RATIONAL EMOTIVE AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

Rational Emotive And Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Rational Emotive And Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist)

The beginning stage can be characterized as a time of building rapport with the client and teaching the client about the basics of REBT. Although Ellis believed that a warm relationship was not a necessary or sufficient condition for change? he did believe that the counsellor and client need a working relationship to make progress. Dearing? (2005:52) characterized a good working relationship as including: setting the parameters of counselling (fees? length of sessions? frequency of sessions)? collaborating on goals? encouraging discussion of issues? demonstrating unconditional acceptance? and establishing therapeutic credibility by adopting a problem solving approach. As the therapeutic alliance solidifies? the client will be more open to confrontations and disputations on the part of the therapist. (Gilbert 2005:65-78)

REBT therapists take an active-directive approach from the start of therapy. Assuming that the client knows nothing about the therapeutic process and specifics of REBT? the therapist acts as an instructor in the art of irrational belief disputation. Working through the ABC model of intervention? the counsellor can follow the steps outlined in Figure 11.1. By working through the disputation process using several personal issues? the client begins to internalize the therapeutic process. The client is encouraged to maximize learning by completing homework assignments that can be found in a variety of REBT-oriented workbooks. The therapist's goals for the end of the beginning stage are for the therapeutic alliance to be formed and for the client to have a working knowledge of the basics of REBT.

The middle stage is characterized by the client's utilization of the ABC model to dispute core irrational beliefs. While disputing the target problem irrational beliefs will lead to a remediation of the target problem? identifying and disputing core irrational beliefs will also result in changes in other aspects of life. For example? a person who was having problems at work because of the irrational belief? KJ must always be liked by my co-workers” can identify a core irrational belief? such as? “I must be liked by everyone? or I am a complete loser.” Disputing the target problem irrational belief and? later? the core irrational belief? can have an impact on the target problem site? work? and also on the client's other relationships? such as with the intimate partner and children. (Gilbert 2005:65-78)

During this stage? the therapist often employs a wide range of techniques to help the client engage in a rational existence and integrate new rational beliefs. The techniques are broken down into cognitive? emotive? and behavioural techniques. (Fransella 2006:12-20)

Cognitive Techniques

1. Rational self-statements:

The client is encouraged to create a list of rational statements that dispute common irrational beliefs. “It is normal to make mistakes. It means I am human.” “I would like to make my husband.”

Counsellor: You are a fast mover! What about 10 years from now?

Client: I'll be out of college. I'll have my degree and hopefully a ...