Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) targets irrational beliefs about oneself, events, and the world to help people heal from trauma, addiction, and mental illness symptoms. While not a universal solution, REBT empowers individuals to change thinking patterns and develop healthier emotional responses to future challenges.
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What Is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)?
Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is a form of therapy of action-based cognitive therapy that helps the patient challenge their irrational thoughts and beliefs before said beliefs can result in negative outcomes.
REBT works on the assumption that these negative thought patterns lead to emotional distress, negative emotions, maladaptive behaviors, and poor self-esteem. Therefore, the goal of REBT is to disrupt and challenge the negative thoughts and false beliefs someone has about themselves.
For example, someone with self-defeating beliefs may fail to follow through on a task because they think they’re incapable. As a result, the individual has worsened the situation for themselves by avoiding the task.
During an REBT session, a therapist helps the patient challenge the irrational beliefs preventing them from completing the task, replacing an irrational belief with a rational belief to avoid further distress.
Psychologist Albert Ellis first developed REBT in 1955 as an alternative to the “psychotherapy” practices of the day. While psychotherapy means something specific today, in the 1950s, it referred to the simple act of talking to a therapist about your feelings without structure or goals.
Core Principles of REBT
REBT works by helping patients challenge and dispute false beliefs they hold about themselves through cognitive restructuring. REBT can work for both adults and adolescents.
Cognitive restructuring is a psychotherapy technique that involves ” restructuring” a patient’s irrational core beliefs or thought distortions, replacing them with rational beliefs that actually reflect reality.
REBT expands on the ABC model introduced by cognitive behavioral therapy to focus on reframing negative self-beliefs. Instead, REBT uses the ABCDE framework to help patients understand and restructure these negative false beliefs they have about themselves.
These letters represent the following statements:
- A: Activating events will happen and can be unpleasant or difficult to handle.
- B: Beliefs contributing to these activating events may be rational or irrational.
- C: Consequences may arise from these rational and irrational beliefs, regardless of whether the consequences are positive or negative.
- D: Dispute or restructure any irrational beliefs and thoughts.
- E: Effect of new rational beliefs and thoughts.
The ABCDE framework can be used in therapy sessions and by patients on their own to address activating events or traumas in the future.
How Does REBT Work?
It’s believed that irrational beliefs are the root of emotional distress and behavioral issues. Therefore, addressing those beliefs will help improve all facets of a patient’s mental health struggles.
REBT targets patients’ irrational or catastrophizing beliefs about themselves and restores them into rational, positive beliefs. A therapist trained in REBT can help guide a patient through the process and apply REBT principles outside therapy.
REBT Techniques
A big part of REBT’s success includes the process of questioning or disputing irrational beliefs. For example, if a patient believes they can never accomplish something, an REBT therapist may ask what evidence the patient has that such a thing is true.
There are a few methods of disputing which target different types of irrational beliefs.
Some common disputing methods include:
- Functional disputes: This method questions if the patient’s beliefs can help them achieve their goals.
- Logical disputes: This method challenges the underlying logic of the patient’s thought process.
- Empirical disputes: This method questions whether the facts surrounding the activating event are accurate.
- Philosophical disputes: This method examines if the activating event brought some pleasure or positives despite its negative effect.
Often, irrational beliefs are not based on evidence but are instead motivated by the individual’s anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. Patients may find there is no proof to support their beliefs, allowing them to slowly challenge the belief’s validity.
Other REBT techniques may also include:
- Unconditional self-acceptance and mindfulness
- Roleplaying activating events or scenarios
- Problem-solving skills and goal setting
Types of Irrational Beliefs
Irrational beliefs can take many forms. However, all types of irrational beliefs are inflexible and dogmatic and leave no room for the gray areas of life. Many irrational beliefs occur as absolutes like “I can’t” or “I must,” making it difficult for patients to consider alternatives.
Common types of irrational beliefs include:
- Catastrophizing: Assuming that something terrible will happen (“This situation will end in tragedy”)
- Mind reading: Assuming what other people are thinking or feeling and making decisions based on these assumptions (“My spouse is thinking about divorcing me, so I will ask for divorce before they do”)
- Perfectionism: Having impossible expectations of yourself or someone else (“I must never make a mistake)
- Fortune telling: Predicting the outcome of a situation will be negative without considering the actual odds (“I’m not going to get the job”)
- Sensationalism: Blowing normal or mild problems way out of proportion or “sensationalizing” them (“I’m not sleeping well, so I must have a sleep disorder”)
- Disqualifying the positive: Instead of avoiding the positive of a situation, you actively discount it (“I did well on the written part of the test, but everyone knows that part doesn’t matter”)
- Permatizing: Taking a temporary situation and treating it like it’s permanent (“I’ll never find a partner”)
Managing Mental Health Conditions with REBT
REBT can treat and manage several mental health conditions. The therapy can be especially effective in treating depression, anxiety, and addictive behaviors.
However, the effectiveness of rational emotive behavior therapy depends on the patient’s commitment to challenging their irrational beliefs and managing their emotional response to activating events.
REBT and Addiction Treatment
Many addicts struggle with irrational beliefs, especially if they have failed to enter recovery before. For example, an addict may tell themselves they are incapable of achieving recovery or they don’t deserve recovery for some reason.
Fighting these irrational thoughts can be a huge barrier to recovery. By utilizing REBT for addiction, addicts can address these false beliefs and understand that recovering is a complicated process that may take a few tries.
REBT and Mental Illness Treatment
REBT can also help with many mental illnesses, especially for individuals who struggle with anxiety and uncontrollable negative feelings. REBT allows patients to confront irrational beliefs and thoughts, improving their overall quality of life.
REBT is effective for the following mental illnesses:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Social phobia (and other phobias)
- Eating disorders
- Depression and depressive symptoms
- Anxiety disorders
REBT can also help with the following issues commonly found in patients with mental illness:
- Aggression
- Procrastination
- Grief
- Excessive guilt
- Low self-esteem
- Poor social skills
- Assertiveness
- Disruptive behavior
REBT vs. CBT: Understanding the Differences
It’s hard to compare the two because REBT is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a broad type of psychotherapy that helps patients identify and alter certain behaviors that negatively affect their lives.
REBT, which is part of CBT, focuses mainly on the irrational thoughts and false beliefs plaguing the patient. Rather than considering the two therapies as different, REBT can be considered a specialization within CBT.
Get Help with REBT
If you believe REBT may help you or a loved one who’s struggling, now is the time to find an REBT therapist. You can start by asking your doctor or current mental health provider if they have recommendations for you.
The Albert Ellis Institute, started by the creator of REBT, has a REBT locator on their website that can help you find a REBT specialist near you.
Individuals who do not currently have a doctor can use SAMHSA’s online treatment locator to see what facilities in your area may offer REBT.
FAQs About Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
What makes REBT different from other types of therapy?
REBT focuses primarily on helping patients confront, challenge, and dispute false beliefs they hold about themselves. It is believed that these thoughts contribute to feelings of anxiety, guilt, anger, and hopelessness.
Through REBT, patients develop the tools to confront and dispute these thoughts on their own outside of therapy, giving them more power and agency over their own lives.
What is the difference between CBT and REBT?
REBT is a type of CBT. CBT is a broader type of behavioral therapy that may also focus on confronting false beliefs. However, REBT focuses only on those false beliefs and how they wreak havoc in people’s lives.
Who can benefit from REBT?
Anyone can benefit from REBT. However, people who experience anxiety, guilt, shame, and depression can certainly benefit from the therapy. REBT can help with many mental illnesses, as well as substance use disorders and addiction.
What are the goals of REBT?
The goal of REBT is to help patients develop a more positive outlook on their lives by confronting and restructuring their false beliefs about themselves.
REBT will not prevent these thoughts but will give patients the tools to confront them independently. Over time, patients will feel more confident and can address irrational thoughts as they arise using the techniques they’ve learned through REBT.
