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Behaviour Therapy
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Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy

• The founder of REBT is Albert Ellis
• A basic assumption of REBT is that people contribute to their own
psychological problems, as well as specific symptoms, by the rigid
and extreme belief they hold about events and situations.
• REBT is also based on the assumptions that cognitions, emotions, and
behaviour interact significantly and have a reciprocal cause and effect
relationship.
• REBT’s basic hypothesis is that our emotions are mainly created from
our beliefs, which influence the evaluations and interpretations we
make and fuel the reactions we have to life situations.
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Role of the Counsellor

• Role of Counsellor is active and direct
• They work as instructor also, who teach and enabled client
to correct his or her cognition
• Counsellor should be bright, knowledgeable, empathetic,
respectful, genuine, concrete, persistent, scientific, interested
in helping others and users themselves of REBT.
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Goals
• The primary goals of REBT focus on helping people realize that they
can live more rational and product lives.
• REBT helps clients stop making demands and becoming upset
through catastrophizing
• Helps clients to have rational belief, which can help them to stop self
defeating habits of thoughts or behaviour.
• Helps people to learn how to recognise an emotional autonomy – that
is learn how feelings are attached to thoughts.
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View of Human Nature:

• Ellis believes that people have both self interest and social
interest.
• It is assumed that people are inherently rational and
irrational
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View Of Emotional Disturbance:

• People learn irrational belief from significant others during childhood and then re
create these irrational beliefs throughout lifetime.
• People actively reinforce their self defeating belief through the process of
autosuggestions and repetitions and then start behaving with irrationals beliefs
consistently and develop dysfunction attitude.
• Ellis asserted that blame can be at core of many emotional disturbance.
• If we want to become psychologically healthy, we have to stop blaming our self
and others.
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ABC of Irrational thinking:

Primary demanding Belief:
These involve people’s main demands in response to an activating
event. As these beliefs are experienced as ‘must’ ‘ought to’.
• I must do well and win approval for all my performances.
• Others must treat me considerably and kindly.
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Derivatives of Primary demanding belief:

Individual usually make over generalised and unrealistic inferences in
response to their absolutistic demands.
It will be extremely awful or bad if their cherished goals are not
achieved.
Individual feel worthless, if they fail to achieve their goals
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REBT proposes four core irrational beliefs;

• Demands: The tendency to demand success, fair treatment, and
respect (e.g., I must be treated fairly).
• Awfulizing: The tendency to consider adverse events as awful or
terrible (e.g., Its awful when I am disrespected). 
• Low Frustration Tolerance (LFT): The belief that one could not
stand or tolerate adversity (e.g., I cannot stand being treated
unfairly). 
• Depreciation: The belief that one event reflects the person as a whole
(e.g., When I fail it shows that I am a complete failure).
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ABC Framework:
Another goal of REBT is to help people change self defeating
habits of thoughts or behaviour.
One way is accomplished through teaching clients ABCDE
Model:
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• A: Activating Event or experience

• B: Belief- how the person thinks about the experience
• C: Consequences- emotional reactions to belief:
• D: Disputing
• E: Effective thinking- which can help clients achieve great
life satisfaction
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Techniques of REBT
Disputing:
Cognitive Disputing:
Cognitive disputation involves the use of direct questions, logical reasoning, and
persuasion.
Imaginal Disputing:
Imaginal disputation use a client’s ability to imagine and employs a technique as
rational emotive imagery
Behavioural Disputing:
Behavioural disputation involves in a way that is the opposite to client’s usual way,
including role playing and the completion of homework assignment in which a
client actually does activities previously thought impossible to do.
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Emotive Techniques:
REBT Practitioners use a variety of emotive procedures,
including unconditional acceptance, rational emotive role
playing, Modelling, rational emotive imagery and shame
attacking exercise.
Their purpose is not simply to provide a cathartic experience
but to help clients change some of their thoughts, emotions and
behaviours.
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• Rational Emotive Imagery

• Role playing
• Shame attacking exercise
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Strengths:
The approach is clear, easily learned and effective
The approach can be combined with other behavioural technique to help
clients
The approach has been found effective in treating major mental health
disorders such as depression and anxiety
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Limitations:
The approach can not be used effectively with individuals who have
mental disorders.
The approach’s emphasis on changing thinking may not be the simplest
way of helping clients change their emotions.