Russian Trace in the Second Wave of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Methods: To the 130th Anniversary of Vladimir N. Myasishchev’s Birth

Abstract

In 2023 year, the world scientific community celebrates the 130th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian scientist Vladimir Nikolayevich Myasishchev (1893-1973). The preservation and integration of his heritage into modern Russian and world science remains a pressing issue. This study allows us to assert that A. Adler’s individual psychology was a common source in the genesis of psychotherapy methods of V.N. Myasishchev and A. Ellis. The material of this research consists of previously unknown correspondence documents of V.N. Myasishchev, stored in the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation. V.N. Myasishchev’s works were of great interest to American psychotherapists and psychologists. This fact was confirmed by A. Ellis’s invitation to V.N. Myasishchev in 1964 on a month-long scientific tour to the Ivy League University and leading psychotherapeutic centers of the USA. This clearly indicates a certain contribution made by V.N. Myasishchev to the formation of the second wave of cognitive behavioral therapy methods.

Keywords

• history of psychology
• cognitive-behavioral therapy
• relationship psychology
• history of psychotherapy
• rational-emotional-behavioral therapy
• st. petersburg school of psychotherapy
• leningrad school of psychotherapy
• american academy of psychotherapy
• v.n. myasishchev
• a. beck
• a. ellis