Popular title. Samantha Roberts

If you are looking for a comprehensive textbook on how to practice pure cognitive therapy, this book is it. Judith Beck is of course the daughter of Aaron Beck, one of the founders of Cognitive Psychology, and she learned her lessons from her father well. This book is well-written, well organized and gives step by step instructions on how to properly conduct effective cognitive therapy sessions. She gives many examples and also asks students to look at how the principles of cognitive theory may apply to their own lives. I have used this book as my textbook in the Advanced Individual Counseling class that I teach in a MFT program and I have yet to find a better book. Cognitive therapy is simple in theory, but difficult in practice, and Dr. Beck provides the right amount of depth and detail to help a therapist really understand and practice efficient and effective Cognitive therapy. This book is useful to both students and long-time professional therapists. I especially like how the book discusses how to deal with it when things aren't working and the therapy is not working or is not going well for whatever reason. If you have no background in psychology or cognitive theory, I would not recommend this book as it is written at a level that assumes knowledge of psychology of at least a BA level and is more appropriate for Master's level students and professionals in the field. ( )