Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy

Part 1 THE DISTINCTIVE THEORETICAL FEATURES OF REBT ; Terminology and theory; Post-modernism, relativism and other emphases: REBT’s distinctive theoretical heritage; REBT’s distinctive ABC model; Rigid and extreme attitudes are at the core of psychological disturbance ; Flexible and non-extreme attitudes are at the core of psychological health; Distinction between unhealthy negative emotions (UNEs) and healthy negative emotions (HNEs); REBT’s key principle of emotional responsibility; Explaining why clients’ inferences are highly distorted; Position on human worth; Distinction between ego and discomfort disturbance and health; Focus on meta-psychological disturbance; The biological basis of human disturbance; REBT’s position on the origin and maintenance of psychological problems; REBT’s position on psychological change; Position on good mental health; Part 2 THE DISTINCTIVE PRACTICAL FEATURES OF REBT; The therapeutic relationship in REBT; Position on case formulation; Psycho-educational emphasis; Dealing with problems in order: (i) disturbance; (ii) dissatisfaction; (iii) development; Early focus on rigid and extreme basic attitudes (R/EBs); Helping clients to change their rigid and extreme attitudes to flexible and non-extreme attitudes; Variety of therapeutic styles; REBT encourages clients to seek adversity when carrying out homework assignments, but does so sensibly; Change is hard work and the use of therapist force and energy; Emphasis on teaching clients general flexible and non-extreme attitudes and encouraging them to make a profound philosophic change; Compromises in therapeutic change; When to use a change-based focus (CBF) and when to use an acceptance-based focus (ABF); Focus on clients’ misconceptions, doubts, reservations and objections to REBT; Therapeutic efficiency; Theoretically consistent eclecticism; Appendix; References