Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

• REBT is the first cognitive behaviour therapy, ongoing major approach.
• Emphasizes thinking, judging, deciding, analyzing, and doing.
• Basic assumption: Psychological problems arise from rigid and extreme beliefs.
• Cognitions, emotions, and behaviors interact significantly with reciprocal cause-effect.
• REBT is integrative, focusing on all three modalities.

Historical Context

• Preceded by earlier theories, notably Alfred Adler and Karen Horney's ideas on the "tyranny of the shoulds."
• Influenced by Stoic philosopher Epictetus who stated disturbed by views of events, not events themselves.
• Ellis reformulated this idea to: "People disturb themselves by the rigid beliefs they hold about events."

Therapeutic Process

• Clients learn skills to identify and dispute irrational beliefs, replacing them with rational cognitions.
• Focus on thinking and acting rather than expressing feelings; therapy as educational.
• Therapist acts like a teacher while clients are learners, practicing new skills in everyday life.
• REBT does not value free association or deep focus on feelings or past; transference is confronted rather than explored.
• Clients are encouraged to feel sad but not depressed regarding unacceptance by others.

View of Human Nature

• Assume dual potential for rational and irrational thinking.
• Predisposition towards self-preservation, happiness, growth, but also self-destruction, superstition, perfectionism.
• Encourages self-acceptance despite mistakes.

View of Emotional Disturbance

• Irrational beliefs learned from significant others in childhood are perpetuated through self-repetition.
• Self-defeating beliefs are reinforced, leading to consistent dysfunctional attitudes.
• Ellis argues emotional disturbances stem from blame, dogmatic "shoulds" and "musts."

Three Core Irrational Beliefs

1. "I must do well and win approval or I am no good."
2. "Others must treat me kindly and fairly, or they are no good."
3. "I must get what I want, and if I don’t, it's terrible."

A-B-C Framework

• A: Activating event
• B: Belief about the event
• C: Emotional/behavioral consequence
• D: Disputing irrational beliefs
• E: Effect (new beliefs)
• F: New feelings
• Example: Depression post-divorce not caused by event but beliefs surrounding it.

Disputing Irrational Beliefs

• Key in REBT to alter emotional consequences of activating events.
• Focus on recognizing, debating, and discriminating between irrational beliefs and rational alternatives.
• Cognitive restructuring involves monitoring and substituting self-talk with healthier perspectives.

Goals of REBT

• Assist clients in achieving unconditional self-acceptance (USA) and unconditional other acceptance (UOA).
• Help clients differentiate between realistic/self-defeating goals.
• Key task for therapists to show clients how they reindoctrinate irrational beliefs and their role in emotional disturbances.

Therapeutic Techniques

• REBT practitioners integrate cognitive, emotive, and behavioral techniques.

• Cognitive Methods:

  • Dispute irrational beliefs actively.
  • Cognitive homework to track down "shoulds" and perform A-B-C model.
  • Change language patterns to reflect preferences rather than absolutes.

• Emotive Techniques:

  • Rational emotive imagery (imaging worst-case scenarios).
  • Role-playing to match feelings with action.
  • Humor to reduce seriousness.
  • Shame-attacking exercises to confront self-created shame.

• Behavioral Techniques:

  • Utilizes standard behavior therapy: desensitization, self-management, operant conditioning.

Application in Group Counseling

• REBT effective in group settings, fostering self-reliance and cooperative learning.
• Group therapy enhances practice of self-acceptance and confronting self-defeating thoughts.
• Useful across multiple issues like anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems.

Summary of REBT

• Encourages clients to accept personal responsibility for their emotional problems.
• Emphasizes identification, disputation, and modification of irrational beliefs.
• Cognitive, emotive, and behavioral strategies work together in therapy.
• Practicing REBT fosters long-term changes in beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.