Unit 4
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
INTRODUCTION Rational emotive therapy, when developed by Albert Ellis in the 1950s, was a radical change from the psychoanalytic therapy he had been trained to practice. In his sessions with clients, Ellis noticed that they all had many irrational thoughts that he believed were the true causes of their psychological distress. He found that he could help them make rapid changes in their feelings by getting them to change their thoughts to more rational ones without needing to explore their pasts or do lengthy analysis. In his early writings he listed 13 different irrational beliefs that he found were common to many Americans, such as, “It is very important for everyone to like me,” “Life is supposed to be fair,” and “It is terrible if I make a mistake.” Ellis’ writings are very easy to understand even for the layperson. One example of the simplicity of his style is his famous ABCs of RET. In common speech we say that something happened that made us feel a certain way. For example a client might say, “My wife left me, and that made me depressed.” However Ellis’ idea is that it is not the antecedent event (A) that causes the consequent feelings (C), but rather the belief system (B) in the middle that is the cause of the emotions. In our example, another client’s wife may leave him, and he becomes happy. How could the same event, (A) the wife leaving, cause two different feelings, (C) depression and happiness? The answer is that the belief systems (B) were different for each client. The first believed he was a reject and would never find love, while the second believed his wife was crazy and now he was finally free to find true love. So to help clients using RET, the therapist would help clients become aware of their irrational beliefs and then change them to more rational ones (D), leading to better feelings (E) in the client. This week, in addition to your reading, you will have an opportunity to try out your own ability to practice the ABCs of RET in a mock therapy session. Find out from your client what negative feelings they are having (C), what event (A) they think caused the feelings, and then help them discover what they are thinking about the situation (B). Once you and the client can find some irrational beliefs about the situation, help the client think of some more rational ways to think about the situation (D) and see if that results in more positive feelings (E).
In later years, Ellis changed the name of his theory to rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), with the B standing for behavior. This change was made in recognition of the importance of behavioral changes in any successful psychotherapy. Clients were encouraged to examine the behavioral consequences of both their irrational and rational beliefs in addition to noticing the emotional consequences.
OBJECTIVES To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to: 1.) Analyze differences between REBT and client-centered and psychoanalytic therapy. 2.) Apply Ellis’ ABC model in a mock counseling session. 3.) Evaluate the effectiveness of a mock REBT counseling session. Mock Interview Using the same helper from last week, or a new helper (you can make this up, name the person James), conduct a new hypothetical therapy session using the ABCs of REBT. Have the client describe something that happened to them that resulted in some negative feelings. As the therapist, build on the therapeutic listening skills you practiced in the last unit by asking your client questions now to:
Clarify the event and their feelings and to elicit their beliefs about the event.
Help them figure out what is irrational about their beliefs and how that is a cause of their negative feelings or behavioral consequence.
Help them develop more rational beliefs leading to more positive feelings or behavioral consequences.
You will evaluate this interview in a discussion for this unit.
***ASSIGNMENT***
Practicing REBT Describe your mock counseling session. Explain the “client’s” concern by applying the ABC model. Identify the (a) activating event, (b) belief about the event, and so forth. How effective were you at helping your client discover irrational beliefs and replace them with more rational ones?