Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: All you need to Know about it

A Quick Guide

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of psychotherapy developed by psychologist Albert Ellis in the 1950s. It is a practical and action-oriented approach that aims to help individuals identify and change irrational beliefs and thought patterns that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors. In this article, we will discuss what REBT is, how it works, its uses, and its pros and cons.

What is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy REBT?

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy REBT is a brief form of therapy that uses a variety of approaches to confront irrational ideas and exchange them for healthier, more helpful ones. The goal of REBT is to teach people how to better and more realistically control their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors while assisting them in overcoming their irrational beliefs. It is based on the idea that although people are naturally goal-oriented, they are also illogical and self-defeating.

Most people are unaware of how many of their self-perceptions are unrealistic and negatively impact how they act in relationships and other circumstances. These beliefs can cause people to experience unpleasant feelings and act in a damaging way. And so, REBT acknowledges the interrelation, interaction, and influence of our cognition, emotions, and behavior. It’s crucial to look at people’s beliefs about some of these events and the emotions that emerge from those beliefs to comprehend behavior in different scenarios.

To help someone realize how their views of things can lead to emotional distress, which consequently results in undesirable actions and behaviors that impair their goals in life, REBT primarily focuses on the present. This can assist people in creating better connections and approaches to situations and occurrences once it has been recognized, comprehended, and transformed into more sensible beliefs.

Background of REBT

In the 1950s, Albert Ellis developed the psychotherapy technique called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. REBT is believed to have served as the foundation for the development of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which was developed by Aaron Beck in 1976. Ellis was regarded as the founder of CBT and influenced Beck, even though REBT is categorized under CBT.

When emotion and behavior were added, the therapy’s original name, rational therapy, was changed to reflect the fact that these other fundamental elements of the therapy were also involved. In contrast to psychoanalysis, which was likely the most widely used therapy at the time, REBT was introduced. 

REBT vs CBT 

It might be difficult for people to instantly recognize the differences between CBT and REBT. The majority of people will be drawn to the similarities and areas where both therapies overlap rather than the distinctions between CBT and REBT. Any REBT tool, intervention, or strategy is viewed as a CBT method because experts view REBT as a part of CBT rather than as something entirely separate.

Along with other mental health therapies, REBT falls within the category of CBT. Additional examples of CBT approaches include:

• Acceptance and commitment therapy ACT
• Cognitive therapy CT
• Dialectical behavior therapy DBT
• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy MBCT
• Schema therapy

Even though each form will have some minor differences, they all have enough similarities to be categorized as CBT. 

How does Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Work?

The ABC model is a key component of REBT. This concept describes how, even though we may put the responsibility for our unhappiness on outside factors, the real cause of psychological suffering is how we perceive these outside factors. The foundation of REBT is the notion that most people desire to succeed in life and accomplish their objectives. However, these objectives might occasionally be derailed by irrational ideas and feelings. These ideas are believed to affect how a person interprets situations and events.

ABC Model

According to the ABC model:

A – an activating incident occurs in the environment and causes a negative response or reaction.

B – Belief – This concept refers to ideas that are typically illogical and refer to the activating event or situation.

C – consequence, which refers to the emotional reaction to the idea. These reactions, which are frequently upsetting, are brought on by unreasonable thoughts or beliefs.

For instance

Imagine a child who believes they must be flawless in all they do. The failure to achieve the highest grade on a test at school could serve as the triggering event. Irrational ideas like “I am a failure,” “I should feel humiliated,” or “I must do better” may be the result of the induced beliefs about this activation event. The child may become upset and cry as a result of these thoughts, feel guilty for not being completely competent in what they do, or overstress themselves by working even harder the next time to prevent feeling this way again.

It can be very difficult to react to triggering situations healthily if you hold irrational ideas. People who have strict standards for both themselves and others may discover that they are regularly overcome with feelings of regret, worry, and disappointment.

How to deal with unhealthy negative emotions?

Individuals are assisted in REBT to distinguish between normal negative feelings of worry and harmful feelings of anxiety. In difficult times, normal negative emotions may be helpful; a person may realize they have no control over the issue and learn to let it go.

With anxiety, people frequently act in a way that is counterproductive to their goals and adopt inflexible or extreme attitudes. According to REBT, a person’s views about a stressful situation significantly impact whether they experience unhealthy negative emotions. An individual has a greater chance to suffer from extremely negative emotional effects if they have strict attitudes toward challenges and include words like “must,” “absolutely should,” “have to,” and “need to” in their sentences.

With the help of REBT, people are encouraged to accept responsibility for their beliefs and to recognize that they do have a choice over their emotions. Additionally, the therapy will promote the use of helpful language.

The student in the scenario might, for instance, explain, “I got myself anxious about not achieving the top grade. And if I can make myself anxious, I have the option of stopping to do so.

As a result, people begin to recognize that their attitudes and beliefs caused them to experience these troubling emotions rather than blaming challenging circumstances for them.

Techniques in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Using the ABC Model and Recognizing Beliefs

Your therapist will assist you with REBT in learning how to incorporate the ABC model into your daily life. For instance, if you’re experiencing depression as a result of a disagreement in your relationship, your therapist may assist you with determining the trigger event for your issue before urging you to determine which beliefs contributed to your negative feelings. Identifying the underlying beliefs that cause psychological discomfort is a crucial step in this process. These are frequently expressed as implications, such as “I must,” “I should,” or “I can’t.” Some of the frequently held illogical notions are:

• A sense that your fulfillment and happiness are completely reliant on outside factors, and that you have no power over your satisfaction.
• Becoming very offended at the faults or wrongdoings of others.
• Believing that to be appreciated and valuable, you must be completely skilled and accomplished in everything.
• The idea that avoiding obstacles or hardships in life can make you happier.

It is nearly impossible to react to activating events in a psychologically healthy manner when one holds unwavering beliefs like these. Having strict standards for both ourselves and other people only causes disappointment, resentment, regret, and anxiety.

Disputation

Engaging in a technique called disputation is one step toward transforming your beliefs. Your therapist will use straightforward approaches during disputation to counter your irrational ideas. They could directly challenge your views, forcing you to reevaluate them, or they might challenge your preconceived notions by asking you to examine an alternative viewpoint. The goal of debate is to provide you with the tools you need to control your emotions and general mental health. Although every therapist may tackle disputation differently, it is a necessary step in the process. Ellis argued that to encourage people to change their attitudes and behaviors, therapists should be direct, honest, and logical rather than just nice and helpful.

Developing Understanding and Changing Behavior

Discovering how to change your irrational ideas with healthier ones is a crucial step in the REBT approach. It’s common to experience some discomfort or worry that you’ve done something wrong during this process because it can be overwhelming and upsetting.

However, REBT aims to assist individuals in responding logically to circumstances that ordinarily result in tension, depression, or other negative emotions. The emotionally healthy reaction in such a situation would be to acknowledge that expecting success in every attempt is unreasonable. You can only go on and learn from the experience. REBT emphasizes the following three fundamental ideas:

• Even when another person acts in a way you don’t like, you should still accept them.
• Even when you struggle or make bad decisions, you are still deserving of self-acceptance; there is no need to feel guilty or ashamed.
• Life will occasionally bring you negative experiences, but it doesn’t indicate that everything is going wrong. There is no logical reason to anticipate that life would always be happy.

While using cognitive techniques, REBT also emphasizes emotions and behaviors. Along with identifying and challenging irrational beliefs, therapists and clients collaborate to address the emotional reactions that go along with negative thoughts. The following techniques could be recommended: 

• Guided imagery
• Journaling
• Meditation

When is REBT used?

Some evidence supports the effectiveness of REBT in several circumstances, including:

• Anxiety
• Children’s disruptive behavior
• Depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD
• Social anxiety disorder
• Symptoms of psychosis

REBT has also demonstrated potential in sports psychology, where it could be applied to assist players in overcoming illogical beliefs that may be adversely affecting their performance and mental health.

Pros of REBT

Overall, REBT can help a person in: 

• Decreasing anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions
• Enhancing quality of life
• Increasing social and academic performance

Getting Started with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Whether in person, online, or over the phone, meet your possible therapist. As you are getting acquainted, ask the therapist:

• How can they support you with your specific issues?
• If they have previously dealt with a situation like this.
• The duration of the process.
• What steps do they take?

Find a certified mental health professional who has received training in rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral therapy.   It’s crucial to work with a therapist with whom you feel at ease, in addition to looking into their credentials. 

Keep in mind

The REBT procedure can be challenging. As it can be difficult to accept irrational thought processes as unhealthy, engaging in a debate may come out as harsh or confrontational to others. Oftentimes, it may be necessary to learn to let go of ingrained beliefs, which makes the task of changing these attitudes much more difficult.

Because REBT is designed to teach skills that last a lifetime, it is not a passive process. You might have reading assignments and homework between sessions, and you’ll probably need to push yourself out of your comfort zone to benefit from this kind of therapy.

We hope you found this article helpful in learning about rational emotive behavior therapy REBT.