ROSMAN, CHIN SHEH TSUN, AWANG SYARIFUDDIN AFIF

TUTORIAL [REBT Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy]

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of psychotherapy and a
philosophy of living created by Albert Ellis in the 1950's. REBT is based on the
premise that whenever we become upset, it is not the events taking place in our lives
that upset us; it is the beliefs that we hold that cause us to become depressed,
anxious, enraged, etc. The idea that our beliefs upset us was first articulated by
Epictetus around 2,000 years ago: "Men are disturbed not by events, but by the
views which they take of them."
According to REBT, our attitudes, our belief, our thoughts -- the way we think
about events and the meanings we give to them -- directly affect how we feel and
behave. This is common sense to most people, making REBT more user-friendly
than other therapies. REBT is also the only cognitive-behavioral therapy that
encourages people to examine their philosophy of life their goals, values, etc. -and how their philosophy affects their self-help efforts. REBT teaches that even
though people are determined to some extend by their genetic givens, their
upbringing, their family background, etc., they can change. REBT focuses on
techniques rather than insight. It teaches people how to change. REBT encourages
them to accept their limitations while working on self-change.
REBT believes that the client has to work hard to get better, and this work
may include homework assigned by the therapist. The assignments may include
desensitization tasks, i.e. by having the client confronting the very thing the client is
making himself afraid of. Often Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy focuses on
specific problems and is used as a brief therapy, but in deeper problems longer
therapy is promoted. Another factor contributing to the brevity of Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy is that the therapist helps the client learn how to get better through
hard work, and help himself to get through future adversities. It holds that hard work,
and hard work only, is the only way to get, and stay, better and not only temporarily
feel better. An ideal successful collaboration between the REBT therapist and a client
results in changes to the client's philosophical way of evaluating himself, others and
his life, which is likely to yield effective results: The client's better move toward
unconditional self-acceptance, other-acceptance and life-acceptance