Robert L. Leahy Ph.D.

Robert L. Leahy, (B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Yale University), Director of The American Institute for Cognitive Therapy NYC, completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School under the direction of Dr. Aaron Beck, the founder of cognitive therapy. Dr. Leahy is the past president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, past president of the International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy, past president of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy (NYC), and a clinical professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill-Cornell University Medical School. Dr. Leahy is the Honorary Life-time President, New York City Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Association and a Distinguished Founding Fellow, Diplomate, of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He has received the Aaron T. Beck award for outstanding contributions in cognitive therapy.

He was associate editor of The Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy (serving as editor 1998-2003). Dr. Leahy is now associate editor of The International Journal of Cognitive Therapy and he serves on the Editorial Board of Cognitive-Behavioral Practice. He has served on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill. Dr. Leahy serves on a number of scientific committees for international conferences on cognitive behavioral therapy and is a frequent keynote speaker and workshop leader at conferences and universities throughout the world. For a listing of professional presentations, click here.

He is author and editor of 27 books, including Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders (with Holland), Overcoming Resistance in Cognitive Therapy, Bipolar Disorder: A Cognitive Therapy Approach (with Newman, Beck, Reilly-Harrington, & Gyulai), Cognitive Therapy Techniques, Roadblocks in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Psychological Treatments of Bipolar Disorder (ed. with Johnson), Contemporary Cognitive Therapy, The Therapeutic Relationship in the Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapies (ed. with Gilbert) and The Worry Cure, which received critical praise from the New York Times and has been selected by Self Magazine as one of the top eight self-help books of all time. His book The Worry Cure has been translated into nine languages and was a selection of the Book of the Month Club, Literary Guild and numerous other book clubs. Eleven of his clinical books have been book club selections. He is the author of Anxiety-Free: Unravel Your Fears before They Unravel You and Beat the Blues Before They Beat You: How to Overcome Depression.

Dr. Leahy's clinical books include Emotion Regulation in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner's Guide (with Tirch and Napolitano), Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders, Second Edition (with Holland and McGinn), and Treatment Plans and Interventions for Bulimia and Binge-Eating Disorder (with Zweig). He is the general editor of a series of books to be published by Guilford Press--Treatment Plans and Interventions for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy. His books have been translated into 21 languages and are used throughout the world in training cognitive behavioral therapists. His book on coping with unemployment, Keeping Your Head after Losing Your Job, was published in 2013. He published Emotional Schema Therapy in 2015 and his book Cognitive Therapy Techniques Second Edition, was published in 2016. He also published an edited book in 2018 in honor of Aaron T. Beck, the founder of cognitive therapy, The Science and Practice of Cognitive Therapy. His most recent books are Emotional Schema Therapy: Distinctive Features (Routledge) and The Jealousy Cure: Learn to Trust, Overcome Possessiveness, and Save Your Relationship (New Harbinger). He is working on a popular audience book on Emotion Regulation.

He has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek, Psychology Today, Washington Post, Redbook, Shape, First for Women, Women's Health, Self Magazine, USA Today Magazine and many other magazines and newspapers worldwide. He has appeared on national and local radio and on television (20/20, Good Morning America, and The Early Show).