27/09/2010 - Oriana entrega Carta da Oficina de Pensamento à Dra. Judith Beck, no Instituto Beck.

Olá Pessoal,

Tenho boas noticias e fotos. Ontem, consegui entregar a carta a Dra. Judith (ver fotos). Quando nos apresentamos e falamos da Dr.Ana, ela nos recebeu muito bem e ressaltou a qualidade do Instituto no Brasil. Inicialmente, ela determinou algumas regras, e uma delas seria tirar fotos apenas no final do evento (quarta-feira), porem quando falei do projeto, ela permitiu registrar o momento para divulgar no site da Oficina de Pensamentos.

Abracos,

Oriana 

A Carta:

Bauru, Brazil, 23rd September, 2010.

 Dear Drs. Aaron Beck and Judith Beck:

Through the years, we have observed how much our patients profit from cognitive therapy and how much they evolve in our clinics, as they understand and assimilate the cognitive paradigm, mainly, the primacy of cognitive processes over emotions and behaviors.  We believe that society as a whole may also profit, in as much as people in general gain access to cognitive strategies and change.  In this direction, we mention a message by Dr. Ana Maria Serra, posted in our blog: “(…) an innovative and relevant area is the application of cognitive principles and strategies for the modulation of emotions and behaviors, and the impact that these resources have as a regulating factor over human relations, be them in the family, in the workplace, or in society at large.  The application of cognitive principles to the regulation of human interactions is so important that they may together be considered an instrument of citizenship and of valorization of human life!”.   Based on these aspects, we are honored to introduce our project “Oficina do Pensamento” (“Thought Workshop”), which aims at benefiting the Brazilian community, in the form of a non-governmental no-profit organization (called “OSCIP – Organização Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público”, or “Civil Society Organization of Public Interest”), founded on the cognitive model.  In this project, we emphasize the participation of the Cognitive Therapy Center of the city of Bauru, in Brazil, and the Institute for Cognitive Therapy, created and directed by Dr. Ana Maria Serra, in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.  We would respectfully like to ask you about your availability to send us any considerations you may hopefully have about our initiative, and, if possible, authorize us to post them in our blog (www.opbauru.blogspot.com).

 General Aims and Contents of the “Oficina do Pensamento”:

 Our goals:

 ·         initially, encourage lay people to act upon their cognitions, as a means to improve the management of their emotional, motivational, behavioral and physical expressions, towards general improvements and an upgrade in their individual, social and environmental quality of life. 

·         In addition, we will emphasize the role of cognitive flexibility as a resource towards improving management of everyday experiences.  

We believe that, in this form, we will be contributing to the successful application of the cognitive paradigm, as proposed by Dr. Beck (“a situation does not determine what we feel, but the way we construe it”), in everyday social milieu.

 The specific contents of the Cognitive Therapy approach that we intend to offer to society in general, in order to fulfill our goals, will be:

 ·         Conceptual:  the Beck’s cognitive model, an information-processing paradigm for conceptualizing human experiences, the cognitive vulnerability hypothesis, the cognitive triad, cognitive schemas, and core beliefs (personal and socially reinforced beliefs), typical cognitive errors, problem-solving abilities, etc.

·         Technical:  identification and challenging of negative automatic thoughts, challenging of beliefs, conditional beliefs and compensatory strategies, and pragmatic evaluation such as advantages/disadvantages, costs/benefits, positive/negative aspects; goal monitoring, decatastrophizing, etc.

·         Strategies:  negative automatic thoughts challenging groups, typical cognitive errors groups, study groups, training of multiplying agents, talks, books, courses and workshops, web sites, blogs, general and social medias for dissemination, leaflets to be distributed in public places, etc.

·         Locations:  schools, churches, institutions, corporations, hospitals, correctional facilities, clubs, associations, etc.

 Human Resources:   

·         Initially, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health and general health professionals, professional associations in the area of health and education, teachers and educators in general, associations and societies dedicated to human welfare and wellness, charity organizations, etc. 

Among our collaborators and those who have encouraged our efforts and plans, we highlight the role of Dr. Ana Maria Serra, of the Institute for Cognitive Therapy, who has emphasized the relevant factors in the process of CT development in Brasil: 

“First and foremost, the support of numerous and recognized national and international leaders has been instrumental towards the development of Cognitive Therapy in Brazil.  They have continuously worked in alliance with us and have generously lent us their expertise, credibility and prestige for the consolidation of Cognitive Therapy in Brazil.  In this context, the Institute of Cognitive Therapy, and its partners in several regions of the country, are today viewed as a conglomerate of centers of reference in Cognitive Therapy, recognized nationally.  The Center for Cognitive Therapy of Bauru, led by Dr. Arnaldo Vicente, has been disseminating the cognitive model, through clinical and training efforts, including through this innovative form: the creation of a non-governmental non-profit organization, the “Oficina do Pensamento”.   

Second, the recognition of Cognitive Therapy itself, as a system of psychotherapy, fundamental characteristics of which are today being incorporated into other approaches, reflecting a tendency towards the integration of cognitive principles and techniques into several other models of psychotherapy.  Third, I emphasize the support of numerous professionals, who, each year, trust their clinical training and professional development to us and to the number of training centers we have helped to blossom, without whose trust the ITC’s ideal, of responsible dissemination of CT, would not have materialized.  Fourth, the Institute for Cognitive Therapy’s credibility, earned over the years through consistent hard and quality work, the prestige of our professors and clinical supervisors, and the passionate effort with which we have been dedicating ourselves to the dissemination of CT and the training of professionals.  And, lastly, the character of our work at the Institute and our partner centers, in all of which work is founded on sustainable quality, seriousness, professionalism, incessant search for excellence in all aspects, honesty in our relations with our counterparts, responsibility and ethics.  The adoption of these values guarantee the sustenance of our project”.  

 Best regards,

  Project Proponents and Supporters:

 Arnaldo Vicente,

Ana Maria Serra, PhD

Oriana Fae Grangel,

Daniele Aiello,

Mauricéia Quinhoneiro Vicente,

Rosemary Pandolfi and

Viviane Nicoliello.