12. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Therapy Flashcards
what is Alber Ellis’ (1913-2007) background?
- Dysfunctional family background
- physical, emotional problems in early years
- varied career background
- reaction to early psychoanalytic training
- developed a therapeutic approach that would help him personally
- long and controversial professional career
- prolific writer and energetic, flamboyant practitioner
What was Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy preceded by?
early schools of thought that prioritized cognition
what is psychological distress largely due to according to the Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy ?
defective cognitive processing
according to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy , what are humans biologically programmed to be?
both rational and irrational in their thinking
what does Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy affirm with regard to human nature and behaviour?
It affirms the intrinsic worth of human nature and distinguishes behaviour from being
what does Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy emphasize?
human fallibility and personal responsibility and hedonism
what is hedonism?
human seeks pleasure and avoid pain
according to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy what are the three triads of human behaviour?
thinking, acting, feeling
what is the A-B-C theory?
it is about irrational beliefs.
A=activating event
B=Belief
C=Consequences (Feeling and action)
how does one dispute irrational beliefs?
with D-E-F
D=disturbing the belief
E=effective thinking
F=new feeling or action
According to Ellis, what are examples of irrational beliefs?
- I must be loved or approved of by every significant person in my life
- I must be competent, adequate, and achieving in all respects if I am to consider myself worthwhile
- it is terrible and catastrophic when things are not the way they ought to be; it’s not fair
- I should get what I want, when I want it . If I don’t get what I want, it’s terrible, and I can’t stand it; it frustrates me
- one ought to be able to rely on others and expect them to act in certain ways
- I should be quite upset/concerned about other peoples’ problems
- other people must treat me considerately, fairly, kindly; exactly the way I want them to treat me
In the theory of reconstructing irrational beliefs, what must the client create?
their own emotional reactions and dysfnctional responses
in the theory of reconstructing irrational beliefs, what does the client have the ability to do?
they have the ability to change the way they react and respond
what is the first step in the theory of reconstructing irrational beliefs?
to recognise and identify the irrational beliefs
what must the client see in the theory of reconstructing irrational beliefs?
the value of disputing these beliefs
what does change demand in the theory of reconstructing irrational beliefs
hard work
what is required by the client in order to successfully recinstruct irrational beliefs?
practice of REBT for the rest of life
what is demonstrated in the therapeutic process of REBT?
A-B-C’s of how clients create their emotional reactions and dysfunctional behaviours. how clients maintain their emotional reactions and dysfunctional behaviours through re-indoctrinating themselves
what does the process of REBT assist clients with?
identifying and disputing their irrational beliefs and modifying their thinking. This is called cognitive restructuring
what does the process of REBT encourage?
encourages and assists clients to engage in activities that will counter their irrational beliefs
what does the process of REBT challenge clients to do?
challenge clients to develop a rational philosophy of life
How is the approach of REBT described?
A multimodal and integrative approach tailored to suit the individual client with a continuing emphasis on cognition as opposed to affect
what should REBT therapists be teaching clients?
REBT and ABCDEF
what should REBT therapists assist clients with?
Actively disputing their irrational beliefs
what should REBT therapists emphasize?
the value of fucntional, realistic, rational, logical thinking
what should REBT therapists encourage?
clients to challenge their absolutistic and musturbatory thinking by learning new ‘self-statements’
why should REBT therapists use humour?
to counteract the over serious side of client’s thinking
why should REBT therapists request cognitive home-work?
to transfer REBT techniques into real life situations
how should emotive techniques be used in REBT?
in a selective and discriminative way not to promote a cathartic experience but to help clients change distressing behaviours
what are emotive techniques used in REBT?
o Rational-emotive imagery
o role playing and role reversal
o shame/guilt/embarrassment attacking exercises
what are behavioural techniques used in REBT?
- Adapting many typical behavioural techniques to change thinking
- behavioural homework assignments
- self monitoring irrational thinking using behaviour diaries and/or cues
- bibliotherapy
what should the therapeutic relationship in REBT be based on?
an authoritative stance combined with full acceptance and tolerance
what is the therapists’ role in the therapeutic relationship in REBT?
the therapist is an active teacher rather than an emphasis on warmth and empathy
what should the therapeutic relationship in REBT avoid?
indulgence therapy as its it is not about the clients feeling better, rather it is about clients getting better. Also avoid lengthy discussions of As or dwelling on Cs
what should the therapist exercise in the therapeutic relationship in REBT?
collaborative and skilled use of a variety of techniques
who was the main influence of cognitive therapy?
Aaron Beck (1921-)
what is the background of Aaron Beck?
- Born into Russian practising Jewish family
- childhood trauma and poor self worth
- plagued by anxiety arising from numerous phobias
- qualified as a psychiatrist trained in psychoanalysis
- impact of early work on analysis of dreams of depressed clients
- prolific writer and researcher
what is the basic philosophy behind cognitive therapy?
- An evolutionary perspective of human nature: humans trying to make meaning of their environment through cognitive processing
- in part a derivative from in part of reaction against classical psychoanalysis
- a constructivist approach that assumes both an external, objective reality as well as a personal, subjective one
- Insight focused in its attention to cognitive processes that ar accessibly to introspection
- mainly a theory of psychological dysfunction
according to Aaron Beck, what are cognitive distortions?
- Arbitrary inferences (including catastrophizing)
- selective abstraction
- overgeneralisation
- magnification or minimisation
- personalisation
- labelling and mislabelling
- polarised (dichotomos) thinking
- emotional reasoning
- mind reasoning
- absolutistic thinking
what is necessary but not sufficient in the therapeutic relationship in cognitive therapy?
core person-centred therapeutic confitions
what must the therapist be in the therapeutic relationship in cognitive therapy?
must be an active, skilled in cognitive conceptualisations, creative and able to engage in Socratic dialogue
what does the therapist function as in the therapeutic relationship in cognitive therapy?
functions as a catalyst and guide assisting clients to make the necessary links between their behaviour and their cognitions (thought patterns)
what sort of partnership should the therapeutic relaitonship be in cognitive therapy?
an educative partnership which assists clients make their own discoveries through active engagement-collaborative empiricism
what should the therapeutic process of cognitive therapy establish?
Establish link between maladaptive behaviour and the client’s idiosyncratic thoughts
what should the therapeutic process of cognitive therapy teach?
teach client to identify the distorted cognitions through deliberate thought monitoring
what should the therapeutic process of cognitive therapy trace?
trace the ‘stream of thought’ identifying the activating schema (core beliefs) – prevents lapses
what should the therapeutic process of cognitive therapy assist the client with and how?
Through ‘Socratic dialogue’ assist client to test the functionality of their thoughts/schemas – guided discovery; assist the client to restructure their thoughts/schemas
what should the client learn during cognitive therapy?
client learns new functional self-statements, alternative interpretations, different perspectives
what are the therpeutic techniques used in cognitive therapy?
- Flexible use of any ethical techniques that attacks the client’s dysfunctional thoughts
- homework as essential components of therapy
- cognitive restructuring
- Socratic questioning
- downward arrow technique to access deeper levels of thought – schemas
- thought – recording through use of specific instruments
- graded assignments to deal with complex and overwhelming tasks
what techniques are used for congnitive restructuring in cognitive therapy?
o Deactivating automatic thoughts, beliefs and schemas
o modifying their content and structure
o constructing more adaptive cognitive structures to neutralize them
what is REBT compared to CBT?
- Directive, persuasive, confrontational
- Inductive process
- therapist as expert teacher
- Targting irrational and non-functional thoughts
- Technical competence
what is CBT compared to REBT?
- Socratic dialogue, open questioning, facilitating
- Deductive process – catalyst and guide
- Inaccurate, distorted, rigid deep seated beliefs
- Empathy, sensitivity, therapeutic alliance
what do good feelings contribute to and how do we choose thoughts?
Good feelings contribute significantly to our well being BUT we feel the way we think AND we do not have to express every thought that enters our head THEREFORE we can choose our thoughts, we can learn to think differently, we have the power to keep a thought or let it go