Rarely does a book come along that can truly change your life, and this one is one of those books. Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Badeski distill the wisdom and science of psychotherapy and together write an easy-to-understand guide to change. The first edition of this book has been read—and reread—and recommended to others by therapists, patients, and people seeking to improve their lives.
When I first began developing cognitive therapy (CT) in the late 1950s, I had no idea that it would become one of the most effective and widely used psychotherapies in the world. CT was designed primarily to help people overcome depression. Our positive results in treating depression were followed by widespread interest in CT. Today, CT is the most widely used form of psychotherapy in the world, largely because it has been shown to produce positive, often rapid, results with lasting effects .
Cognitive therapy is successfully used to help patients deal with depression, panic disorder, phobias, anxiety, anger, stress-related disorders, relationship problems, drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders, psychosis, and most other difficulties that bring people into treatment. This book teaches readers the key principles that have made this therapy successful for all of these problems .
This book has proven to be a landmark in the development of cognitive therapy. Never before have the intricacies of cognitive therapy been explained to the general public so openly and in such a step-by-step manner. Dr. Greenberger and Dr. Badeski generously provide the guiding questions, prompts, reminders, and worksheets they have developed in their clinical practice. These materials can serve as both a guide and a roadmap for people seeking to make fundamental changes in their lives. This is a rare and special book that can easily be used for self-help or as a supplement to therapy. It is not only a self-help book; it is also used to teach graduate students in mental health fields and trainee psychiatrists how to practice cognitive therapy effectively. It is unusual for a book to be written so simply as to be used as self-help, yet offer important principles that can guide the highest levels of education. It is a bestseller in the field of cognitive therapy and has been translated into more than 22 languages.