Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Historical Background

Rational emotive behavior therapy was developed in the 1950s by Albert Ellis, a clinical psychologist, as a result of his dissatisfaction with his practice of psychoanalysis and with person-centered therapy. He originated an approach that he believed would be more effective and efficient in bringing about psychotherapeutic change. His approach is primarily a cognitive one, although it has significant behavioral and emotive aspects.

Key Figures

Ellis enjoyed the study of philosophy. He was influenced by Epictetus, a Roman philosophy who said, “People are disturbed not by things, but by their view of things” (Dryden, 1990, p.1). He was also influenced by European philosophers who dealt with the issues of happiness and rationality, such as Baruch Spinoza, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Immanuel Kant, as well Arthur Schopenhauer’s concept of “the world as will and idea” (Ellis, 1987b, p.160). The writings of more modern philosophers, including John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, and Karl Popper (a philosopher of science), influenced Ellis to emphasize cognition in his development of REBT (Dryden& Ellis, 2001). The philosophical underpinnings of REBT include responsible hedonism, his basic humanistic belief, and his view of the rationality of individuals.

Key Concepts

Responsible hedonism concerns maintaining pleasure over the long term by avoiding short-term pleasures that lead to pain, such as drug abuse and alcohol addiction. Ellis believes that people are often extremely hedonistic but need to focus on long-range rather than short-range hedonism (Dryden & Ellis, 2001). Although REBT does not tell people what to enjoy, its practitioners believe that enjoyment is a major goal in life.

Humanism- Practitioners of REBT view human beings as holistic, goal-directed organisms who are important because they are alive (Dryden, 1990, p.4). Ellis believes that accepting absolute notions of right and wrong, and of damnation if one acts wrongly, without thinking them through leads to guilt, anxiety, depression, and other psychological dysfunctions.

Rationality-refers to people using efficient, flexible, logical, and scientific ways of attempting to achieve their values and goals not to the absence of feelings

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