Dr Beck

Copyright (c) 2007 SharpBrains

Today, we are honored to interview Dr. Judith Beck on how cognitive techniques can be applied to develop a large number of mental skills. The last application of these?. Lose weight.

Dr. Judith Beck is the director of the Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research Beck, associate professor of clinical psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Cognitive Therapy: Basics and beyond. His most recent book is The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to think like a thin person.

Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Mr. Beck, Thank you for your time. What does the Beck Institute do?

Judith Beck (JB): We have three main activities. First, we train practitioners and researchers across a variety of training programs. Two, we provide clinical care. Three, we are involved in research on cognitive therapy.

AF: Please explain the cognitive therapy in a few sentences

JB: Cognitive therapy, as developed by my father Aaron Beck, is a comprehensive system of psychotherapy based on the idea that how people perceive their experience influences their emotional responses, behavioral and physiological. Part of what we do is help people solve problems they face today. We also teach them cognitive and behavioral skills to modify their dysfunctional thinking and actions.

AF: I understand that cognitive therapy has been tested over many years in a variety of clinical applications. What motivated you to put these techniques to the field of weight loss writing Beck Diet Solution?

JB: Since the beginning, I mainly treated psychiatric outpatients with a variety of diagnoses, especially depression and anxiety. Some patients expressed weight loss as a secondary goal of treatment. I found that many of the same cognitive and behavioral techniques that helped them overcome their problems with others can help them lose weight and maintain it.

I am particularly interested in the problem of overweight and was able to identify specific mindsets or cognitions about food, eating, hunger, thirst, perfectionism, helplessness, self-image, the injustice, deprivation, and others who should be targeted to help them achieve their goal.

AF: What are the results of research Return to your conclusion that the technical assistance?

JB: Probably the best study published to date is the randomized controlled by the Karolinska Institute and Stahre Halstrom. The results are striking: almost all the 65 patients completed the program and this short-term intervention (10 weeks, 30 hours) showed a significant reduction in weight in the long term, even greater (from 40 individuals in group control) after 18 months just after the 10-week program.

AF: That sounds impressive. Can you explain what makes this approach so effective?

JB: A unique feature is that the book does not propose a plan, but it provides tools to develop the mentality that is necessary for lasting success, for modifying sabotaging thoughts and behaviors that people usually follow good initial intentions . I help dieters learn new skills. We sold over 70,000 books to date, and plans to publish a companion workbook this month to continue to help the reader to implement the 6-week program and track progress.

AF: So in a sense, one could say that your book is complementary to all other diet books.

JB: Exactly, it will help readers determine and achieve their long-term goals, assuming that food is healthy, nutritious and balanced.

The main message of cognitive therapy overall, and its application in the food world, is simple: the problems.