Ch 11: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy – Flashcards
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Albert Ellis
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-Grandfather of CBT & the founder of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) -As a therapist, he saw his goal as solving personal & social problems
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Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
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-1st CBT to be introduced into clinical practice -Has been applied successfully to individual, group, marital, & family therapy for a wide array or problems
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REBT is based on the assumption that...
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Humans have a biological tendency to think irrationally or dysfunctionally, as well as rationally or functionally (genetic + environment)
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REBT asserts that...
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Humans have the ability to construct self-enhancing thoughts, feelings, & behaviors & are strongly motivated to change things for the better
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Fundamental to REBT is the notion that...
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Our contradictory nature, along with our social upbringing, not only impels us to create happier & more fulfilling lives, but also encourages us to elevate strong goals, desires, & preferences into absolutistic & unrealistic shoulds, oughts, & musts that lead to emotional & behavioral difficulties
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These shoulds, oughts, & musts fall under 3 main categories
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1. Self-demandingness 2. Other-demandingness 3. World-demandingness
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Self-demandingness
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-The idea that we must always perform well & win others' approval; & if we don't, we're incompetent, unworthy, & deserve to suffer -Often results in self-hatred, anxiety, depression, procrastination, withdrawal, & obsessiveness
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Other-demandingness
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-Implies that people with whom we associate must always treat us kindly, considerately, & fairly; & if they don't they're unworthy, bad , rotten, & deserve to be punished -Often results in anger, rage, hurt, jealousy, vindictiveness, & violence
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World-demandingness
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-The conditions in which we live must be enjoyable, hassle-free, safe, & favorable; & if they're not, it's awful, horrible, & unbearable -Often leads to anger, depression, self-pity, low-frustration tolerance, withdrawal, procrastination, phobias, & addictions
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Rational philosophy of life
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-Creating one is a major construct of REBT -It's designed to help people increase their happiness & decrease emotional distress
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Purpose of rational philosophy
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To identify beliefs that lead to survival, satisfaction, with living, positive ways of relating to others, intimate involvement with others, & personally fulfilling endeavors
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Major constructs
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-Testing one's assumptions & examining the validity & functionality of beliefs are important as well as developing flexibility in adopting new beliefs to guide behavior -There are some constructions (namely, rational beliefs) that are more functional & lead to emotional adjustment
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REBT counselors/therapists
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Focus on helping clients develop rational, as opposed to irrational, constructions
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Values that promote emotional adjustment & mental health
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Self-Acceptance, Non-Utopian (not going to get everything you want), Self-Interest, Self-Direction, Flexibility, Commitment, Risk-Taking, High-Frustration Tolerance, Social Interest, Tolerance, Acceptance of Uncertainty, Self-Responsibility for Disturbance
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Theoretical assumptions
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-REBT ascribes to the notion that cognitions or beliefs cause emotions & behavior -REBT theorists stress the interconnectedness of thinking, feeling, & behaving -Events & people don't make us feel bad or good -Irrational beliefs emanate from multiple environmental & genetic factors
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Because people think, feel, & act simultaneously...
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It is logical that what people think affects how they feel, that people usually don't feel or act without thinking, & that how they behave influences what they think & how they feel
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Emotional distress...
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Emotional distress results from dysfunctional thought processes such as exaggeration, overgeneralization, oversimplification, illogic, faulty deductions, absolutistic rigid schema, & unvalidated assumptions
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Irrational beliefs are maintained because...
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People rehearse them & continue to reindoctrinate themselves without reevaluating their thinking
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5 Major Theoretical Concepts
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1. Goals, purposes, & rationality 2. A Humanistic Emphasis 3. The interaction of psychological processes & the place of cognition 4. Basic biological tendencies 5. Fundamental human disturbances
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Goals, purposes, & rationality
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REBT proposes that humans are happiest when they have goals & purposes that give meaning to their lives
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Humanistic emphasis
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Although REBT is rational & scientific, it's not purely objective, scientific or technique-centered, but takes a definite humanistic-existential approach to human problems & their basic solutions
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The interaction of psychological processes & the place of cognition
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REBT theory emphasizes an interactive view of psychological processes in that cognitions, emotions, & behaviors don't exist in isolation, but actually overlap considerably
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Basic biological tendencies
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This theory acknowledges that social influences have some impact on humans' tendency to think irrationally, but stresses that irrational beliefs also have strong biological basis & are more related to mental health problems than are rational beliefs
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Fundamental human disturbances
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There's 2 major categories of psychological disturbance: ego disturbance & discomfort disturbance
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Ego disturbance
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Occurs when individuals make demands on themselves, others, & the world. If these demands aren't met, they put themselves down by assigning a global negative rating to themselves & identifying themselves as bad or less worthy
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Discomfort disturbance
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(AKA low-frustration tolerance, LFT) occurs when individuals make demands on themselves, others, & the world relative to comfort & life conditions. When these demands aren't met, individuals begin to "awfulize" & develop an "I-can't-stand-it" attitude
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Goal of REBT
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Help clients develop a rational philosophy of life that will reduce their emotional distress & self-defeating behavior & result in their ability to lead a happier & more fulfilling life
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To achieve its goal, REBT counselors/therapists help identify...
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How they prevent themselves from being happy by focusing on their irrational beliefs that lead to emotional & behavioral disturbance
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REBT theory of change
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1. Clients must acknowledge that they have a problem. Clients also need to realize that, to a large extent, they create their own disturbance 2. Clients must identify any meta-emotional problems, which are secondary problems about primary problems 3. Clients need to identify irrational beliefs & understand why the belief is illogical & irrational 4. Clients must recognize why the rational beliefs would be preferable & give them better results 5. Clients need to learn how to challenge irrational beliefs & replace them with rational alternatives. 6. Clients need to keep working on their tendencies to think & act irrationally
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REBT has been influenced by Roger's core conditions
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The concept of unconditional acceptance & genuineness is endorsed by REBT counselors or therapists
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A-B-C Model
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A=Activating Event B=Belief about the Event C=Consequence
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As people attempt to fulfill their goals, they encounter...
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An activating event (A) that either blocks or helps them achieve these goals
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Activating events may be...
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1. Positive or negative 2. May refer to real or perceived events 3. Can be past, present, or future-oriented 4. Can be an individual's own thoughts or feelings
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When individuals seek counseling/therapy...
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They believe that the activating event has caused their negative emotional & behavioral consequences
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REBT theory posits that it's not the the activating effect (A) that creates emotional & behavioral consequences (C)...
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But rather the beliefs (B) people hold about these activating
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Beliefs
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-Either rational or irrational -Rational beliefs are self-enhancing & help people achieve their goals; they're flexible, logical, & pragmatic -Irrational beliefs are usually associated with "musts"
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Irrational beliefs share 4 key elements
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1. Demanding 2. Awfulizing 3. Low-frustration tolerance 4. Global rating of self or others
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Irrational beliefs
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Can be detected in several ways: cognitively, emotionally, & behaviorally
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Identifying irrational beliefs cognitively
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Can be identified by listening for "shoulds, oughts, & musts," as well as phrases such as "I can't stand it," or "that is horrible"
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Irrational beliefs (emotionally)
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Present when there are extreme negative emotions such as panic, depression, or intense anger
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Irrational beliefs (behaviorally)
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Self-defeated actions signal the likelihood of irrational beliefs
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Disputation (D)
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-Next step in the A-B-C model once the emotional & behavioral consequences & the irrational beliefs have been identified -Active process that helps clients assess the rationality of their irrational beliefs & whether these irrational beliefs are helpful -Purpose of challenging these rigid & inflexible beliefs is to replace them with rational alternatives
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A (activating effect)
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Ask clients to identify the problem they'd like to work on
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C (emotional & behavioral consequence)
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Ask clients how they feel about the problem & how they behave in response to it
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After describing C...
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The counselor/therapist then asks clients to rate the intensity of the feeling, saying something like, "On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being high, how would you rate the intensity of your emotion?"
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After evaluation of the emotional consequence...
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Counselor/therapist evaluates secondary emotions by asking clients how they feel about feeling depressed, anxious, guilty, & so forth
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After dealing with secondary emotions...
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Counselor/therapist asks clients to identify their beliefs related to the identified emotional & behavioral consequence (B)
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Once beliefs have been elicited...
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Next step is to help the client see the connection between the beliefs & emotions, which is the crux of REBT; leads to goal setting
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Once there's an agreed-upon goal...
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Counselor/therapist initiates disputing (D)
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Types of disputations which can be employed mildly or vigorously
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Didactic; Socratic Approach; Functional Dispute; Empirical Dispute; Logical Dispute; Philosophical Dispute
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Didactic
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This is informational. In this process, the counselor/therapist explains the difference between rational beliefs, which are flexible & adaptive & help in goal attainment; & irrational beliefs, which are rigid, illogical, & interfere with goal achievement
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Socratic approach
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This is another common form of disputation that is more preferable than didactic dispute, involves questioning that gives clients insight into the irrationality of their thinking
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Functional dispute
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The purpose is to question the practicality of the client's irrational beliefs
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Empirical dispute
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This helps clients evaluate the factual aspects of their beliefs
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Logical dispute
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This helps clients see how illogical it is to escalate their desires & preferences into demands
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Philosophical dispute
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Helps clients look at meaning & satisfaction in life. Because clients often focus on specific problems & lose perspective on other aspects of their life, this type of dispute helps them gain perspective
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Effective beliefs (E)
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Asking the client identify more effective thoughts to help him/her with goal attainment
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Ultimate goal to help develop...
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Effective new beliefs/philosophy (E) & effective new feelings (F)
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Multimodal emphasis
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REBT counselors/therapists utilize many cognitive, emotive, & behavioral interventions to bring about change
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Cognitive interventions
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Disputation of Irrational Beliefs; Socratic Questioning; Didactic Explanations; Humorous Exaggeration; The Friendship Dispute; Homework; Referenting; Rational Coping Statements; Semantic Methods; Bibliotherapy; Audiotherapy
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Emotive interventions
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Humor, in the Form of Exaggeration; Rational Humorous Songs; Rational Role Playing; Reverse Role Play; Rational Emotive Imagery; Forceful Coping Statements; Experiential Exercises
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Behavioral interventions
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Shame Attacking Exercises; Skills Training; Rewards; Penalties; Paradoxical Homework
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Mental health issues
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REBT has been applied to wide variety of disorders (OCD, panic disorder, anger, etc.)
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How REBT conceptualizes Anxiety Disorder
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Clients with GAD are more likely to interpret ambiguous info as threatening, overestimate the probability of the occurrence of potentially dangerous events, & rate the feared events as more aversive or costly
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How REBT conceptualizes Depression
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Clinical depression results when individuals have one or more of the following beliefs: a negative view of self, a negative view of their environment, a bleak view of the future, the prediction that negative things will happen to them, a belief that they must do better and be approved of by significant others, and a belief that they should be treated better in life
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Limitations
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-Ellis focused on theory & practice rather than research, REBT has a reputation for having insufficient empirical support -It's difficult to test the effectiveness of cognitive, emotive, & behavioral techniques & this has been discouraging for researchers
