Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Albert Ellis developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), a brief, direct, and solution-oriented therapy which focuses on resolving specific problems facing a troubled individual. REBT is the first form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy first set forth by Ellis in 1953. Fundamental to REBT is the concept that our emotions result solely from our beliefs, not by the events that occur in our lives. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for our beliefs to be healthy and rational, because the consequences of these beliefs will be emotional growth and happiness. If our beliefs are irrational and self-defeating, our emotional life suffers from neuroses such as self-blame, depression, and anxiety. REBT is an educational process in which the therapist teaches the client how to identify irrational beliefs, dispute them, and replace them with rational ones. Once the client is equipped with healthy beliefs, emotional difficulties and problematic behavior are abated.

REBT Therapy

Recalling the A-B-C theory of personality, successful REBT therapy adds steps D, E, and F. The D stands for disputing: the therapist helps the client to challenge the irrational belief (B). REBT teaching suggests that the therapist ask the client if there is any evidence for the belief, or what would be the worst possible outcome if the client were to give up that belief. In therapy the counselor may point out faulty beliefs, but he or she also teaches the client how to dispute them in day-to-day life outside of therapy. The result of disputing the self-defeating belief and replacing it with a rational one yields an effective philosophy (E), and also a new set of feelings (F) which are not debilitating.

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Although REBT teaches that the counselor should demonstrate unconditional full acceptance, the therapist is not encouraged to build a warm and caring relationship with the client. The counselor?s only task is to aid the client in identifying and confronting irrational beliefs and replacing them with rational ones. The therapist usually is not even interested in the past events which are the source of the irrational belief; all that matters is getting rid of that belief in the present.

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REBT posits that the client has to work hard to get better, and this work may include homework assigned by the therapist. The assignments frequently are meant to desensitize the client by having him or her do the very thing that is causing fear. Since REBT focuses on specific problems and avoids detailed analysis, it can be used as a brief therapy. Another factor contributing to brevity is that the counselor teaches the client how to identify and dispute self-defeating beliefs so that the client can help himself or herself in the future without the need of therapy.

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A successful collaboration between the REBT therapist and a client results in changes to the client?s cognitions, which results in the client feeling better. Self-defeating thinking is arrested and behavioral changes result. The client moves toward self-acceptance despite his or her imperfections.

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