Leahy, Robert L.

PERSONAL:

Male. Education: Yale University, B.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, 136 E. 57th St., Ste. 1101, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

American Institute for Cognitive Therapy,New York, NY, founder and director. Cornell University Medical School, New York, NY, professor of psychology; has worked as an instructor at Vassar College, New York University, University of British Columbia, Hofstra University, and New School for Social Research. Visiting fellow, Yale University. Founding fellow, member of executive board, and president-elect, Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Member of scientific advisory committee, National Alliance of the Mentally Ill; member of the advisory committees of numerous other conferences on cognitive-behavioral therapy.

MEMBER:

International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy (president and member of executive committee).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Postdoctoral fellowship, Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(Editor) The Child's Construction of Social Inequality,Academic Press (New York, NY), 1983.

(Editor) The Development of the Self, Academic Press (Orlando, FL), 1985.

Cognitive Therapy: Basic Principles and Applications,J. Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 1996.

(Editor) Practicing Cognitive Therapy: A Guide to Interventions, Jason Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 1997.

Overcoming Resistance in Cognitive Therapy, [New York, NY], 2001.

(Editor, with E. Thomas Dowd) Clinical Advances in Cognitive Psychotherapy: Theory and Application,Springer (New York, NY), 2002.

Roadblocks in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Change, Guildford Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Cognitive Therapy Techniques: A Practitioner's Guide, Guildford Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Psychology and the Economic Mind: Cognitive Processes and Conceptualization, Springer Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

(Editor) Contemporary Cognitive Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, Guildford Press (New York, NY), 2004.

(Editor, with Sheri L. Johnson) Psychological Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Guildford Press (New York, NY), 2004.

The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You, Harmony Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Associate editor, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Writing and research dealing with personality disorders, emotional processing, decision-making processes, and resistance to change.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert L. Leahy, who has worked closely with the founder of the science of cognitive therapy, Aaron Beck, is the author and editor of many books concerning the various aspects of cognitive therapy. One such work, Roadblocks in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Change, is a guidebook that attempts to help practitioners understand why this kind of therapy frequently stalls or breaks down, and what to do about such setbacks. According to Carol Garson in CrossCurrent: The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, the work "reads like a rich, but at times confusing, smorgasbord of experiences, ideas and perspectives about roadblocks and how to overcome them." Leahy's general recommendations include developing and reexamining one's conceptualization, making sure that excess pressure to change is not being applied, and giving thought to the patient's attitudes toward working out difficult emotions. In another text aimed at professionals, Psychological Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Leahy and coeditor Sheri L. Johnson put together "a useful book that psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health care professionals will find both practically useful and instructive about recent research" in bipolar disorder, according to Psychiatric Times writer Charles L. Bowden.

For a more generalized reading audience, Leahy wroteThe Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You. In simple, multistep form, the author outlines a plan for managing the debilitating tendency to worry. He identifies what thought processes lead to excessive worry and how to stop them, offers self-assessment tools to help readers understand their relationship with worry, and suggests tools and tactics for leading a more worry-free life. Reviewing the book for Library Journal, Crystal Renfro stated that while the ideas in the book were not "ground breaking," the information offered is helpful and clearly organized.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

CrossCurrent: The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, winter, 2004, Carol Garson, review ofRoadblocks in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities for Change, p. 19.

Library Journal, November 1, 2005, Crystal Renfro, review of The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You, p. 101.

Psychiatric Times, November 1, 2005, Charles L. Bowden, review of Psychological Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, p. 17.

Publishers Weekly, August 22, 2005, review of The Worry Cure, p. 48.

SciTech Book News, June, 2005, review ofContemporary Cognitive Therapy: Theory Research, and Practice, p. 91.

ONLINE

American Institute for Cognitive Therapy Web site,http://www.cognitivetherapynyc.com/ (April 12, 2005), biographical information on Robert L. Leahy.