Practicing the A, B, C’s

(Albert Ellis and REBT)

Christian Ranche and Luke Yap

Psychology 265: Psychotherapy
 Albert Ellis and REBT

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

(a.k.a. Cognitive Behavior Therapy)
n PhD in Clinical Psychology form
Columbia 1947
n Broke with psychoanalysis
n New approach to change client’s self-
defeating beliefs and behaviors.
n Reduce irrational beliefs.
n “I must be perfect”
1913-2007 n “Everyone must love me.”
Dating experiment
n As teenager Ellis was
extremely shy around
women.
n Wanted to change behavior.
n Forced himself to talk to 100
women in one month at
Bronx Botanical Gardens.
n No dates but lost his fear of
rejection.
Basics of REBT
n Humanistic approach: individuals have the
capacity to create their own self-enhancing and
self-defeating emotions.
n Happiness is the goal: an individual’s belief
system affects the level of happiness and self-
actualization
n Source of unhappiness: people inadvertently
create personality and emotional disturbances
through their irrational beliefs.
ABC Model
n A. Activating event (thought or image)
n B. Beliefs about the event
n C. Beliefs will lead to emotional and/or
behavioral Consequences
Belief leads to consequence
n A. Someone zips into the parking space you
had your eye on.
n B. What are some possible beliefs?
n C. What are the consequences of those
beliefs?
Another example
n A. Your best friend hasn’t returned your
phone calls for several days.
n B. You think ____________.
n C. What is the consequence of that belief?
Consequence
n A. You and your partner have a fight.
n B. You think “ I never do anything right.”
n C. You feel (or do) ______________.
Alternative belief
n A. You and your partner have a fight.
n B. You think she (he) was in an awful mood.
n C. You feel (or do) ______________.
Another alternative belief
n A. You and your partner have a fight.
n B. I can always clear up misunderstandings.
n C. You feel (or do) ______________.
 The ABC Model at work
n ABC model helps people understand the
connection between belief and consequence.
n Individuals are influenced by what they tell
themselves (what they believe to be true).
n Most people begin only seeing that the
consequence stems from the activating event.
n For example: I yelled at the jerk who stole my
parking place.
n Don’t stop to consider or challenge their belief.
Rationality is the key
n We all have the potential to think rationally.
n Emotional disturbances comes from irrational
thinking.
n REBT theory holds that, if you think more
rationally in the face of negative events, you
will have less emotional distress.
n Rationality is the key to achieving happiness.
Ways of Thinking
n Rational n Irrational
n Empirically consistent n Inconsistent with reality,
with reality, testable lacks empirical validity
n Logical n Illogical
n Flexible n Dogmatic, nonflexible
n Preferential: expresses n Demanding: states
a desire not a demand demand rather than a
desire. Ellis calls this
“musturbation”
 Handling negative emotions
Adversity may lead to negative emotions.
Some negative emotions are more rational than others.

n Appropriate
n Sadness (I lost something
I cared about)
n Remorse (I’m sorry)
n Concern (I need to take
care of this)
n Inappropriate
n Depression (I’m no
good, worthless)
n Guilt (I’ve sinned)
n Anxiety (I’ll never
be able to handle
this)
Three REBT insights
n Beliefs, not events, cause disturbance. We
remain disturbed by adhering to irrational
beliefs.
n We perpetuate these beliefs by using them
repeatedly. We make the same connections
again and again, thereby strengthening our
irrational beliefs.
n We will have to work hard to restructure the
beliefs that create unhappiness.
REBT Techniques
n Homework: Clients are asked to complete
homework assignments, keeping track of
ABC connections.
n Emotive Techniques: try out techniques
through role playing, group sessions, using
emotive imagery, laughter.
n Behavioral Techniques: relaxation exercise,
distraction, rewards.
Homework assignment
n Until next class, work the A, B, C’s.
n Adversity: describe situation being as
objective as possible.
n Belief: how did you interpret the adversity.
n Separate thoughts and feelings.
n Beliefs can be evaluated.
n Emotions must be accepted.

n Consequences: what you did

Next step
n A. Smell cigarette smoke
n B. I could start again and control it.
n C. Bum a cigarette
n D. Stop (Distraction or Disputation)
Doing the “D”
n Distraction: think about something else.
n Think Stop sign or snap wrist band
n Dispuation: argument with self.
n Remember negative consequences
n Find good evidence
n Come up with alternatives
n Consider the implications
n Decatastrophize
 Active disputation
n Therapist engaging client by asking questions.
n Why is ______ so terrible or awful?
n Is there another way you can think about this?
n What is preventing you from doing so?
n Why must you have it this way?
n What is the worst that could happen if you give
up this belief?
n What is the best that could happen?
 Tom and Mr. Jones
n A. Tom not cast by good friend, Mr.
Jones to be in community theater play.
n B. Many: all negative
n C. No longer friends. No contact.
n D. Suggest possibilities to avoid
pessimistic consequence.
n E. Suggest more positive outcome.
Last step: Energize
n Act on the energy created by resolution
n Release the burden of carrying around
negative thoughts and feelings
When not to use optimism
n If your goal is to plan for a risky and uncertain
future
n Where the cost of failure is high.
n Be careful is using optimism in cases of
counseling others when the future is dim.
n Important to focus on the changeable and
specific.
Reinhold Neibuhr (1932)
n God give me the serenity to
accept things which cannot be
changed.
n Give me the courage to change
things which must be changed.
n And the wisdom to distinguish
one from the other.