What Is Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy?

Updated March 27, 2024by MyTherapist Editorial Team

If you’ve never heard of rational emotive behavioral therapy, then you’re probably not alone, but it’s one that you should probably know and understand. This type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on changing beliefs ingrained into an individual that may be considered irrational or unhealthy. It was created by Albert Ellis in 1955, who himself experienced severe and fears related to talking with women. However, Ellis was seeking ways to push himself, and through that, he managed to overcome his fear.

Ahead, we’ll go into detail regarding the history of rational emotive behavioral therapy as the pioneering force behind CBT and the many ways it can be helpful to people experiencing challenges today.

The history of rational emotive behavioral therapy

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Absolute thinking can cause psychological distress

Albert Ellis had an extreme fear of talking with women that interfered with his desire for female companionship. To change his way of thinking, he forced himself to talk with 100 different women over the course of a month by attending a local park. As he continued to push himself and continued to talk to more and more women, he felt less fear, which helped him develop the type of therapy upon which he later expanded. When he became trained as a psychologist, he developed rational emotive behavior therapy to understand how people act or think.

With this type of behavior therapy, it is purported that people feel a certain way because of the way that they think. When they have an irrational thought or belief, it causes them to develop problems or to struggle. To make this therapy work, it’s important to change the belief system or the thought process. Therefore, people have to change their behavior itself and overcome the psychological problem that they are facing.

The ABC model of therapy

For Ellis, there is actually a simple process to understand as well about how psychological distress occurs. Rather than thinking it’s based on external events, as many people mistakenly do, he believed that the way caused that an individual interprets the events themselves and this was explained in three steps (known as the ABC model of CBT):

  • Activating event – something occurs around or within the individual
  • Beliefs – the individual assigns meaning to whatever happened
  • Consequence – there is an emotional response to the belief about the event that occurred

These three stages show how beliefs about an event – and not the event itself – can help shape the consequences.

How rational emotive behavioral therapy works

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Now that you know what REBT is and where it comes from, and even the basic tenants, what do you do next? How can this type of therapy help you with certain struggles? Well, the truth is that it can help a lot, and it does so in a few simple steps. 

  1. Identify the thought pattern or belief and how it is irrational. For example, it may be an absolute thought or belief, such as ‘I must do x activity perfectly.’ With absolute beliefs like this, it is impossible to have a healthy response and causes disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and regret.
  2. Change the belief itself. Once you’ve determined what it is, you have to figure out a way to change it, which is where your therapist can help you. The therapist may aim to “poke holes” or identify inconsistencies in these thoughts and beliefs. Some therapy forms focus on the therapist being gentle, supportive, and kind about challenging your thought processes; in REBT, the therapist is supposed to be extremely blunt and logical in discussing the belief’s irrationality.
  3. Create a more rational thought process that goes along with the behavior. For example, if you fail at something, there is no longer an absolute of being perfect or nothing. Instead, you can create a thought process that recognizes failure as something that will occasionally happen and accepts the ability to make mistakes. This type of therapy focuses on emotions and behaviors and helps change the way you feel about different things. Therefore, keeping track of your thoughts and feelings may be a good way to get started.

In truth, there are plenty of different areas where you can use this type of therapy to help you and your mental conditions. It generally works best for disorders related to anxiety, phobias, approval-seeking, or overwhelming shyness. With any of these conditions, it is possible to view the absolutes that cause them and help change how the individual thinks and feels about the situations that cause anxiety. It’s also possible to encourage the individual toward changes in their behaviors and work on improvements over the long term.

Getting help through REBT

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Absolute thinking can cause psychological distress

If you need support with any of the types of situations described above, or if you think that REBT may be the best way to go for you, there is help out there. MyTherapist is one place where you can connect with a mental health professional that is skilled in this form of therapy and can help you understand if it’s the best approach for your concerns. They can help you better understand what it takes to move forward with your life and constantly keep working for something better.

With MyTherapist, you’re getting an online service that allows you to connect with a mental health professional from anywhere you happen to be located, provided you have a secure internet connection. You can get the help you need without ever having to leave your home even, which can be advantageous for those still working to overcome social anxiety, shyness, or other similar disorders. 

Online therapy allows you to find a place where you feel the most comfortable and then speak with someone who doesn’t even need to be located near you. Because it takes place online, your therapist could even be located in an entirely different state from where you are, and you’ll be able to have your session. You can even text them directly if you could benefit from encouragement or guidance in a moment when you’re working on practicing your new skills and beliefs.

As mentioned previously, REBT falls under the larger umbrella of cognitive behavioral therapy, which is one of the most widely-practiced forms of therapy both in-person and online. Speaking of which, multiple studies have concluded online CBT’s effectiveness in treating various mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and it is often viewed as a more affordable form of treatment than face-to-face therapy.

Takeaway

Therapy is a personal experience, and not everyone will go into it seeking the same things. It is always a good idea to be clear on your goals before you set up your initial appointment with an online therapist or in-person counselor. If you’re not yet at that point, and are still wondering how to make sense of distressing symptoms, that’s okay, too. The compassionate, professional counselors at MyTherapist are experienced in assisting people with a range of mental health conditions and will stand with you every step of the way as you work to replace negative thought patterns with empowered alternatives. Reach out to MyTherapist today to start your journey of progress.

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