PROPONENT – ALBERT ELLIS

 Albert Ellis was an influential psychologist who revolutionized psychotherapy with his cognitive
approach, called rational emotive behavior therapy.
 He was born on September 27, 1913, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
 Ellis was often sick throughout his childhood. He was reportedly hospitalized nine different times
mainly with nephritis, and developed renal glycosuria at the age of 19 and diabetes at the age of
40.
 He became a clinical psychologist and practiced psychoanalysis, but soon became dissatisfied
with its effectiveness and limitations as well as the slow progress of his clients.
 He observed that they improved more quickly once they changed their ways of thinking about
themselves and their problems. Thus, the development of Rational Therapy in 1955 and is later
called REBT.
 Ellis has rightly been referred to as the grandfather of cognitive behavior therapy.
 To some extent Ellis developed his approach as a method of dealing with his own problems
during his youth. He was extremely shy and intimidated by public speaking. At 19, he challenged
himself to talk to 100 female strangers in the Bronx Botanical Gardens, and this early experience
with behavioral change likely influenced his development of Rational Psychotherapy, presently
known as Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy.
 He wrote over 80 books and hundreds of articles, and founded the Albert Ellis Institute, which
promotes his therapy and trains professionals and the public.

REBT

 REBT was the first of the cognitive behavior therapies. Similar with the therapies that are
oriented toward cognition and behavior, it also emphasizes thinking, assessing, deciding,
analyzing, and doing.
 REBT is based on the idea that our emotions and behaviors are influenced by our beliefs, and
that we can change them by challenging irrational and self-defeating thoughts.
 Ellis gave credit to Alfred Adler as an influential precursor of REBT, and Karen Horney’s (1950)
ideas on the “tyranny of the shoulds” are apparent in the conceptual framework of REBT. Ellis
also acknowledged his debt to some of the Eastern philosophies and the ancient Greeks,
especially the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who said around 2,000 years ago: “People are
disturbed not by events, but by the views which they take of them”
 Ellis’s reformulation of Epictetus’s dictum can be stated as “People are disturbed not by events,
but by the views which they take of them”
 This explains REBT’S basic hypothesis, that our emotions are mainly created from our beliefs,
which influence the evaluations and interpretations we make and fuel the reactions we have to
life situations.
 Here are few points to briefly discuss the therapeutic process of REBT. The therapeutic process
allows clients to apply REBT principles for change not only to a particular presenting problem but
also to many other problems in life or future problems they might encounter.
  The therapist functions in many ways like teacher, collaborating with the client on homework
assignments and introducing strategies for constructive thinking. The client is the learner who
then practices these new skills in everyday life.

KEY CONCEPTS

 Hence, it is largely our own repetition of early-indoctrinated irrational beliefs, rather than a
parent’s repetition, that keeps dysfunctional attitudes alive and operative within us.
 Ellis asserted that blame can be at the core of many emotional disturbances. If we want to
become psychologically healthy, we had better stop blaming ourselves and others and learn to
fully and unconditionally accept ourselves despite our imperfections.

 Here are three basics musts (or irrational beliefs) we internalize that inevitably lead to self-defeat
(A. Ellis & Ellis, 2011): 1. “I must do well and be loved and approved by others.” Inflexible,
Places unrealistic expectations on oneself (I must be competent and successful), Over-concern
with others' opinion of oneself, Self-worth measured by achievement and popularity (If I am not
competent, successful or popular then I am "bad" and "worthless.), non-self-accepting. 2. “Other
people must treat me fairly, kindly, and well.” Assumes one's authority over others, Leads to
conflict with others who also see themselves as the center of the universe (If they act unfairly or
inconsiderately, they are no good. If they act unfairly or inconsiderately, they deserve to be
punished.) 3. “The world and my living conditions must be comfortable, gratifying, and just,
providing me with all that I want in life.” Life must be easy, without discomfort or
inconvenience. Unrealistic, Under-estimates one's ability to cope with adversity, Over-estimates
one's right to a trouble-free life.

 The A-B-C framework is central to REBT theory and practice. This model provides a useful tool for
understanding the client’s feelings, thoughts, events, and behavior. It assumes your beliefs about
a specific event affect how you react to that event. Its name refers to the components of the
model. Here’s what each letter stands for:

A. Adversity or activating event (an inference about an event by an individual). B. The person’s
beliefs about the event. It involves both obvious and underlying thoughts about situations,
yourself, and others. C. Consequences, which includes your behavioral or emotional response
(the individual’s reaction can be either healthy or unhealthy).

THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES

 Cognitive Methods - Therapists demonstrate to clients, often in a quick and direct manner, what
it is that they are continuing to tell themselves. Then they teach clients how to challenge these
self-statements so that they no longer believe them, encouraging them to acquire a philosophy
based on facts. The most efficient way to bring about lasting emotional and behavioral change is
for clients to change their way of thinking.
Here are some cognitive techniques available to the therapist:
 - Disputing irrational beliefs: The most common cognitive method of REBT consists of
the therapist actively disputing clients’ irrational beliefs and teaching them how to
do this challenging on their own. Clients dispute a particular “must,” absolute
“should,” or “ought” until they no longer hold that irrational belief. Examples: “Why
must people
treat me fairly?” “How do I become a total flop if I don’t succeed at important tasks I
try?” “If I don’t get the job I want, it may be disappointing, but I can certainly stand
it.” “If life doesn’t always go the way I would like it to, it isn’t awful, just
inconvenient.”

- Doing cognitive homework: REBT clients are expected to make lists of their
problems, look for their absolutist beliefs, and dispute these beliefs. Clients are
encouraged to record and think about how their beliefs contribute to their personal
problems and are asked to work hard at uprooting these self-defeating cognitions.
Homework assignments are a way of tracking down and attending to the “shoulds”
and “musts” that are part of their internalized self-messages. In this way, clients
gradually learn to lessen anxiety and to challenge basic irrational thinking.

- Bibliotherapy: Advantages of bibliotherapy includes cost-effectiveness, widespread

availability, and the potential of reaching a broad spectrum of populations.
Bibliotherapeutic approaches have empirical support for a range of clinical
problems, including the treatment of depression and many anxiety disorders.

- Changing one’s language: REBT rests on the premise that imprecise language is one
of the causes of distorted thinking processes. Clients learn that “musts,” “oughts,”
and absolute “shoulds” can be replaced by preferences. Instead of saying “It would
be absolutely awful if …” they learn to say “It would be inconvenient if …” Clients
who use language patterns that reflect helplessness and self-condemnation can
learn to employ new self-statements, which help them think and behave differently.
As a consequence, they also begin to feel differently.

 Emotive Techniques - REBT practitioners use a variety of emotive procedures, including

unconditional acceptance, rational emotive role playing, modeling, rational emotive imagery,
and shame-attacking exercises. Their purpose is not simply to provide a cathartic experience but
to help clients change some of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

- Rational emotive imagery: This is a form of intense mental practice designed to

establish new emotional patterns in place of disruptive ones by thinking in healthy
ways. In rational emotive imagery (REI), clients are asked to vividly imagine one of
the worst things that might happen to them and to describe their disturbing
feelings. Clients are shown how to train themselves to develop healthy emotions,
and as their feelings about adversities change, they stand a better chance of
changing their behavior in the situation.
 - Humor: Ellis contends that emotional disturbances often result from taking oneself
too seriously. One appealing aspect of REBT is that it fosters the development of a
better sense of humor and helps put life into healthy perspective. Humor has both
cognitive and emotional benefits in bringing about change.

- Role playing: Role playing has emotive, cognitive, and behavioral components. The
therapist may interrupt to show clients what they are telling themselves to create
their disturbances and what they can do to change unhealthy feelings to healthy
ones. Clients can rehearse certain roles to bring out what they feel in a situation.

- Shame-attacking exercises: Ellis developed exercises to help people reduce shame

and anxiety over behaving in certain ways. He asserts that we can stubbornly refuse
to feel ashamed by telling ourselves that it is not catastrophic if someone thinks we
are foolish. Practicing shame-attacking exercises can reduce, minimize, and prevent
feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety, and depression.

 Behavioral Techniques - REBT practitioners use most of the standard behavior therapy
procedures, especially operant conditioning, self-management principles, systematic
desensitization, relaxation techniques, and modeling. Behavioral homework assignments carried
out in real-life situations are particularly important. These assignments are done systematically
and are recorded and analyzed. Homework gives clients opportunities to practice new skills
outside of the therapy session, which may be even more valuable for clients than work done
during the therapy hour.