Rational Emotive Therapy Marian Kim Byung Lim Reporter

Rational - Emotive Therapy Marian Kim Byung Lim Reporter

Fundamental Tenets

ØAlbert Ellis, a clinical psychologist and at the time a practicing psycho-analytically oriented psychotherapist, initiated the development of rational – emotive therapy as a separate therapeutic system in 1955.

Continuation… Ø Ellis had become disillusioned with traditional psychoanalytic therapy because clients rarely gave up their presenting symptoms or they developed new ones. Ø This lack of progress occurred even though his client could achieve insight by connecting the events of their early childhood to their present emotional disturbances.

Continuation… Ø Ellis came to realize that the problem was that the clients continued actively to reindoctrinate themselves with the irrationalities they had invented and learned in their childhood. Ø Influenced by behaviorists such as Watson, Ellis reacted strongly in a series of papers to the passivity and antiempirical stance of the Freudians and Rogerians.

Continuation… Ø Ellis’s early practice and thinking culminated in a book on the psychotherapeutic principles of RET – Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. Ø Ellis early and continuing interest in philosophy pervades RET and may be best characterized in Epictetus’s words “Men are not disturbed by things , but the view they take them. ”

Continuation… Ø Related to this viewpoint are the Buddhist and Taoist concepts that human emotions originate from human thinking and that to change emotions, one must change one’s thinking. Ø Ellis has taken much from Alfred Adler who believe that an individual’s emotional reactions were generated by his or her attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions and were therefore cognitively created.

Continuation… ØEllis has taken much from Alfred Adler who believe that an individual’s emotional reactions were generated by his or her attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions and were therefore cognitively created.

Overview v. Rational emotive therapy is a comprehensive approach to treatment and education that employs cognitive, emotive, and behavioral approaches. v. It advocates a humanistic, educative model of treatment as opposed to a medical model and “consists of a theory of personality, a system of philosophy , and a technique of psychological treatment “.

Continuation… v. One of the fundamental tenets of RET is that human problems stems not from external events or situations but from people’s views or beliefs about them.

Continuation… v The IRRATIONAL BELIEFS are the principal origin of emotional disturbance, and the main therapeutic goal of RET is to change them. v Through therapeutic process , clients develop skills that allow them to first identify and then dispute their own irrational beliefs, a process they can then apply to other problem areas in their lives. v In addition, effective therapy involves teaching clients to replace their problematic thinking and behavior with vitally absorbing interests aimed at long- range fulfillment rather than short-range hedonism.

Continuation… v Ellis proposes that to be “elegant” a theory of psychotherapy should offer economy of time and effort , rapid symptom reduction , effectiveness with a large percentage of different kinds of clients , depth of solution to problems , and lasting effects. ü A good deal of research supports that RET’s cognitive behavioral approaches meet these tough criteria. It is from this elegant standpoint that this is presented.

Theory of Personality

Biological Basis Ellis offers the following points to substantiate this controversial view: 1. Virtually all humans show evidence of major irrationalities. 2. No social or cultural group is devoid of irrational behavior. 3. Many irrationalities run counter to teaching by significant others and society at large.

Continuation… ØSocial Basis ØPsychological Basis ØABC Theory –Components of ABC –Belief Categories

ABC THEORY 1. An internal or external objectives stimulus which starts the sequence 2. Aware of existence 3. Defines and describes 4. Interpretation

Evaluation - The objective stimulus as positive, negative, or neutral.

Affective arousal Overt behavior Reinforcing consequences

ABCDEF Theory (Corey, 1991) A- Activating event B- Beliefs C- Consequences D- Dispute E- Effect F- Feeling

The following categories demonstrate how observations and inferences get tangled with one another and, based on the degree and kind of evaluation, lead to irrational beliefs and problem behavior: 1. Non evaluative observations or descriptions of what is happening : “I see I’m going to be held up in this check- out line” 2. Non evaluative inferences about what is happening : “I’m probably going to be late for my appointment because of this delay ”

Continuation… 4. Positive evaluative absolutistic inferences about what is happening : “Because of this delay I’m going to be late. Since my clients are utterly dependent on me , these people should make way for me due to my importance. I will now have to speed to get my appointment and save my client. ”

Continuation… 5. Negative evaluative absolutistic external inferences about what is happening: “ People and events must not interfere with my life. It wretched of these rotten swine to do so. The callous customer, the officious cop, my indignant client, and my uncaring wife all prove I am not given the due consideration I should have. I hate them and this burning feeling in my gut that they gave me!

Continuation… • 6. Negative evaluative absolutistic internal inferences about what is happening : “How many times will I try to cram too much in and not plan my time effectively. I am doomed to repeat this sloppy planning as long as I live. No professional would be so inefficient. I am an incompetent dirtbag!”.

Consequences of Beliefs

Consequences about the foregoing ways of evaluating beliefs from an unpleasant activating event may also be partitioned according to their outcome: 1. Desirable emotional consequences 2. Desirable behavioral consequences 3. Undesirable emotional consequences 4. Undesirable behavioral consequences § Healthy, Growth – Promoting, Self. Actualized Personalities

Nature of Maladjustment

üPrecursors üMusturbation üCold, Warm, and Hot Cognitions üEgo and Discomfort Anxiety üSecondary Symptoms üLow Frustration Tolerance

Major Concepts v. Self – Actualizing Behavior v. Holistic Functioning v. Appropriate versus Inappropriate Emotions v. Rational versus Irrational Thinking v. Comprehensive Approach v. Goals of Psychotherapy

Continuation… v. Humanism v. Educational Model v. Scientific Model v. Semantic Approach v. Self – Acceptance v. Therapeutic Relationship v. Insight

THE COUNSELING PROCESS ØSTRATEGIES FOR HELPING CLIENTS § Strategies for Detecting Irrational Beliefs § Education § Problem Exploration § Ferreting Out B ØSTRATEGIES FOR DISPUTING IRRATIONAL BELIEFS

Cognitive Techniques

• Interpretation of Defenses • Presentation of Alternative Choices and Actions • Analogies and Parables • Paralinguistics • Therapeutic markers • Reduction to Absurdity • Visual Aids

Continuation… • Bibliotherapy • Contradiction with a Cherished Value • Pragmatic Disputes • Paradoxical Intention • Humor • Semantic Precision

Emotive Techniques

• • • Negative imagery Stepping out of character Future imaging Labeling Role Playing Emotional Charge language

Behavioral Techniques

• Homework Assignments • Flooding • Penalization • Skill Training

COUNSELING SESSION Mae, 22, was pregnant. She was told her boyfriend about this, the boyfriend told her to abort the baby. She refused to do so because prior to this, she had aborted already one pregnancy on its third month. That abortion had been causing her sleepless nights because of a lot of guilt feelings. If she ever fell asleep, she would have nightmares of the baby crying: “Mommy why did you do this to me? ” Mae believed that she had committed murder and repeated confessions about it were not. Sufficient to eradicate her guilt. Because of this, she could not bear the thought of having another abortion.

What should I do? “Please help me to decide, whom shall I follow? ? - Do I need to mind what people will say? - How about my families reputation? - But how about the baby? - Am I still welcome to the family? - One thing for sure my nightmare that will last, my guilt…

parents guilt Reputation and pride peolpe Mae is confused. How can you help her?

“I seek an advice and after a week”… Mae returned to say that her parents were initially disappointed when they found out about her pregnancy. However, after several days, they accompanied her shopping her maternity clothes since she was already entering her fifth month. They also brought her to an obstetrician to ensure her safety and that of the baby.

They pampered her with a lot of good food to make her baby and herself strong. They also decide to talk to Carlo (Mae’s boyfriend). When they did, Mae began to realize how lacking in responsibility, confidence, and concern for other he was. Mae started seeing his deficiencies and wondering whether she would marry him. Up to the last time they talked, Carlo still refused to marry her. However, his behavior towards her family at that time minimized her bad feelings about that matter.

Are you going to marry my daughter or not? ? !

Reactions to Theory and Practice

One of the major issues commonly heard about Rational Therapy is that it was too rational. • Rogers’ emphasis on feelings and phenomenological world of the clients could still have been embedded very much in the consciousness of the counselors and it was too difficult for them to shift gears and focus mainly on rational ideas which were found to be too cognitive and even objective.

Continuation… • RET’s avowal that it does not focus on feelings and emotions, but goes beyond those was not easily acceptable. • Many still believed that the focus on feelings was too limited for the counselor to be effective.

Compatibility with Filipino Culture Traits Ø Counselors are hesitate to use RET because for them RET is the fear of confrontation. Ø Filipino culture is the Filipino’s desire to live in a harmony with their fellow humans.

Continuation… Ø Filipino counselor, who is malambing and who does not want to jeopardize the relationship that he/she has with the client. Ø Jeopardize does not only involve the fear of losing client but extends to the fear of not being liked anymore because of being maramdamin of Filipinos

SUMMARY v. Rational- emotive therapy advocates the application of cognitive, behavioral, and emotive approaches to treatment. Since RET places more emphasis on cognitive and behavioral techniques, it most often classified as a cognitivebehavioral approach therapy.

Continuation… v. It geared towards the use of logic and the scientific method, but it is also emphasizes human values such as growth and happiness. Hence, it is humanistically as well as empirically oriented.

Continuation… ü Rational-emotive therapy theory contends that people are born with the predisposition to think distortedly and irrationally but also with the ability to reason and thus are able to transcend some of their own limitations. ü However, even the most rational of persons are subject to emotional overload that takes the form of hot cognitions about events.

Continuation… üCombine with low frustration tolerance and the desire to avoid immediate discomfort at the expense of long-term gain, human engage in crooked, illogical thinking and become emotional disturbed.

• Rational- emotive therapy theory suggest the emotional disturbance explained by the ABC Theory • This theory states that when an unpleasant event (activating event) occurs at point A, an individual may react in two ways:

Continuation… 1. One is to conclude, at point B, that this event is unfortunate and disadvantageous (a rational belief) and therefore have a point C (the consequence) an appropriate feeling, such as regret or annoyance. These appropriate feeling stimulate the person to do something to change the unpleasant situation.

Continuation… 2. However, individual’s often react to unpleasant situations in a different manner: they may conclude at point B that circumstances are terrible even catastrophic and therefore should not exist (an irrational belief). v. As a result, at point C they inappropriately feel depression, anxiety, range, and lethargy. Such feelings, instead of facilitating constructive action, often interfere with problems- solving behavior

Thank You for Listening. .

Have a Sleepless nights everyone!!! Good Luck and God Bless…