“Regardless of the therapist’s own therapeutic orientation, we find ourselves talking with PAP participants about the negative thoughts that might be getting in their way and about different perspectives they might try out,” Friedman-Wheeler explained.

The researcher added that in her experience with psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy, she’s seen how well CBT and psychedelics can complement each other. “In CBT we help clients identify and modify automatic thoughts that might be making life harder for them. It takes time, we tell our clients, to change these cognitive habits. Psychedelic medications, such as psilocybin, may help to facilitate that change.”

In addition, the psychotherapy involved in PAP often focuses on the participant’s goals. “What do participants want to be different in their lives, after their dosing session?

“Perhaps we will find that psychedelic medications are a valuable tool in facilitating this process, making it a bit easier for clients to use the strategies and tools of CBT to improve their quality of life and overall well-being.”

Dr. Abid Nazeer, chief medical officer at Wesana Health WESA WSNAF called Beck a pioneer.

“Dr. Beck was a pioneer within so many areas of this field, including the development of rating scales,” said Nazeer whose company is looking to treat traumatic brain injury and other neurological disorders through psychedelics.

Nazeer added that Beck was ahead of his time in understanding the importance of measuring outcomes and severity. His scales, such as the BDI (Beck’s Depression Inventory) is one of the few validated scales that are a gold standard in research and clinic settings.

Photo by Slicata on Wikimedia Commons.