Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), founded by Albert Ellis is a "cognitive-behavioural" therapy. It was earlier known as Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). It is based on the concept that emotions and behaviours result from cognitive processes; and that it is possible for human beings to modify such processes to achieve different ways of feeling and behaving.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) maintains that our emotional problems and counterproductive behaviour are largely the result of 'crooked' unhelpful thinking. The basic premise of this approach to counselling and psychotherapy is that it is not events that cause our problems, but the way we think about them.
REBT believes that human disturbance is essentially ideologically or philosophically based, and so it
strives for a thorough philosophic reorientation of a person's outlook to life. It uses the didactic approach i.e. teaching and re-educating the client in balanced and correct ways of thinking and behaving, and thus helping him acquire rational, realistic and appropriate beliefs of life.
Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) reasoned that therapy would progress faster if the focus was directly on the client's self-defeating ideas, verbalizations and 'beliefs'. He observed that client's tended to get better when they changed their ways of thinking about themselves, their problems, and the world.
Albert Ellis calls our unhelpful thoughts "irrational beliefs" and says that they are at the core of much emotional disturbance. Rational beliefs on the other hand, are flexible, helpful ways of thinking and enable us to be psychologically healthy. In REBT the counsellor helps the client understand the role of such irrational "beliefs" and self-defeating value systems, in causing and maintaining problems in his life.
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) workshops help counsellors to develop knowledge and skills in this very effective, efficient and empowering method of personal change.
---
