Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
(REBT)
Stresses thinking, judging, deciding, analyzing, and doing
that cognitions, emotions, and behaviors interact and have a reciprocal cause-and-effect relationship
very directive, and concerned as much with thinking as with feeling
that our emotions stem mainly from our beliefs, evaluations, interpretations, and reactions to life situations
The Therapeutic Process
Therapy is seen as an educational process
To identify and dispute irrational beliefs that are maintained by
self-indoctrination
- To replace ineffective ways of thinking with effective and rational
cognitions
- To stop absolutistic thinking, blaming, and repeating false beliefs
View of Human Nature
We are born with a potential for both rational and irrational thinking
- We have
the biological and cultural tendency to think crookedly and to needlessly disturb ourselves
- We learn
and invent disturbing beliefs and keep ourselves disturbed through our self-talk
- We have
the capacity to change our cognitive, emotive, and behavioral processes
The A-B-C theory
Irrational Ideas
Irrational ideas lead to self-defeating behavior
"I must have love or approval from all the significant people in my life."
- "I must perform important tasks competently and perfectly."
- "If I don’t get what I want, it’s terrible, and I can’t stand it."
Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy (CT)
Insight-focused therapy
- Emphasizes changing negative thoughts and maladaptive beliefs
People’s internal communication is accessible to introspection
- Clients’ beliefs have highly personal meanings
- These meanings can be discovered by the client rather than being
taught or interpreted by the therapist
Theory, Goals & Principles of CT
Basic theory:
To understand the nature of an emotional episode or disturbance it is
essential to focus on the cognitive content of an individual’s reaction to
the upsetting event or stream of thoughts
Goals:
To change the way clients think by using their automatic thoughts to reach
the core schemata and begin to introduce the idea of schema restructuring
Principles:
Automatic thoughts: personalized notions that are triggered by particular
stimuli that lead to emotional responses
CT’s Cognitive Distortions
Arbitrary inferences
- Magnification and minimization
CT’s Cognitive Triad
Pattern that triggers depression:
1. Client holds negative view of themselves
2. Selective abstraction: Client has tendency to interpret experiences
in a negative manner
3. Client has a gloomy vision and projections about the future
Donald Meichenbaum’s Cognitive Behavior Modification
(CBM)
Focus:
Client’s self-verbalizations or self-statements
Premise:
As a prerequisite to behavior change, clients must notice how they think,
feel, and behave, and what impact they have on others
Basic assumption:
Distressing emotions are typically the result of maladaptive thoughts
Meichenbaum’s CBM
Self-instructional therapy focus:
Trains clients to modify the instructions they give to themselves so
that they can cope
- Emphasis is on acquiring practical coping skills
Cognitive structure:
The organizing aspect of thinking, which seems to monitor and direct the choice of thoughts
- The "executive processor," which "holds the blueprints of thinking"
that determine when to continue, interrupt, or change thinking
Behavior Change & Coping (CBM)
3 Phases of Behavior Change
1. Self-observation
2. Starting a new internal dialogue
3. Learning new skills
Coping skills programs – Stress inoculation training (3 phase model)
1. The conceptual phase
2. Skills acquisition and rehearsal phase
3. Application and follow-through phase
Constructivist Narrative Perspective
(CNP)
Focuses on the stories people tell about themselves and others about significant events in their lives
Help clients appreciate how they construct their realities and how they
author their own stories