Albert Elliss Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy - Essay Example

Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Question: What are the basic elements of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)? What relationship exists between the counselor and client as specified in the theory and how well do you believe the relationship expresses the philosophy of Human Relations? Unlike many other psychologists who come from well-off families with a supportive parental unit, the American psychologist Albert Ellis had a different experience while growing up. Ellis came up with the Rational-Emotive Theory not only because of people’s irrational thoughts, but because it was also based on personal and family issues he experienced while growing up. When Ellis established the rational emotive therapy in 1959, he had one aim: to emphasize that emotional issues result from irrational thinking (Dryden & Neenan, 2004). In order to understand how the rational emotive therapy works, it is crucial to know how emotional issues result from irrational thinking. When a person is thinking irrationally, the person’s thoughts are often clouded by emotional judgments. The Professor of Psychotherapeutic Studies Windy Dryden asserts that when people address emotional problems in an effective way, it is also easy to change irrational thoughts to rational ones (2003). It is important to note that rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is an approach which is practical and focused on the present (Ellis, 2013). On page 1028, George (2000) asserts that a person’s moods and emotions are the key to how the person behaves at work, school or at home. Ellis came up with REBT to help people establish new skills necessary for making life enjoyable. I could not agree more with this theory which descends from the belief that most people have a desire to lead happy lives, but fail to achieve this goal because of interferences of irrational beliefs. For example, when I was very young, I was always scared of making new friends because I felt bad if they did not accept me as their friend. Today, I know that my irrational thoughts were the reason that fueled the belief that others would not accept me. It is also the reason that made it difficult for me to make new friends. After a person replaces such irrational thoughts with rational thoughts, with the help of a REBT therapist, the person identifies the triggers of irrational thoughts. Stanovich (2014), states that thinking rationally allows a person to take appropriate measures or action to overcome problems in life. According to Stanovich (2014), it is only through rational thinking that people can come up with effective decisions. In my case, I did not go to an REBT therapist, but I realized that when I focused on rational thoughts, my beliefs were also rational. I realized that it was normal for children to want their friends to like them. My life was happier because I found out that making new friends was an easy and exciting task. According to DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden and Backx, (2013), the REBT model shows that the emotions people experience are mostly based on what they believe about themselves and what others think. The emotive model shows that irrational beliefs have to change before people experience healthy negative emotions. According to Ellis (2013), there are five elements of a memory system also known as a mnemonic system that teaches the basics of rational emotive behavior therapy. In page 244, of Ellis’s book, the abbreviation for the elements is ABCDE, where letter A is an stands for the word “activating” which refers to an event in a person’s life that causes stress. Letter B stands for a belief system of a person, letter C stands for consequences that arise as a result of events occurring because of a person’s irrational beliefs. Lastly, letter E stands for cognitive and emotional effects resulting from revised beliefs. Letter A, stands for the word “activating”. The activating element of rational-emotive behavior therapy focuses on the events that trigger stress in a person resulting to a crisis in a person’s relationships, work life or school life. In addition, more problems arise because of lack of confidence. Like other psychologists, Ellis was ready to tackle any issue that his clients presented to him using the five elements of rational emotive behavior therapy. B stands for the belief system. The belief system is the cognitive component of people’s reactions to the events which occur in their lives. According to Ellis (2013) people tend to reduce their clear thinking strategies and become counterproductive because of their state of beliefs. An illustration of this factor shows how people perceive their relationships or their beliefs. If a wife is leaving her husband and does not want to go back, he might make certain comments. For example, he would say that it is the end of the world for him and that he will never find someone else who was like his wife. If Ellis was to treat this person, he would incorporate certain questions in the therapy session. For example, he would ask him “Is it truly the end of the world and you will die if she does not come back? This is a scenario that is applicable to a situation where one partner wants the relationship to work, whereas the other does not want it to work. C stands for the consequences which come as a result of a person’s irrational beliefs. It is well-known that irrational thoughts lead to a lot of negative consequences (George, 2000). These are consequences such as failing an examination because a student believes he or she cannot perform well or getting a car accident because a person believes people should not follow traffic rules. Irrational thoughts are rigid, extreme and unconstructive. An excellent example of a rigid irrational belief is one where a person believes that other people like him/her. In such a case the person may say they want their colleagues at work to talk to them, that it is a must for the colleagues to talk to them. As noted in this sentence, this belief is rigid because it shows the person wants the work colleagues to talk to him or her, while at the same time, demands that they have to do it. In another example, if a person expects to feel anxious and do poorly in exams, this person is likely to become anxious and do poorly in exams because of the belief. There are negative consequences in both examples. In the first case, the person may become depressed if the colleagues at work do not do what he or she wants. In the second example, the person does poorly in exams because of his beliefs and actions. To fix such a problem, a person should replace the irrational beliefs with a reasonable assessment. In the first example, the person should replace the irrational thoughts with rational beliefs, which are flexible, non-extreme, sensible and constructive. The person should say that they would want people at work to talk to them, but not under the condition that it is necessary. It also shows that rational thoughts are the key to an adaptive behavior that solves problems from a rational outlook. Letter D stands for the word “disputing”. A look at Ellis’s treatments from page 255 to 256 of his book shows that his rational emotive therapies consisted of disputing the irrational beliefs that patients presented to him. Ellis challenged most of the patients as directly as possible to draw attention to the fact that these irrationalities were only negative beliefs. It is fundamental to note that this is not necessarily a part of the REBT therapy session. Ellis’s main aim was to help the patients replace their negative and unrealistic thoughts with those that were more realistic and capable of adapting to situations with problems (Dryden, 2003). Lastly, there is letter E, which refers to the effects of changing the way a person interprets situations. When the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy sessions are effective, the patient views future situations differently and the anxiety or depressing symptoms disappear after some time. This behavior, according to Knaus, (2008) is what psychologists and counselors call cognitive restructuring. Albert Ellis’s theory on relationship between counselor and client and how the relationship would express the philosophy of Human Relations Counseling does not only involve exploring and having different perspectives when it comes to problems and other psychological issues that clients face. It also involves parties building a rapport where the counselor and the client both feel comfortable to express their views. The client-counselor relationship is not like any other relationship formed among friends and work colleagues (Norcross, 2010). It is highly specialized and built mainly on confidentiality and trust, which are key factors in establishing the relationship between a client and counselor. The existence, or lack of trust and confidentiality factors are the key to making relationship differences contributing to either a negative or positive experience in a counseling session (Sagar & Stoeber, 2009). The relationship is largely dependent on the approach used, because there are rules or certain boundaries which dictate how the relationship will turn out. The boundaries have an effect on the relationship. For example, a client in a therapy session is likely to disclose more to the counselor if there is confidentiality. Norcross (2010) argues that confidentiality guaranteed by a counselor in therapy sessions creates an atmosphere where the client can easily trust the counselor. In Albert Ellis’s theory, the specified relationship between a client and counselor is one that is therapeutic. Like other psychotherapy theories, the Rational-Emotive Theory also advocates for development of a therapeutic relation between a client and a counselor. However, it is important to note that these theories advocate for such a relationship only when the therapist carries out therapeutic interventions. REBT advocates for a therapy session where the focus is on showing the client how thinking and emotional disturbance connect as one. The relationship between the client and the therapist is collaborative and the two work together in a comfortable manner (DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden & Backx, 2013). Therefore, the key component in the relationship is to direct one’s focus on helping the client, and not based on dependency or intimacy. How does the relationship between the client and the therapist express the philosophy of human relations? To understand the connection between the relationship and the philosophy of human relations, it is crucial to understand what we know about the philosophy of human relations. Rose (2005), asserts that in philosophy of human relations, we learn that the way people relate to each other varies, because it is dependent on a person’s culture and religion, among other differences. What we are most certain in the philosophy of human relations is that people are usually impatient and there is always that possibility that fights might arise (Hegar, 2011). Under the philosophy of human relations, it is clear that way people relate to each other is the key determinant of how they think. The REBT theory proposes that human beings are born with thought processes that are capable of being healthy and unhealthy. These are thoughts that encourage rational thinking and may also encourage irrational thinking. In REBT theory, Ellis (2013) encourages a therapeutic relationship between a client and therapist. During the REBT therapy sessions, how the therapist relates with the client determines whether the sessions are successful at replacing irrational thoughts with rational healthy thoughts. Despite the differences that may exist between a client and a therapist, the counselor has to work hard to challenge the client. Counselors who challenge clients directly improve the human relations between themselves and the clients because the clients become collaborative (Ellis, 2013). There are no positive human relations if clients are not collaborative and counselors do not ask challenging questions, during a therapy session. In a therapy session, the report a client gives regarding the relationship between him or her and the therapist, is more important than the report given by a therapist. Good relationships with clients are essential for a successful outcome in therapy. The early phase of therapy is usually the key to developing strong therapeutic relationships. According to Ellis, (2013) all the characteristics of successful therapeutic relationships in the last 52 years of his experience indicates that communication is crucial in the client-counselor relationship. If the client feels that the counselor provides an atmosphere where it is easy to present attitudes, conflicts and confusions, it becomes easier to for the client to give more information to a therapist. Where the client feels there is proper communication, the therapeutic relationship is always successful (DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden & Backx, 2013). For proper communication, it means that the counselor’s thinking is efficiently organized, especially, if the counselor has previously used other approaches on the client unsuccessfully. From this information, we learn that therapeutic relationship exists when the counselor shows an understanding that the client’s attitudes are adoptable. It is an easy way of guiding the client while showing that a therapist is not in control. When the client feels in control it also becomes easier for the counselor to show he or she understands the client. A therapeutic relationship between the client and the counselor has numerous results which get broken down into various categories. The results gained from a successful therapeutic relationship should portray that there is a strong human relation between the client and counselor. Therefore, as Ellis (2013) suggests, a client who feels empowered by a therapist shows that there is a successful therapeutic relationship. Empowerment affects the therapeutic relationship of clients and counselors because the client gains a position where it is easier to explore all problems (Kirkwood, 2012). It allows a client to show they are feeling stronger, have fewer irrational thoughts and in most cases, it proves that it is essential to the success of the counseling process. For example, when a client says “I felt stronger because I knew there was someone to support me.” Another client may also say “When I go for those sessions, I feel excited and stronger than what I thought.” These are excellent examples of cases where the client feels that the therapeutic relationship with the counselor contributes to feelings of empowerment. A client who feels empowered is more likely to exhibit a strong human relation towards the counselor. According to Corey (2012), when the client feels cared for by the counselor, they are likely to reciprocate by attending sessions regularly and respond well to treatment. A therapist may express a genuine feeling of caring for a client by showing such feelings using their body language and expressions. For example, when a client says that a therapist cares for him or her, this rational belief promotes positive thinking. A therapist who goes beyond the usual role of a counselor also makes it easy for clients to feel as if they are receiving special care not only because they are there to present their problems. Feeling cared for by another person who is not a family member or a friend is a technique of promoting human relations. Clients who express feelings of being cared for by therapists show that they find it easier to take risks. The feeling of being safe is also another theme that promotes a healthy therapeutic relationship which continues to boost human relations (Rose, 2005). The safety feeling promotes a client’s confidentiality because the client develops the ability to disclose to a therapist without feeling guilty. A client is only likely to disclose private information if he or she feels confident enough to talk to a therapist. If a client does not feel confident it is impossible for a therapist to connect emotionally to the person. For example, a client who feels secure is likely to say “That therapist provides a place where I know I can go and say anything without feeling judged and uncomfortable.” Conclusion The relationship between the client and counselor is extremely essential to the process of counselling. As noted in the introduction, the key to positive outcomes in a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy lies in the relationship between the client and counselor. Based on the information provided by Ellis as a psychologist, it is clear that counselling clients with irrational thoughts is always difficult. Most notably, the therapeutic relationship which exists between the client and therapist is only established if the conditions mentioned earlier, exist. Thus, it is right to conclude that a therapeutic relationship that promotes good human relations between clients and counsellors makes the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy successful. References Corey, G. (2012). Case approach to counseling and psychotherapy. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. DiGiuseppe, R., Doyle, K., Dryden, W., & Backx, W. (2013). A practitioner's guide to rational-emotive behavior therapy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Dryden, W. (2003). Reason to change: A rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) workbook. London: Routledge. Dryden, W., & Neenan, M. (2004). The rational emotive behavioral approach to therapeutic change. Newcastle upon Tyne: SAGE. Ellis, A. (2013). Better, deeper and more enduring brief therapy: The rational emotive behavior therapy approach. London: Routledge. George, J. (2000). Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Journal of Human relations, 53(8), 1027–1055. Hegar, K. (2011). Modern human relations at work. 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