Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in Groups

Copyright 2012 Brooks/Cole, a division of Cengage Learning, Inc.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

in Groups
Albert Ellis is the father of REBT and the grandfather

of cognitive behavioral therapy
Ellis believed that we are not disturbed solely by our

environments but that we have strong inclinations to
disturb ourselves
Theory and Practice of Group CounselingChapter 14 (1)
Ellis developed active and direct ways of working; he

stressed taking action on ones insights gained in
therapy
Premise of REBT: the way to bring about lasting

emotional and behavioral change is for members to
change their thinking
We are born with a potential for rational and

irrational thinking
We have the tendency to needlessly disturb

ourselves cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally
We invent disturbing beliefs characterized by

dogmatic and absolutist thinking and keep ourselves
disturbed through our self-talk
We need to acknowledge that we are mainly

responsible for our own disturbed thoughts,
emotions, and actions
We have the capacity to change by using a

combination of cognitive, emotive, and behavioral
methods
Parents and society may play a role in contributing

to our emotional disturbance, but we do not need to
be victims of this indoctrination that takes place in
our early years
Absolutist shoulds, oughts, and musts result in

our becoming and remaining emotionally disturbed
Examples of irrational beliefs:
I must have love or approval from all the significant people

in my life.
I must perform important tasks competently and perfectly.
If I dont get what I want, its terrible, and I cant stand it.
8
Cognitive restructuring is a central technique
Group members learn how to identify and dispute

their faulty ways of thinking
The process of disputing faulty thinking involves the

three Ds:
Detecting irrational beliefs and seeing them as unrealistic

Debating these beliefs
Discriminating between irrational and rational thinking
To help clients replace rigid demands with flexible

preferences
Two goals: Achieving unconditional self-acceptance and

unconditional other acceptance
To help members differentiate between realistic and

unrealistic goals and self-defeating and selfenhancing goals
10
To provide members with tools for experiencing

healthy emotions about negative activating events
rather than unhealthy emotions
To teach members that they are largely responsible

for their own emotional reactions
11
The leader challenges members faulty thinking and

teaches them how to apply realistic and constructive
thinking to cope with problems
The leader uses a variety of cognitive, behavioral,

and emotive methods to assist members in
modifying their dysfunctional patterns
12
The REBT leader assumes the role of a

psychological educator
The leader employs a directive role in getting

members to commit themselves to practicing in daily
life what they learn in the group
13
REBT demonstrates to members that their beliefs

and self-talk keep them disturbed
In group there is an emphasis on thinking, disputing,

debating, persuading, interpreting, explaining, and
teaching
14
Some cognitive techniques that are used in an REBT

group include:
teaching the A-B-Cs of REBT
active disputation of faulty beliefs
teaching coping self-statements
psychoeducational methods
cognitive homework
15
The behavioral methods of REBT work best when

they are combined with emotive and cognitive
methods
Some behavioral methods include:
behavioral role playing and role rehearsal
homework assignments
reinforcement and penalties
skills training
16
REBT has direct applications to group counseling

with students from grades K-12
With a psychoeducational focus, REBT groups can

be aimed at the prevention of emotional and
behavioral problems
17
Members who take the blame for family problems

can learn new self-talk in REBT groups and acquire
practical coping skills
REBT groups are an ideal place for teenagers to

work on self-acceptance and the acceptance of
others
18
Advantages
A sensitive leader can challenge members to examine selfdefeating cultural messages and understand their
consequences
Members can learn new ways of thinking and behaving
19
Limitations to consider
The REBT leader needs to use caution in confronting

members too forcefully about their beliefs and behaviors
Leaders must understand and respect cultural differences

and not judge these differences
Leaders need to be careful to avoid imposing their beliefs

and values on clients
20
Contributions and strengths of the approach
Effective with a wide range of problems in groups
Helps members learn about their self-defeating beliefs and

how this influences their current way of acting and feeling
Encourages putting newly acquired insights into action
Useful as a basis for psychoeducational groups
21
Limitations of the approach
Dangers related to the leader being inappropriately

confrontational
The leader may decide for members what is faulty thinking
The misuse of the leaders power to pressure members and

persuade them to adopt his or her views and values
22

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Copyright 2012 Brooks/Cole, a division of Cengage Learning, Inc.