Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the important role of thinking
in how we feel and what we do.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy does not exist as a distinct therapeutic technique. The term "cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT)" is a very general term for a classification of therapies with similarities. There
are several approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy, including Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy,
Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy.
However, most cognitive-behavioral therapies have the following characteristics:
1. CBT is based on the Cognitive Model of Emotional Response.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and
behaviors, not external things, like people, situations, and events. The benefit of this fact is that we
can change the way we think to feel / act better even if the situation does not change.
2. CBT is Briefer and Time-Limited.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is considered among the most rapid in terms of results obtained. The
average number of sessions clients receive (across all types of problems and approaches to CBT) is
only 16. Other forms of therapy, like psychoanalysis, can take years. What enables CBT to be briefer
is its highly instructive nature and the fact that it makes use of homework assignments. CBT is timelimited in that we help clients understand at the very beginning of the therapy process that there
will be a point when the formal therapy will end. The ending of the formal therapy is a decision
made by the therapist and client. Therefore, CBT is not an open-ended, never-ending process.
3. A sound therapeutic relationship is necessary for effective therapy, but not the focus.
Some forms of therapy assume that the main reason people get better in therapy is because of the
positive relationship between the therapist and client. Cognitive-behavioral therapists believe it is
important to have a good, trusting relationship, but that is not enough. CBT therapists believe that
the clients change because they learn how to think differently and they act on that learning.
Therefore, CBT therapists focus on teaching rational self-counseling skills.
4. CBT is a collaborative effort between the therapist and the client.
Cognitive-behavioral therapists seek to learn what their clients want out of life (their goals) and then
help their clients achieve those goals. The therapist's role is to listen, teach, and encourage, while
the client's roles is to express concerns, learn, and implement that learning.
5. CBT is based on aspects of stoic philosophy.
Not all approaches to CBT emphasize stoicism. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational
Behavior Therapy, and Rational Living Therapy emphasize aspects of stoicism. Beck's Cognitive
Therapy is not based on stoicism. Cognitive-behavioral therapy does not tell people how they should
feel. However, most people seeking therapy do not want to feel they way they have been feeling.
The approaches that emphasize stoicism teach the benefits of feeling, at worst, calm when
confronted with undesirable situations. They also emphasize the fact that we have our undesirable
situations whether we are upset about them or not. If we are upset about our problems, we have
two problems -- the problem, and our upset about it. Most people want to have the fewest number
of problems possible. So when we learn how to more calmly accept a personal problem, not only do
we feel better, but we usually put ourselves in a better position to make use of our intelligence,
knowledge, energy, and resources to resolve the problem.
6. CBT uses the Socratic Method.
Cognitive-behavioral therapists want to gain a very good understanding of their clients' concerns.

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That's why they often ask questions. They also encourage their clients to ask questions of
themselves, like, "How do I really know that those people are laughing at me?" "Could they be
laughing about something else?"
CBT is structured and directive.
Cognitive-behavioral therapists have a specific agenda for each session. Specific techniques /
concepts are taught during each session. CBT focuses on the client's goals. We do not tell our
clients what their goals "should" be, or what they "should" tolerate. We are directive in the sense
that we show our clients how to think and behave in ways to obtain what they want. Therefore, CBT
therapists do not tell their clients what to do -- rather, they teach their clients how to do.
CBT is based on an educational model.
CBT is based on the scientifically supported assumption that most emotional and behavioral
reactions are learned. Therefore, the goal of therapy is to help clients unlearn their unwanted
reactions and to learn a new way of reacting. Therefore, CBT has nothing to do with "just talking".
People can "just talk" with anyone. The educational emphasis of CBT has an additional benefit -- it
leads to long term results. When people understand how and why they are doing well, they know
what to do to continue doing well.
CBT theory and techniques rely on the Inductive Method.
A central aspect of Rational thinking is that it is based on fact. Often, we upset ourselves about
things when, in fact, the situation isn't like we think it is. If we knew that, we would not waste our
time upsetting ourselves. Therefore, the inductive method encourages us to look at our thoughts as
being hypotheses or guesses that can be questioned and tested. If we find that our hypotheses are
incorrect (because we have new information), then we can change our thinking to be in line with
how the situation really is.
Homework is a central feature of CBT.
If when you attempted to learn your multiplication tables you spent only one hour per week
studying them, you might still be wondering what 5 X 5 equals. You very likely spent a great deal of
time at home studying your multiplication tables, maybe with flashcards. The same is the case with
psychotherapy. Goal achievement (if obtained) could take a very long time if all a person were only
to think about the techniques and topics taught was for one hour per week. That's why CBT
therapists assign reading assignments and encourage their clients to practice the techniques
learned.

National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of psychotherapy 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."
The Goal of Happiness
According to Albert Ellis and to REBT, the vast majority of us want to be happy. We want to be happy
whether we are alone or with others; we want to get along with othersespecially with one or two

close friends; we want to be well informed and educated; we want a good job with good pay; and we
want to enjoy our leisure time.
Of course life doesn't always allow us to have what we want; our goal of being happy is often thwarted
by the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." When our goals are blocked, we can respond in ways
that are healthy and helpful, or we can react in ways that are unhealthy and unhelpful.
The ABC Model
Albert Ellis and REBT posit that our reaction to having our goals blocked (or even the possibility of having
them blocked) is determined by our beliefs. To illustrate this, Dr. Ellis developed a simple ABC format to
teach people how their beliefs cause their emotional and behavioral responses:
A. Something happens.
B. You have a belief about the situation.
C. You have an emotional reaction to the belief.
For example:
A. Your employer falsely accuses you of taking money from her purse and threatens to fire you.
B. You believe, She has no right to accuse me. She's a bitch!
C. You feel angry.
If you had held a different belief, your emotional response would have been different:
A. Your employer falsely accuses you of taking money from her purse and threatens to fire you.
B. You believe, I must not lose my job. That would be unbearable.
C. You feel anxious.
The ABC model shows that A does not cause C. It is B that causes C. In the first example, it is not your
employer's false accusation and threat that make you angry; it is your belief that she has no right to
accuse you, and that she is a bitch. In the second example, it is not her accusation and threat that make
you anxious; it is the belief that you must not lose your job, and that losing your job would be
unbearable.
The Three Basic Musts
Although we all express ourselves differently, according to Albert Ellis and REBT, the beliefs that upset
us are all variations of three common irrational beliefs. Each of the three common irrational beliefs
contains a demand, either about ourselves, other people, or the world in general. These beliefs are
known as "The Three Basic Musts."
1. I must do well and win the approval of others for my performances or else I am no good.
2. Other people must treat me considerately, fairly and kindly, and in exactly the way I want them
to treat me. If they don't, they are no good and they deserve to be condemned and punished.
3. I must get what I want, when I want it; and I must not get what I don't want. It's terrible if I don't
get what I want, and I can't stand it.
The first belief often leads to anxiety, depression, shame, and guilt. The second belief often leads to
rage, passive-aggression and acts of violence. The third belief often leads to self-pity and
procrastination. It is the demanding nature of the beliefs that causes the problem. Less demanding,
more flexible beliefs lead to healthy emotions and helpful behaviors

Disputing
The goal of REBT is to help people change their irrational beliefs into rational beliefs. Changing beliefs is
the real work of therapy and is achieved by the therapist disputing the client's irrational beliefs. For
example, the therapist might ask, "Why must you win everyone's approval?" "Where is it written that
other people must treat you fairly?" "Just because you want something, why must you have it?"
Disputing is the D of the ABC model. When the client tries to answer the therapist's questions, s/he sees
that there is no reason why s/he absolutely must have approval, fair treatment, or anything else that
s/he wants.
Insight
Albert Ellis and REBT contend that although we all think irrationally from time to time, we can work at
eliminating the tendency. It's unlikely that we can ever entirely eliminate the tendency to think
irrationally, but we can reduce the frequency, the duration, and the intensity of our irrational beliefs by
developing three insights:
1. We don't merely get upset but mainly upset ourselves by holding inflexible beliefs.
2. No matter when and how we start upsetting ourselves, we continue to feel upset because we
cling to our irrational beliefs.
3. The only way to get better is to work hard at changing our beliefs. It takes practice, practice,
practice.
Acceptance
Emotionally healthy human beings develop an acceptance of reality, even when reality is highly
unfortunate and unpleasant. REBT therapists strive to help their clients develop three types of
acceptance: (1) unconditional self-acceptance; (2) unconditional other-acceptance; and (3)
unconditional life-acceptance. Each of these types of acceptance is based on three core beliefs:
Unconditional self-acceptance:
1. I am a fallible human being; I have my good points and my bad points.
2. There is no reason why I must not have flaws.
3. Despite my good points and my bad points, I am no more worthy and no less worthy than any
other human being.
Unconditional other-acceptance:
1. Other people will treat me unfairly from time to time.
2. There is no reason why they must treat me fairly.
3. The people who treat me unfairly are no more worthy and no less worthy than any other human
being.
Unconditional life-acceptance:
1. Life doesn't always work out the way that I'd like it to.
2. There is no reason why life must go the way I want it to
3. Life is not necessarily pleasant but it is never awful and it is nearly always bearable.
REBT Network: http://www.rebtnetwork.org/whatis.html.