Judith S. Beck

Depression and Next-day Spillover of Negative Mood and Depressive Cognitions Following Interpersonal Stress

We hypothesized that individuals high in depression would experience a greater increase in depressive symptoms following daily interpersonal stress, as compared with their symptoms following noninterpersonal stress. Forty-six adult outpatients completed seven consecutive daily assessments of stressful events, appraisals of those events, depressive cognitions, and negative affect at the beginning of treatment. Although there were no same-day differences in reactions to interpersonal and noninterpersonal stressors, there was significant “spillover” of negative thoughts and affect following interpersonal stressors for those high in depression. In other words, for those high in depression, negative thoughts and affect increased to a greater degree on days following an interpersonal stressor, as compared to days following a noninterpersonal stressor. These findings suggest that delayed recovery from daily interpersonal stress might contribute to the maintenance of depressive symptoms.

Classification of Suicidal and Nonsuicidal Outpatients: A Cluster-Analytic Approach.

The revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) were administered to 1,172 outpatients diagnosed with mixed psychiatric disorders. The SSI then was used to classify the patients into 127 (10.8%) suicide ideators and 1,045 (89.2%) nonideators. Both agglomerative-hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster analyses then were employed to identify three types of nonideators, who represented anxious depressed, hopeless depressed, and below-average overall symptomatology, and four types of ideators, who reflected hopeless, anxious depressed, severely suicidal, and below-average overall symptomatology. Implications of these classification systems for describing psychopathology were discussed.

Types of self-reported anxiety in outpatients with DSM-III-R anxiety disorders

Abstract To ascertain whether psychiatric outpatients can be classified into distinct types according to their self-reported symptoms of anxiety, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was administered to 655 outpatients diagnosed with DSM-III-R anxiety disorders. Cluster analysis identified three internally consistent subscales representing subjective, somatic, and panic symptoms. Further analysis revealed six types of outpatients reflecting below average, panic-subjective, low subjective, low somatic-panic, above average, and subjective-somatic anxiety. The types were differentiated with respect to age, primary diagnosis, clinically rated anxiety, and both self-reported and clinically rated depression.

Preliminary Evidence that Anxiety is Associated with Accelerated Response in Cognitive Therapy for Depression

We conducted two studies that assessed the role of initial anxiety in rate of change (depression reduction) in cognitive therapy for major depression. In both studies, depression and anxiety were assessed at intake, and depression was assessed at every treatment session. Longitudinal growth modeling was used to predict rate of change in treatment from sessions 1–12 controlling for intake depression, with intake anxiety as a moderator of change. In Study 1, high initial anxiety was associated with a faster rate of depression reduction across the course of cognitive therapy, whereas in Study 2, high initial anxiety was associated with a faster rate of depression reduction in the early sessions of treatment. The influence of intake depression on rate of change was controlled, and therefore the results are likely not due to greater symptom severity or distress among those high in anxiety. BAI subscale analyses suggest that the results are likely due to the physiological arousal characteristic of anxiety. These results suggest a potentially beneficial role for initial anxiety in cognitive therapy for depression.

The academy of cognitive therapy: Purpose, history, and future prospects

The Academy of Cognitive Therapy (ACT) was developed as a means to identify and credential mental health professionals who demonstrate competence in cognitive therapy. Its missions include certifying clinicians from all disciplines as competent cognitive therapists and educating the public about this empirically supported treatment. This article reviews the history of ACT, its current activities, and future prospects. It is argued that ACT fulfills several important roles and is a valuable resource for mental health professionals and consumers.