REBT (RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY)

Albert Ellis (1913- 2007)

REBT was created and developed by the American Psychotherapist and Psychologist Albert
Ellis in the year 1992.

REBT is based on a few simple principles having profound implications:

1. You are responsible for your own emotions and actions,
2. Your harmful emotions and dysfunctional behaviors are the product of your irrational
thinking,
3. You can learn more realistic views and, with practice, make them a part of you,
4. You'll experience a deeper acceptance of yourself and greater satisfactions in life by
developing a reality-based perspective.

REBT focuses on changing the current evaluations /reactions.

In everyday life, events and circumstances trigger off two levels of thinking: inferring and
evaluating.

At the first level, we make guesses or inferences about what is going on – what we think, has
happened, is happening or will happen.

E.g.: 1. filtering – Seeing all that is wrong ignoring any positives

2. Fortune telling – E.g. I’m not going to get the job.

At the second level, we go beyond the facts, to evaluate them in terms of what they
mean to us. Evaluations are sometimes conscious, sometimes beneath awareness.

E.g. 1. Demandingness: People use unconditional ‘should’ and absolutistic ‘musts’,

believing that certain things must or must not happen.

2. Awfulising: Exaggerating the consequences of past, present, or future events;

seeing something as awful, terrible, horrible that is the worst that could happen.

Distress is caused by a combination of the event and the person’s perception of the event. By
using the A-B-C-D-Es, people can evaluate their beliefs and reactions (consequences) to
events.

A-B-C-D-E-F
A) Activating Event (what started things off):
 Friend passed me in the street without acknowledging me.
C) Consequence (how I reacted):
Feelings: worthless, depressed. Behaviour: avoiding people generally.
B) Beliefs (what I thought about the ‘A’):
1) He’s ignoring me and doesn’t like me. (inference)
2) I could end up without friends forever. (inference) This would be terrible.
(evaluation)

3) I’m not acceptable as a friend (inference)- so I must be worthless as a person.

(evaluation)

4) To feel worthwhile and be happy, I must be liked and approved by everyone

significant to me. (core belief)

D) Disputation (of old beliefs and developing new rational beliefs to help me achieve the
new reaction):

1) How do I know he ignored me on purpose? He may not have seen me. Even if
he did ignore me, this doesn’t prove he dislikes me – he may have been in a
hurry, or perhaps upset or worried in some way.
2) Even if it were true that he disliked me, this doesn’t prove I’ll never have
friends again. And, even this unlikely possibility would be unpleasant rather
than a source of ‘terror’.
3) There’s no proof I’m not acceptable as a friend. But even if I were, this proves
nothing about the total ‘me’, or my ‘worthwhileness’. (And, anyway, what
does ‘worthwhile’ mean?).
4) Love and approval are highly desirable. But, they are not absolute necessities.
Making them so is not only illogical, but actually screws me up when I think
they may not be forthcoming. Better I keep them as preferences rather than
demands.
 What self-defeating irrational belief do I want to dispute and surrender?
 Can I rationally support this belief?
 Does any evidence exist of the truth of this belief?
 What evidence exists of the falseness of this belief?
 What are the worst things that could actually happen to me if I don’t get what I
think I must (or do get what I think I must not get)?

E) New Effect (how I would prefer to feel/behave):

Disappointed but not depressed.

F) Further Action (what I’ll do to avoid repeating the same irrational/ thoughts
reactions):
 1) Re-read material on catastrophizing and self-rating.
2) Go and see my friend, check out how things really are (at the same time,
realistically accepting that I can’t be sure of the outcome).
3) Challenge my irrational demand for approval by doing one thing each day (for
the next week) that I would normally avoid doing because of fear it may lead to
disapproval.

Irrational Thoughts
 Irrational Idea 1 - It is a dire necessity to be loved or approved by almost everyone
for virtually everything he or she does.
 Irrational Idea 2 - One should be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving
in all possible respects.
 Irrational Idea 3 - Certain people are bad or wicked, and should be severely
blamed and punished.
 Irrational Idea 4 - It is terrible, horrible, and catastrophic when things are not
going the way one would like them to go.
 Irrational Idea 5 - Happiness is externally caused and people have little or no
ability to control their emotions.
 Irrational Idea 6 - If something is dangerous or fearsome, one should dwell on it
 Irrational Idea 7 - It is easier to avoid facing many life difficulties and self-
responsibilities than to undertake more rewarding forms of self-discipline.
 Irrational Idea 8 - The past is all-important and because something once strongly
affected one’s life, it should indefinitely do so.
 Irrational Idea 9 - People and things should be different, and it is catastrophic if
things do not immediately change.
 Irrational Idea 10 -Maximum human happiness can be achieved by inertia and
inaction or by passively enjoying oneself.

Disputation (of old beliefs and developing new rational beliefs to help me achieve the new
reaction):

1) How do I know he ignored me on purpose? He may not have seen me. Even if he did
ignore me, this doesn’t prove he dislikes me – he may have been in a hurry, or
perhaps upset or worried in some way.
2) Even if it were true that he disliked me, this doesn’t prove I’ll never have friends
again. And, even this unlikely possibility would be unpleasant rather than a source of
‘terror’.

3) There’s no proof I’m not acceptable as a friend. But even if I were, this proves
nothing about the total ‘me’, or my ‘worthwhileness’. (And, anyway, what does
‘worthwhile’ mean?).
4) Love and approval are highly desirable. But, they are not absolute necessities.
Making them so is not only illogical, but actually screws me up when I think they
may not be forthcoming. Better I keep them as preferences rather than demands.

1. What self-defeating irrational belief do I want to dispute and surrender?

2. Can I rationally support this belief?
3. Does any evidence exist of the truth of this belief?
4. What evidence exists of the falseness of this belief?
5. What are the worst things that could actually happen to me if I don’t get what I
think I must (or do get what I think I must not get)?
6. What good things could I make happen if I don’t get what I think I must (or do
get what I think I must not get)?