Albert Ellis: Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy

American clinical psychologist Albert Ellis (1913– 2007) developed the Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) in 1955. His Institute for Rational Living was founded in 1959 to promote REBT.

The founder of cognitive behavioural therapies(CBT) was influenced by philosophy(Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius) and psychologists as Karen Horney, Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan. Rational therapist Ellis also worked with sex researcher Alfred Kinsey and elaborated on the topic of human sexuality and love in a number of books and articles .

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy is based on the belief that the client's philosophy contributes to his emotional life. Emotional problems occur when we refuse to accept reality.

It is the individual's perception of reality that causes suffering.

Anxiety, guilt and depression are caused by how people think about events. Our emotions influence our view of ourselves and others. Each emotional tension(fear, depression, anger, guilt, self-pity) comes from irrational thinking. Irrational thoughts are the crucial causes for psychological problems. Negativity is caused by rigid self talk. 

The REBT method aims at identifying non-adequate, problem causing, self defeating, irrational thoughts to replace them with adequate, beneficial, realistic thoughts. As such the client is able to influence his emotions and behaviour.

Critical thinking and approaching events in a scientific, logical manner can help to accept reality.  The more rational and realistic one becomes, the less emotional anxiety will occur.

Rational analysis, cognitive reconstruction and coping strategies are applied to change irrational beliefs and behaviour to replace catastrophic thinking with seeing stressors as challenges.

The essence of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy is a hopeful vision on human emotion and includes taking responsibility for psychological discomfort.

Read more about Ellis' theory:

The Art and Science of Love. NY: Lyle Stuart, 1960.

Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. NY: Lyle Stuart, 1962.

A Guide to Rational Living. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1961.

Humanistic Psychotherapy, NY McGraw, 1974 Sagarin ed.

Meet Epictetus

Greek Stoic thinker Epictetus(50-138) believed humans are disturbed by the irrational and attracted to the rational. With a calm psyche the endless possibilities of the ratio become visible.

A layman in the art of life is discontented with what he has and spends his time on bodily matters such as drinking, overeating and sexual actions. A good man tolerates everything with bravery, makes the best of his life.

The aim in life is to desire nothing but self control, freedom and contentment.

Epictetus divided reality in two crucial categories: what is in and what is beyond our power. The only good is the accurate insight in what we can and can not control. Good and evil are only present in our opinions about events, not in the events themselves.

All unpleasant impressions should be analyzed on accuracy. Fear and confusion are caused by our negative opinions on what is beyond our power. Once an individual realizes that things are beyond his power, they can not affect him anymore.

Each individual is responsible for his sadness or negative emotions. This means we can influence and control our own mind. When we engage in avoiding negative reactions which equal negative emotions, we are able to positively want each and every event. We can always be free, righteous, reliable, honest and thoughtful.

Each striving(orexis: everyone strives for the good) is fixed on the good while avoidance(ekkisis: avoidance of the bad) focuses on the bad. Success in striving and avoidance leads to happiness. Apatheia, a necessity to live a serene life, occurs when the well balanced, developed mind bans negative emotions and is successful in striving.

There's one way to happiness: to stop worrying about matters beyond our will. The essence of a happy life is to want things as they are instead of what you would like them to be. A wise man wants to accept. The elimination of desire results in freedom of the mind. The renunciation of what is not within one's moral choice leads to imperturbability.

" All human beings seek the happy life, but many confuse the means with that life itself. Wisdom is revealed through action, not talk".