The Beck Initiative
The Beck Initiative is a team-oriented approach to advance the quality of care provided to the clients in the DBH/MRS system by placing tangible tools in the hands of the therapists who serve them. The team consists of Aaron T. Beck, the founder of Cognitive Therapy (CT), his research group at The University of Pennsylvania, the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Suicide, and the DBH/MRS. The approach includes an intensive program consisting of a training workshop followed by six months of both group and individual consultation for the participating therapists. The City of Philadelphia, the Department, the network agencies and clients in the DBH/MRS system are privileged to have a prominent figure in the field of psychotherapy along with a world-class university dedicate themselves in sharing of both their knowledge and expertise. Through the partnership; The Beck Initiative aims to achieve the following goals:
- To promote the sustained implementation of CT into DBH/MRS agencies by establishing CT as a standard practice in the care of individuals served by DBH/MRS
- To improve the professional lives of therapists in the DBH/MRS system by providing them with necessary training and consultation in CT to become better equipped in treating their clients on a day-to-day basis
- To conduct program evaluation to examine outcomes such as client attrition, service use, recidivism, therapist turnover, and the sustainability of high-quality CT in DBH/MRS settings
- To utilize the evidence-based practice of CT in the Department’s dedication to moving towards recovery-oriented care
- To assist DBH/MRS in the development of internal training programs in CT
- Result in one of the first large-scale implementation of an evidence-based psychotherapy in a public mental health system
- To serve as a model for other large mental health systems
