Beck Institute is an international training and resource center for health and mental health professionals, educators, and students worldwide. In addition to offering training programs at our Philadelphia location, we help create or improve cognitive behavior therapy programs at universities, hospitals, community mental health centers, health systems, and other institutions. History of Beck Institute Dr. Aaron Beck developed Cognitive Therapy (CT), also known as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in the 1960s. The original Center for Cognitive Therapy at Penn served as an important training ground for cognitive behavior therapists. Still, Dr. Beck and his daughter, Dr. Judith Beck, had long wished to establish a new clinical setting that would provide state-of-the-art psychotherapy and training opportunities for professionals worldwide and at all levels. In 1994, they established the Beck Institute at its present site in Bala Cynwyd, in suburban Philadelphia.