Donald Meichenbaum

Last updated
Donald Meichenbaum
Born
Donald Meichenbaum

June 10, 1940
New York, New York, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater City College of New York (BA), University of Illinois (MA, PhD)
Known for Cognitive-behavioural therapy; stress inoculation training
Awards CPA Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology as a Profession (1990);

CPA Lifetime Achievement Award (1997); APA Clinical Division Lifetime Achievement Award (2000);

Honorary president of the

Contents

Canadian Psychological Association (2004)
Scientific career
Fields Cognitive-behavioural therapy, Clinical psychology, Developmental psychology

Donald H. Meichenbaum (born June 10, 1940) is an American psychologist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. [1] He is a research director of the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment at the University of Miami. [2] Meichenbaum is known for his research and publications on psychotherapy, and contributed to the development of the technique of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). [3] In 1982, a survey of 800 members of the American Psychological Association voted Meichenbaum the tenth most influential psychotherapist of the 20th century. [4] At the time of his retirement from the University of Waterloo in 1998, Meichenbaum was the most-cited psychology researcher at a Canadian university. [5]

Education

Meichenbaum was educated at William Howard Taft High School in New York City. He then entered the City College of New York in 1958 with the intention of becoming an engineer, before changing course and graduating in 1962 as a psychology major. [6] He was accepted on to the graduate psychology program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. [6] He wrote his dissertation titled How to Train Schizophrenics to Talk to Themselves, having shown an interest in the topic of self-talk since childhood. He graduated with an MA and PhD in clinical psychology with minors in the subjects of developmental psychology and physiology in 1966, working as a research assistant at a Veterans Health Administration hospital in Danville, Illinois alongside his studies. [6]

Career

Meichenbaum became assistant professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo in 1966. During his tenure at Waterloo he began a research program exploring the role of cognitive and emotional factors in the behaviour change process. Several papers and books authored by Meichenbaum during his tenure at Waterloo focused on the use of self-instruction to effect behaviour change, which became a core principle of cognitive-behavioural therapy. Meichenbaum applied this concept to numerous areas of psychotherapy, including post-traumatic stress disorder, impulsivity in school children, test anxiety in college students, and adults with chronic pain, anger, and substance abuse issues. [6] [7] [8] [9] In 1977, Meichenbaum co-founded and served as the associate editor of the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research. [10] Meichenbaum's 1985 clinical handbook Stress Inoculation Training is used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as one treatment for PTSD in veterans. [11] He received the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology as a Profession in 1990, receiving their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

Following his retirement from the University of Waterloo in 1998, Meichenbaum joined the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment of Victims as research director, which is based at the University of Miami's School of Education and Development, where Meichenbaum also worked as distinguished visiting professor. [12] In 2012, Meichenbaum published Roadmap to Resilience: A Guide for Military, Trauma Victims and Their Families, a handbook to help service members reintegrate into civilian life and for clinicians translating evidence-based interventions into clinical guidelines for patients. [13] Meichenbaum has been a frequent critic of the proliferation of non-evidence-based techniques in the field of psychotherapy; his 2018 article How to Spot Hype in the Field of Psychotherapy, co-authored with Scott Lilienfeld, was chosen as the "most valuable contribution to the general field of psychotherapy" of that year by the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy which reviewed articles across 81 journals. [14] [15]

Role in developing cognitive-behavioural therapy

While the cognitive revolution in psychology took place in the 1960s, the combination of cognitive and behavioural approaches in clinical psychology did not gain traction until the mid-1970s. [16] Building on Albert Ellis' technique of rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) and Aaron T. Beck's technique of cognitive therapy, Meichenbaum developed the therapeutic technique of cognitive-behaviour modification, publishing the 1977 clinical handbook Cognitive Behaviour Modification: An Integrative Approach. [17] Cognitive-behaviour modification is an umbrella term which describes treatments that aim to change overt behaviours by changing thought patterns and cognitive processes. Cognitive-behaviour modification and CBT have been described as "nearly identical in their assumptions and treatment methods", the difference being cognitive-behaviour modification seeks overt behaviour change as a therapeutic outcome while CBT aims to change cognitions in the assumption that behaviour change will follow. [18] In the same 1982 survey that voted Meichenbaum the tenth most influential psychotherapist of the 20th century, Cognitive-Behaviour Modification was voted "the 4th most representative book of the current zeitgeist in counselling and psychotherapy". Meichenbaum developed the techniques of self-instructional training (SIT) [7] and stress inoculation training, [19] which are described as two of the six major cognitive-behavioural therapies in the Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies(4th ed.) (Dobson, 2019). [18] While Ellis and Beck are often cited as the two founders of the basic clinical model of cognitive-behavioural therapy approaches, the model proposed by Meichenbaum was found to occupy the cognitive-behavioural realm with authoritativeness equal to those proposed by Ellis' REBT and Beck's cognitive therapy during the 1970s (alongside models proposed by Arnold Lazarus and Michael J. Mahoney). [3] He also defines spirituality as seeking meaning and direction from a higher power. He notes that helping others signifies trauma recovery, with spirituality aiding forgiveness and empathy, crucial for victims' progress. Meichenbaum emphasizes that while religion or spirituality isn't a cure-all. [20]

Publications

Books

Articles

Meichenbaum has published extensively in academic journals and conferences. A comprehensive archive of these publications is maintained at the Melissa Institute website.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cognitive behavioral therapy</span> Therapy to improve mental health

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective means of treatment for substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Though it was originally designed to treat depression, its uses have been expanded to include the treatment of many mental health conditions, including anxiety, substance use disorders, marital problems, ADHD, and eating disorders. CBT includes a number of cognitive or behavioral psychotherapies that treat defined psychopathologies using evidence-based techniques and strategies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychotherapy</span> Clinically applied psychology for desired behavior change

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome problems. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. Numerous types of psychotherapy have been designed either for individual adults, families, or children and adolescents. Certain types of psychotherapy are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders; other types have been criticized as pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dialectical behavior therapy</span> Psychotherapy for emotional dysregulation

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that began with efforts to treat personality disorders and interpersonal conflicts. Evidence suggests that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders and suicidal ideation as well as for changing behavioral patterns such as self-harm and substance use. DBT evolved into a process in which the therapist and client work with acceptance and change-oriented strategies and ultimately balance and synthesize them—comparable to the philosophical dialectical process of thesis and antithesis, followed by synthesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cognitive restructuring</span> Type of psychological therapy

Cognitive restructuring (CR) is a psychotherapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts known as cognitive distortions, such as all-or-nothing thinking (splitting), magical thinking, overgeneralization, magnification, and emotional reasoning, which are commonly associated with many mental health disorders. CR employs many strategies, such as Socratic questioning, thought recording, and guided imagery, and is used in many types of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). A number of studies demonstrate considerable efficacy in using CR-based therapies.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy devised by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR involves focusing on traumatic memories in a manner similar to exposure therapy while engaging in side-to-side eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. There is some evidence that it may also be beneficial for other psychological conditions. There is debate about how the therapy works and whether it is more effective than other established treatments. The eye movements have been criticized as having no scientific basis. The founder promoted the therapy for the treatment of PTSD and proponents employed untestable hypotheses to explain negative results in controlled studies. EMDR has been characterized as a pseudoscientific purple hat therapy.

Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or other people's mental states, influences those behaviours, and consists of techniques based on behaviorism's theory of learning: respondent or operant conditioning. Behaviourists who practice these techniques are either behaviour analysts or cognitive-behavioural therapists. They tend to look for treatment outcomes that are objectively measurable. Behaviour therapy does not involve one specific method, but it has a wide range of techniques that can be used to treat a person's psychological problems.

The Dodo bird verdict is a controversial topic in psychotherapy, referring to the claim that all empirically validated psychotherapies, regardless of their specific components, produce equivalent outcomes. It is named after the Dodo character in Alice in Wonderland. The conjecture was introduced by Saul Rosenzweig in 1936, drawing on imagery from Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but only came into prominence with the emergence of new research evidence in the 1970s.

A clinical formulation, also known as case formulation and problem formulation, is a theoretically-based explanation or conceptualisation of the information obtained from a clinical assessment. It offers a hypothesis about the cause and nature of the presenting problems and is considered an adjunct or alternative approach to the more categorical approach of psychiatric diagnosis. In clinical practice, formulations are used to communicate a hypothesis and provide framework for developing the most suitable treatment approach. It is most commonly used by clinical psychologists and is deemed to be a core component of that profession. Mental health nurses, social workers, and some psychiatrists may also use formulations.

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a manualized therapy used by clinicians to help people recover from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions. It includes elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatments, one of the most widely used evidence-based therapies. A typical 12-session run of CPT has proven effective in treating PTSD across a variety of populations, including combat veterans, sexual assault victims, and refugees. CPT can be provided in individual and group treatment formats and is considered one of the most effective treatments for PTSD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerhard Andersson</span> Swedish psychologist (born 1966)

Gerhard Andersson is a Swedish psychologist, psychotherapist and Professor of clinical psychology at Linköping University. He was previously affiliated researcher at Karolinska Institutet. He was a co-recipient of the Nordic Medical Prize in 2014.

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychiatric disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts and memories, dreams or flashbacks of the event; avoidance of people, places and activities that remind the individual of the event; ongoing negative beliefs about oneself or the world, mood changes and persistent feelings of anger, guilt or fear; alterations in arousal such as increased irritability, angry outbursts, being hypervigilant, or having difficulty with concentration and sleep.

Cognitive emotional behavioral therapy (CEBT) is an extended version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) aimed at helping individuals to evaluate the basis of their emotional distress and thus reduce the need for associated dysfunctional coping behaviors. This psychotherapeutic intervention draws on a range of models and techniques including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness meditation, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and experiential exercises.

Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy or counselling that aims at addressing the needs of children and adolescents with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other difficulties related to traumatic life events. This treatment was developed and proposed by Drs. Anthony Mannarino, Judith Cohen, and Esther Deblinger in 2006. The goal of TF-CBT is to provide psychoeducation to both the child and non-offending caregivers, then help them identify, cope, and re-regulate maladaptive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Research has shown TF-CBT to be effective in treating childhood PTSD and with children who have experienced or witnessed traumatic events, including but not limited to physical or sexual victimization, child maltreatment, domestic violence, community violence, accidents, natural disasters, and war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Abrams (psychologist)</span> American psychologist

Mike Abrams is an American psychologist and co-author with Albert Ellis of several works on rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). He is best known for extending CBT to include principles of evolutionary psychology and collaborating with the founder of CBT Albert Ellis to develop many new applications to for these clinical modalities. His new clinical method which applies evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics to CBT is called Informed Cognitive Therapy (ICT).

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) is a psychotherapy focused on modifying metacognitive beliefs that perpetuate states of worry, rumination and attention fixation. It was created by Adrian Wells based on an information processing model by Wells and Gerald Matthews. It is supported by scientific evidence from a large number of studies.

Homework in psychotherapy is sometimes assigned to patients as part of their treatment. In this context, homework assignments are introduced to practice skills taught in therapy, encourage patients to apply the skills they learned in therapy to real life situations, and to improve on specific problems encountered in treatment. For example, a patient with deficits in social skills may learn and rehearse proper social skills in one treatment session, then be asked to complete homework assignments before the next session that apply those newly learned skills.

Eclectic psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy in which the clinician uses more than one theoretical approach, or multiple sets of techniques, to help with clients' needs. The use of different therapeutic approaches will be based on the effectiveness in resolving the patient's problems, rather than the theory behind each therapy.

Sexual trauma therapy is medical and psychological interventions provided to survivors of sexual violence aiming to treat their physical injuries and cope with mental trauma caused by the event. Examples of sexual violence include any acts of unwanted sexual actions like sexual harassment, groping, rape, and circulation of sexual content without consent.

References

  1. ↑ "Our People - Emeritus | Emerita". University of Waterloo. August 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Scientific Board – The Melissa Institute".
  3. 1 2 Ruggiero, Giovanni M.; Spada, Marcantonio M.; Caselli, Gabriele; Sassaroli, Sandra (2018-12-01). "A Historical and Theoretical Review of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: From Structural Self-Knowledge to Functional Processes". Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. 36 (4): 378–403. doi:10.1007/s10942-018-0292-8. ISSN   1573-6563. PMC   6208646 . PMID   30416258.
  4. ↑ Smith, Darrell (1982). "Trends in counseling and psychotherapy". American Psychologist. 37 (7): 802–809. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.37.7.802. ISSN   1935-990X. PMID   7137698.
  5. ↑ "Pioneer of cognitive behavioral therapy". University of Waterloo. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Meichenbaum, Donald (2017). The evolution of cognitive behavior therapy : a personal and professional journey with Don Meichenbaum. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN   978-1-317-60756-4. OCLC   973222940.
  7. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald H.; Goodman, Joseph (1971). "Training impulsive children to talk to themselves: A means of developing self-control". Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 77 (2): 115–126. doi:10.1037/h0030773. ISSN   1939-1846. PMID   5550424.
  8. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald (1994). A clinical handbook/practical therapist manual : for assessing and treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Waterloo, Ont., Canada: Institute Press. ISBN   0-9698840-0-1. OCLC   31809208.
  9. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald (2020). Treating individuals with addictive disorders : a strengths-based workbook for patients and clinicians. New York, NY. ISBN   978-1-000-07025-5. OCLC   1156991140.
  10. ↑ Meichenbaum, Donald (2003-02-01). "Cognitive–Behavior Therapy: Folktales and the Unexpurgated History". Cognitive Therapy and Research. 27 (1): 125–129. doi:10.1023/A:1022546915731. ISSN   1573-2819. S2CID   29133357.
  11. ↑ "VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder" (PDF). 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Educational Training – The Melissa Institute" . Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  13. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald (2012). Roadmap to resilience : a guide for military, trauma victims, and their families. Clearwater, FL: Institute Press. ISBN   978-0-9698840-2-6. OCLC   798617091.
  14. ↑ Overholser, James C. (2019-12-01). ""The Nominees for Best Article …": Awards for the Most Valuable Papers on Psychotherapy in 2018". Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. 49 (4): 273–281. doi: 10.1007/s10879-019-09433-8 . ISSN   1573-3564. S2CID   175642868.
  15. ↑ "APA PsycNet". doi.apa.org. doi:10.1037/pro0000172. S2CID   148807068 . Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  16. ↑ Mahoney, Michael J. (1977-03-01). "Cognitive therapy and research: A question of questions". Cognitive Therapy and Research. 1 (1): 5–16. doi:10.1007/BF01173501. ISSN   1573-2819. S2CID   24911224.
  17. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald (1977). Cognitive-behavior modification : an integrative approach. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN   0-306-31013-9. OCLC   2894019.
  18. 1 2 Dobson, K. S.; Dozois, D. J. A. (2019). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
  19. 1 2 Meichenbaum, Donald (1985). Stress inoculation training. New York: Pergamon Press. ISBN   0-08-031596-8. OCLC   11623852.
  20. ↑ Goldhill, Olivia (2016-01-30). "Psychologists have found that a spiritual outlook makes humans more resilient to trauma". Quartz. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  21. ↑ Meichenbaum, Donald (1983). Coping with stress. Mel Calman, Anne Cope, Christopher Fagg. London: Century Pub. ISBN   0-7126-0083-3. OCLC   16022872.
  22. ↑ Stress reduction and prevention. Donald Meichenbaum, Matt E. Jaremko. New York: Plenum Press. 1983. ISBN   0-306-41066-4. OCLC   8928158.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ↑ Turk, Dennis C. (1983). Pain and behavioral medicine : a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Donald Meichenbaum, Myles Genest. New York: Guilford Press. ISBN   0-89862-002-3. OCLC   8554039.
  24. ↑ Meichenbaum, Donald (1987). Facilitating treatment adherence : a practitioner's guidebook. Dennis C. Turk. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN   0-306-42638-2. OCLC   16091704.
  25. ↑ Meichenbaum, Donald (1998). Nurturing independent learners : helping students take charge of their learning. Andrew Biemiller. Newton, Mass.: Brookline Books. ISBN   1-57129-047-8. OCLC   38120589.
  26. ↑ Meichenbaum, Donald (2001). Treatment of individuals with anger - control problems and aggressive behaviors : a clinical handbook. Clearwater, Fla.: Institute Press. ISBN   0-9698840-1-X. OCLC   48845565.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.