Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
(REBT)
View of Human Nature:
human beings
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have both rational and irrational thinking
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are self-talking and self-evaluating
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have a tendency toward growth and actualization
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keep ourselves disturbed through self-talk
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have the capacity to change cognitive, emotive, and
behavioral processes
Key concepts in REBT
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Stresses thinking, judging, analyzing, and doing
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Assumes that cognitions, emotions, and behaviors
interact to have a causal effect relationship
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Is a highly didactic, directive approach
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concern thinking and feeling
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Emotions are mainly generated by our beliefs,
evaluations, interpretations, and reactions to life
situations
View of Emotional Disturbance
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We learn irrational beliefs from significant others
during childhood
Teach clients to feel un-depressed even when they
are unaccepted and unloved by significant others.
Self-blame  emotional disturbances
Irrational idea  internalize  self-defeating
We have a tendency to make ourselves emotionally
disturbed by internalizing self-defeating beliefs
The A-B-C theory of personality
Irrational Ideas

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Irrational ideas lead to self-defeating
behavior
Some examples:
 “I must have love or approval from all the
significant people in my life.”
 “I must perform important tasks
competently and perfectly.”
 “If I don’t get what I want, it’s terrible, and
I can’t stand it.”
Therapeutic Goals
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Minimize emotional disturbances
Decrease self-defeating behaviors
Become more self-actualized
Acquire unconditional self-acceptance and
unconditional other acceptance
Think rationally, feel appropriately, and act
more effectively in achieving the goals of
living happily
Therapist’s function and Role

Discover clients’ irrational beliefs

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Make connection of how irrational beliefs
lead to emotional disturbances
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Modify clients’ irrational beliefs.
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Dispute irrational beliefs and substitute
rational beliefs
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Not spending too much time on exploring
clients’ early history
The Therapeutic Relationship
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The therapeutic relationship is important, but
intensive relationship is not required.
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Therapists show great faith in their clients’
ability to change themselves.
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Therapists disclose their own beliefs to clients
Therapeutic techniques--Cognitive methods
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Disputing irrational beliefs
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Writing cognitive homework
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Applying ABC theory to daily life problems
Changing one’s language
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If I don’t get what I want, it is not at the end of the world
It would be absolutely awful.It would be inconvenient
Cost-benefit analysis
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Make a list of advantages/disadvantages of smoking
Therapeutic techniques--Emotional Methods
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Rational-emotional imagery
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Role playing
Shame-attacking exercises
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Imagine the worst things that could happen to them
Take risks to do something that the clients are
afraid to do because of what others might
think…until they realize that their feelings of shame
are self-created.
Forceful self-dialogue

A dialogue with oneself
Therapeutic techniques--Behavioral methods
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Activity homework

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Write assignments that target on irrational
beliefs in order to reduce them
Reinforcements and penalties
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Rewardwhen accomplish a task
penalizefail to attempt a task
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Skill Training
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Assertiveness training
Research on REBT
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More than 250 studies
Most research on irrational beliefs
Review of outcome studies:
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REBT was more significantly more effective than
other therapies or control group in 31 of 47
studies (DiGiuseppe & Miller, 1977) and in 49 of 89
studies (Silverman, McCarthy, & McGovern, 1992).
Research Efforts
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Most studies focus only on cognitive methods
Summary and Evaluation
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Contributions
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focus on how we interpret and react to events
put insight into action
teach clients how to be their own therapists
Limitations
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too confrontational
ignoring the past
power imbalance (teacher-student)