What is REBT? A page dedicated to the therapy developed by Dr Albert Ellis in 1953-62. The ABC Model.
Rational and irrational beliefs. An effective new philosophy. The use of Homework. Disputing irrational
beliefs. Second anniversary of Dr Albert Ellis' death.
An Overview of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy(REBT/CBT)
Thursday
9th July 2009
Rational-Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) is the
original form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy; originated in 1953-62 by Albert Ellis PhD, a New York based clinical psychologist.
Dr Ellis had trained as a clinical psychologist and a sex therapist when person-centred ideas were prevalent; but then retrained
as a neoFreudian psychoanalyst and did that for about six years, until he discovered that this approach went into "every
philosophic irrelevancy", and seemed to be inefficient and too passive. So Dr Ellis went back to the philosophers, not
the psychologists, and reviewed them: from the ancient Chinese; Greeks; Romans and up to modern Europeans and some of the
American pragmatists. Out of this mixture, he fashioned REBT. It is often said that a single quote from Epictetus can sum
up the flavour of REBT, as follows: "People are not upset by what happens to them. They are upset by the *attitude* that
they adopt towards the things that happen to them". However, while this provides something of the flavour of REBT, it
is much deeper and broader than that; and is often mixed with other ingredients by various practitioners. For example, I mix
it with Zen, Transactional Analysis, Narrative Therapy, Object Relations theory, Happiness Coaching, and other influences.
Furthermore, on one of the supplementary pages to this main page, I will present a challenge to Epictetus's view of the world!
(For information about the range of services that I offer, please go here: ABC Coaching and Counselling Services).
~~~
One of
the most comprehensive, brief overviews of REBT available at YouTube is Will Ross's 'What is REBT?', which is presented
next:
~~~
Let me continue this presentation with a brief introduction to REBT, presented by Micah Perkins,
at Rational Radio, here.
~~~
I will now present a brief video of my own, containing some introductory comments on Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT). (There are several video clips on REBT presented in this feature, and they are all posted at YouTube. If you want
to watch those video clips while staying on this website, then please click once
on the arrow in the centre of each video screen. If you double-click that arrow you will be taken away from this
page, to YouTube, and you may lose track of this page). Additional features of REBT will be presented as you
proceed down this page. Here then is my brief introduction to this page:
In practice,
the system of REBT tends to be summed up in a little model called the A>B>C model, which goes like this:
The 'A' stands for an Activating event, or Activating
stimulus. This is the 'trigger' for an emotional/behavioural response.
The 'B' stands for Belief system, or what we tell ourselves, or 'signal'
ourselves, consciously or (more often) non-consciously, when the 'A' occurs.
And
the 'C' stands for 'Consequence' (emotional and/or behavioural), which
follows from the interaction of the 'A' and the 'B'.
If you would like a basic introduction to the A>B>C model of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, as
originally developed by Albert Ellis, then have a listen to Micah Perkins presentation at Rational Radio - The ABC presentation.
Then take a look at Jeffrey Guterman talking about a one
minute extract from a counselling session he experienced in the 1980s with Albert Ellis. Jeffrey uses that one minute extract
to illustrate the ABC model in action. He then presents a more detailed analysis of that one minute of REBT, shown here. Then because it is not ethical to display a real life counselling session, because of the promise of confidentiality,
Miranda Howard (Therapist) and Jeffrey Guterman (Client) role-play a demonstration
of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). In this role-play demonstration, which again illustrates the A>B>C model.
~~~
The remainder of this page is
presented in the form of a list of ten sections (or sub-sections), each of which is linked to a page of additional information.
Item 1(b) contains three video clips, which I recently produced, exploring the complexities of the A>B>C model beyond
the simple model presented above.
1(a). The ABC Model applied: (using the example of anxiety). This is an extract from my e-book 'Overcoming Fear and Anxiety'. If you work
with this extract for a while, you will develop a good understanding of the A>B>C model of REBT.
1(b). Recently one of my Primary Cert (in REBT) students contacted me to ask: "How
can I (bring myself to) blame one of my clients for upsetting himself, when he was physically and sexually abused, and raped?
How can I do that?" This is a classic misunderstanding of the REBT model. Because the question is sometimes
asked "What are you telling yourself to upset yourself?" it is easy to get into blaming the client, if you do not
understand the subtleties of the A>B>C model. I therefore dictated a 25 minute response, on MP3 audio, which is
now available at Huddle.net. (If you would like to hear it, please email jim.byrne@abc-counselling.com for an invitation to Huddle.net). I then produced three little video clips covering the same ground as the MP3,
and they are presented here...
REBT encourages you to develop a high tolerance of frustration.
When things go wrong in your life, that's just tough tish! It isn't awful. When all your efforts seem to be in vain, don't
give up; try again. Success is paid for in advance!!!
Low frustration
tolerance is about quitting when the going gets tough. But who ever guaranteed you that life would be easy? Three thousand
years ago, the Buddha Gautama discovered the 'nature' of human existence: "Life is suffering", or "Life is
tough"! That's what he learned. And isn't that what we all learn every single day of our lives!
Here's
a sentiment I have often expressed in the past:
"Knocked down by life a million times,
I stand up once more, bruised and battered, tired and demoralized. But I stand up! The secret of success is to stand up one
more time than life knocks you down". Jim Byrne
And here's Marcus
Aurelius on the same theme:
"Be like the headland on which the waves continually
break, but it stands firm and about it the boiling waters sink to sleep. 'Unlucky am I, because this has befallen me'. Nay,
rather: 'Lucky am I, because, though this befell me, I continue free from sorrow, neither crushed by the present, nor fearing
what is to come'." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.
And
here's a little three-minute video clip which emphasises the importance of getting up and trying again, no matter how often
life knocks you down. So don't give up! Try, try and try again!
~~~
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