REBT: Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy by A. Ellis

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy was developed by Albert Ellis.

It was called at different times and is called today by different specialists in different ways: RET (rational-emotional therapy), REPK (rational-emotional-behavioral counseling), REBT (rational-emotional-behavioral therapy).

Download Whalen S., DiGusepp R., Wessler R. Rational-emotional-behavioral psychotherapy.doc

The main goal of REBT is teaching rational sociality. REBT is not a treatment, not a psychotherapy, but behavior change: education and training. Teaching scientifically (rationally) meaningful experience of coping with life’s problems, with one’s feelings and actions, and training the skills of thinking and rational behavior.

“REBT also contains preventive education and, perhaps, therefore, it can really be called, instead of the fixed medical term, psychotherapy, behavior change, or training” (Ellis A. Humanistic psychotherapy: Rational-emotional approach. / Translated from English. — SPb. : Owl Publishing House, Moscow: EKSMO-Press Publishing House, 2002. — P. 45.). See →

The traditional name «psychotherapist» in this case is more appropriate to replace with «trainer-consultant in the field of life (social) skills.» Or: socio-trainer, socio-consultant.

Theoretical representations of REBT

REBT believes that virtually all human problems are the result of irrational beliefs (mystical thinking, belief in uncritically learned “should”, “should” and “should”) and therefore can be directly and immediately eliminated by strict adherence to empirical reality (Ellis A. Humanistic psychotherapy : Rational-emotional approach / Translated from English — St. Petersburg: Owl Publishing House, Moscow: EKSMO-Press Publishing House, 2002. — P. 45).

The basic postulate is that people first interpret situations according to their deep-rooted beliefs and then act on those interpretations.

“If beliefs do not change, there is no improvement. If beliefs change, the symptoms also change. Beliefs function like little operational blocks.” (A. Beck)

Three basic principles of working with beliefs:

1. People experience problems not because of events, but as a result of perceiving them through the prism of beliefs.
2. It doesn’t matter when you acquired this or that belief, you still adhere to it if you experience corresponding problems. This is the principle of the priority of the present time (it should not be confused with the Gestalt principle of «here-and-now»).
3. There is no other way to deal with this than to work and practice for the rest of your damn life! (There is no way but work and practice the rest of your damn life!) This is the principle of concrete and regular work. In one of his speeches, A. Ellis said that the most important thing in REPK is simply “work, work, work… (Internet Document: http://www.fenichel.com/Beck-Ellis.shtml)”.

ABC model

The ABC model (sometimes «ABC», in the extended version — «ABCDE») is the core of the theory of REBT. Other names are The Therapeutic Change Model and ABC Theory of Personality. Describes not only the process of occurrence of erroneous emotions and behavior, but how to eliminate their causes.

• «A» (activators, English activating events) — these are any current events or one’s own thoughts, feelings, behavior in connection with these events, and possibly memories or thoughts about past experiences.
• «B» (English beliefs) — beliefs.
• «C» — consequences (English consequences).

In «A» each person brings something of his own, namely his beliefs, goals, physiological predisposition, attitudes, views — «B» (English beliefs). And already «B» leads precisely to that, and not to another «C» — a consequence (English consequences).

«A», «B» and «C» are closely related, and none of these elements can exist without the others. To change «C» one must either change directly «A» (the most shallow level of psychotherapeutic changes), or realize that «B» leading to irrational «C» are irrational, test this in experience and accept instead of specific irrational «B» concrete rational. Or, ideally, in the case of the most profound and effective therapeutic change, to make a philosophical restructuring of irrational views.

Rational and irrational beliefs

Rational views lead to productive behavior, while irrational beliefs lead to self-destruction and erroneous, irrational behavior. Namely, the following processes are launched:

• dramatization) — «A» is rated as terrible by more than 100%. Starts with «it shouldn’t be that bad…»;
• condemnation) — those who do not do what they «should» (including in relation to myself) — «bad», «unworthy», «subhuman», etc.

Three root irrational beliefs according to A. Ellis: “It all comes down to three things:

• I have to do everything well.
• Everyone should treat me well.
• The world should be easy for me.» See →

In a particular case, this is the replacement of absolutist requirements (“must” and “must” — “must-anism”, the philosophy of absolute obligation) — with rational relative preferences in this particular situation. In general, this is the adoption of a flexible attitude in relation to life events in general.

What beliefs do not touch

Any specific ideological, political or religious beliefs remain the private matter of both the client and the consultant.

In the West, many representatives of various confessions turn to REPK both as a tool for pastoral counseling and as a method of self-help, without sacrificing faith itself.

Constructive and non-constructive emotions

REBT distinguishes between constructive and non-constructive emotions: for example, anger is non-constructive, while dissatisfaction is an incentive to change an undesirable state of affairs and is thus constructive.

Stages of work with beliefs that interfere with clients:

• Analytical diagnosis of beliefs.
• Rocking and softening the client’s beliefs

Method of critical discussion. A. Ellis conducts only 30-minute sessions (compare with hours-long sessions with the Freudians).

When the client begins to realize and fix in words his pathogenic thoughts, the question is asked to each of them: “On what basis do you consider this thought to be true?” This question arises from the assumption that all beliefs of an individual exist in his mind due to one or another justification. A. Ellis emphasizes: “I try to show throughout the session that there is always a “justification” for a certain belief.” The predominant part of these justifications rests in the form of cognitions that are not in demand for awareness, since in established cultures and in the system of modern education there are practically no situations in which many key worldview beliefs of an individual would be consciously questioned and analytically formulated.

• Replacing them with more flexible and rational
• Implanting a New Habit: Prolonged and Regular Training in Stopping the Recurrence of False Beliefs and in Applying Rational Beliefs

This work, provided in the REPK with a large number of blank forms and practical exercises, is done by the client mainly independently in the form of diaries and homework. During the sessions, the consultant checks the results of the training, helps to correct mistakes and develop new programs. In some cases, a consultant can act as a playing coach, that is, consult a client with claustrophobia right in the elevator, and visit public events or popular pubs with a client with a fear of crowded places.

• Teaching the client to do all this work with themselves — on their own.

Preparing the client to become their own therapist in the future. Individual REBT ends not when the client has solved all his problems, but when he feels ready to cope with the remaining problems on his own and is confident in his ability to deal with any difficulty in the future (Ellis A., Dryden W. The practice of rational-emotional behavioral therapy, pp. 65-66).

Additional tools

REBT uses many useful techniques and techniques: rational, irrational, emotional, behavioral, imaginative (visualization), linguistic (semantic), logical, experimental (verification in practice of solutions to specific problems), biblio-, audio- (special ironic and humorous songs and poetry), visio (caricatures) and video therapeutic and many others. R. McMullin’s work «Workshop on Cognitive Therapy» describes over 100 separate techniques that are «in service» with a cognitive consultant (See: McMullin R. Workshop on Cognitive Therapy: Translated from English — St. Petersburg: Speech, 2001).

REBT is … a form of eclecticism known as «theoretically consistent eclecticism» in that techniques are freely borrowed from other therapeutic systems but applied for purposes consistent with the underlying theory of REBT. In particular, REBT therapists are concerned about the short-term and long-term effects of specific therapeutic techniques: they will rarely use techniques that have an immediate positive result, but negative delayed consequences (Ellis A., Dryden W. The practice of rational-emotional behavioral therapy. — P. 65- 66)».

Techniques not used or avoided in RERT

A. Ellis and W. Dryden directly list the techniques that are avoided in REPK:

• techniques that make clients more dependent (for example, the therapist’s excessive warmth as a strong reinforcer, the creation and analysis of a replacement neurosis);
• techniques that make people more gullible and suggestible (for example, perceiving the world through rose-colored glasses);
• techniques that are verbose and ineffective (for example, psychoanalytic methods in general and free association in particular, which encourage the client to give lengthy descriptions of the activating experience, or «A»);
• methods that make the client feel better in a short time, but do not guarantee sustainable improvement (for example, some experiential techniques in which there is a full expression of feelings in a dramatic, cathartic and abreactive manner are some of the methods and main techniques of Gestalt therapy; the danger here lies in that such methods can encourage people to put into practice the philosophy behind emotions such as anger);
• techniques that distract clients from working on their dysfunctional worldview (eg, relaxation, yoga, and other cognitive distraction techniques). These methods can, however, be used in conjunction with cognitive challenge to give way to some shifts in philosophy;
• methods that may inadvertently reinforce a philosophy of low frustration tolerance (eg gradual desensitization);
• techniques in which there is an anti-scientific philosophy (eg, suggestion therapy and mysticism);
• techniques that attempt to change the Activating Event («A») before showing the client how to change their irrational Beliefs («B») (for example, some family therapy techniques);
• techniques that do not have sufficient empirical support (for example, neurolinguistic programming, non-directive therapy, rebirthing (Ellis A., Dryden W. The practice of rational-emotional behavioral therapy. — P. 65-66)).

Working depth

REPK necessarily begins with persistent attempts to encourage the client to radically reconsider the worldview, since only such a fundamental restructuring can heal a person from unhealthy thinking and destructive emotions in the most fundamental way and for the rest of his life — so that he no longer needs to seek outside help again. .

If the client in one way or another refuses this option, then the consultant proceeds to symptomatic help, that is, to the elimination and replacement of the client’s private irrational beliefs regarding certain aspects of his life or a specific type of situation.

The final line of retreat for the REP consultant is to relieve the client’s emotional symptoms by «shamanic» methods if the client is unable or unwilling to respond to rational methods.

Thinking about boundaries and perspectives

The RERT technique has traditional limitations: it is suitable for rational and responsible people, or for suggestible people who will not be too hard on their beliefs. Experienced women and stubborn fanatics will not be taken by this approach.

Note — and shamanic techniques will once be able to influence them.

It seems that without prejudice to rationalism, this approach can be strengthened by working with the body, for example, by removing functional negativity. As long as the client sits with a persistently unhappy face, no amount of rational work towards a more positive outlook on life will be effective.