Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Flashcards
Greek and Roman _____ philosophers said: people are disturbed not by things, but by the …
stoic; view which they take of them
Alfred Adler invented the S-O-R theory, which is…
stimulus - organism - response
- not just environment then response, but filtered through lens that people are perceiving it/meaning we give to stimulus
we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations
what happened in Ellis’s childhood that was out of the ordinary in that time?
parent’s divorced
reindoctrinate
reversion back into own ways, active process (moving forwards in ways that puts you in the same situation)
number one issue of REBT
people make irrational demands of themselves, others and the world, setting themselves up for distress
why does Ellis believe REBT is the best therapy?
brief in time
goal is to get person out of therapy quickly
3 characteristics of theory of personality for REBT
physiological
psychological
social
theory of personality for REBT: physiological
all humans born with innate tendencies to have desire or want
hardwired to want things and when we don’t receive wants, reaction is to condemn self, others and world
temperament: demandingness to desire, born with capacity to develop rational thought
theory of personality for REBT: social
we are social beings, often too much emphasis places on what others think of us
lead to belief of how we can accept ourselves if others accept us (can lead to distress)
theory of personality for REBT: psychological
people needlessly upset themselves, stemming from irrational beliefs
irrational vs. rational
irrational vs rational beliefs
r:
- possibility
i:
- extremeness
- something becomes absolute
- these demands with not be met
- holding these beliefs will cause distress as it will not be met
how distress develops (A-B-C)
Activating event
- ex) I did my job poorly
Belief (important for distress)
- ex) I must always be perfect, and if I’m not it’s horrible
Consequence
- ex) depression
how does reindoctrination work with A-B-C
the consequence becomes the activating event!
ex. “depression” becomes “I feel depressed and worthless”
cycle for reindoctrination
condemn self for poor performance
feel guilty or depressed
condemn self for guilt and depression
condemn self for condemning self
condemn self for seeing disturbance and not changing it
condemn self for needing help and going to therapy
repeating process!
we are born with the potential to be __________ or __________
rational; irrational
irrational thinking is exacerbated by ___ and ______ ______
culture; social groups
5 examples of irrational thinking
should
must/”musterbation”
- people constantly “musting” (ex. angry when getting cut off in traffic, saying “everyone must follow rules” or “people must act fairly”
ought
I need
awful
what are 3 characteristics centered around “think” for REBT
emote
perceive
behave
Ellis said what about distress/basic personality theory of REBT?
humans largely create their own distress
does Ellis think the past or present is more crucial?
present!
what are “simple exclamatory sentences”?
a rational thought followed by an irrational one
ex. I don’t like my actions, therefore I am a terrible person
what is the therapeutic relationship like in REBT?
active (therapist talks a lot)
directive
confrontational (warmth is not necessary)
what does unconditional acceptance look like in REBT?
Self
- recognize and appreciate own value as humans, not = to self-esteem
Others
- accepting of other fallible humans (“others will behave in ways I do not like but we accept flaws of others”)
World
- can’t have life without pain
- life comes with pleasure and suffering, demands/desires/wants won’t always be met
demandingness
causes distress
temporary “solutions” provide relief but do not fix demandingness
types of “solutions” that don’t fix demandingness
satisfaction of demands
- demands are sometimes met
distraction
- ex. kids throwing tantrums, use distraction to ease distress
- adult examples are substance abuse, screen time, procrastination, etc.
magic and mysticism
- want something tp be all better/”magic pill” to feel better
- ex. demanding therapist to fix everything that is wrong
goals of REBT
correct demandingness
- recognize shoulds, oughts, and musts
- give up perfectionism
develop high frustration tolerance
- being able to adapt to adversity/tolerate frustration
- accept reality, even when grim
- not getting rid of negative emotions
- catastrophizing (is what you think is going to happen really that bad
unhealthy/maladaptive negative emotions and their healthy/adaptive negative emotion counterparts
jealousy –> disappointment
anxiety –> concern
rage –> annoyance
depression –> sadness
guilt –> regret
low frustration tolerance –> frustration
optimal therapy characteristics for REBT
time and effort
- as quick as possible with as little effort
symptom reduction
- people should get better quickly
lasting results
- fix/end cycle of reindoctrination
generalizable
REBT helps clients acquire a more ____, ________ philosophy of life
realistic; tolerant
what methodology is employed for REBT
active-directive-persuasive-philosophical
what other therapy was persuasive?
existentialism
REBT: address musts
role play
- overly dramatize, blow it up to a large proportion for them to see what they are saying through role play
humor
- people lose humor when serious about something, making joke about demands can help client see absurdity
unconditional acceptance
- to demand perfection is irrational
strong disputing
- actively persuade people to give up irrational thinking, dispute what was stated by patient
4 experimental exercises for REBT
take risks
- do the thing client sees as scary and awful
- helps distinguish between preferences and absolute demands (where and when there is give!)
seek pleasure
- possible to have (+) and (-) emotions simultaneously
- (-) emotion = go find (+)
stay in poor circumstances
- doing nothing is a choice
take on hard tasks
- help see world can be uncomfortable, to demand otherwise is irrational
- OK to struggle through something
A-B-C-D to dispute irrational beliefs in REBT
Identify A, B, and C
Ask: does this serve me? Does this belief make things better for you/help you?
Dispute
- irrational (awfulizing, absolutist) beliefs
Admit and face
- own role in reindoctrination
how to dispute/change irrational beliefs
challenge patients to defend them (argue “convince me why this is true”)
demonstrate logical fallacies
show why irrational beliefs do not work
reduce irrational beliefs to absurdity
review Ellis’s interview with Gloria
what a man
treatment modality for REBT
individual therapy
group therapy
- helps to see where others are irrational than ourselves, can help someone see their own irrational behavior
workshops
marriage and family therapy
self-help
2 mechanisms of therapy for REBT
patient beliefs
- irrational, getting rid of them
therapist approach
- empathy without sympathy
evidence base for REBT
activity-oriented homework
- can drive treatment outcomes, more engagement in homework been shown to drive outcomes
cultural considerations for REBT
cultural beliefs
- don’t dispute culture, but dispute conforming with culture
- if deviation with culture becomes rational or irrational
unconditional acceptance
members of minority cultures
- choice to maintain beliefs, assimilate, or accept criticism
