Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: (Theories of Psychotherapy Series)

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy provides an introduction to the theory, history, research, and practice of this influential approach. Created in the 1950s by the coauthor, Albert Ellis, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) was the pioneering cognitive–behavioral therapy. In essence, REBT helps clients learn to challenge their own irrational thinking and develop the habit of thinking in beneficial and rational ways. This shift enables clients to behave more effectively and, ultimately, experience healthy emotions. REBT is based on the simple idea that it is not external circumstances that make a person happy or unhappy, but rather internal thoughts about events or self. Thinking, feeling, and behavior are seen as linked and influencing one another. Because changing one's thinking is usually the simplest tactic in a given situation, it tends to be the focus of therapy, along with the encouragement to adopt the humanistic core REBT philosophies of unconditional self-acceptance, unconditional other-acceptance, and unconditional life-acceptance. Ellis and Joffe Ellis present and explore this influential, practical, and compassionate approach, its theory, history, therapy process, primary change mechanisms, and the empirical basis for its effectiveness. They also examine developments that have refined the theory and expanded how it may be practiced. This essential primer, amply illustrated with case examples featuring diverse clients, is perfect for graduate students studying theories of therapy and counseling, as well as for seasoned practitioners interested in understanding how this approach has evolved and how it might be used in their practice.

About the Author :
Albert Ellis, PhD, (1913-2007), is the founder and president of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. He received his MA and PhD degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University. and is a former Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and Pittsburgh State College, Dr. Ellis has also been Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Professional School of Psychological Studies in San Diego. He served as Chief Psychologist of the New Jersey State Diagnostic Center and Chief Psychologist of the New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies. He has been a Consultant in Clinical Psychology to the New York City Board of Education and the Veterans Administration, and he has practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling, as well as sex therapy, for almost 60 years. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Ellis has served as President of its Division of Consulting Psychology and as a member of its Council of Representatives. He is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychotherapy. Dr. Ellis has published over 700 articles and 65 books, among them Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy, A Guide to Rational Living The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (to be reissued with a new foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe in 2007 by Springer Publishing Company). He has also served as Consulting or Associate Editor of many publications, including the ;Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, Journal of Individual Psychology, Cognitive Therapy and Research, Psychological Reports and The Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.