Introduction
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was started in 1955 by the person-centered therapist Albert Ellis. It was a pioneering cognitive-behavioral system of psychotherapy based on both cognitive and philosophical approaches. The main idea of REBT is that people suffer from self-defeating emotions and feelings because of their own irrational and dysfunctional beliefs rather than external factors (Ellis, 2021). REBT seeks to replace negative beliefs with positive and rational thought patterns by teaching techniques to avoid self-defeating/self-sabotaging thinking (Şahin et al., 2021). REBT uses problem-solving techniques concerned with addressing adversaries and cognitive restructuring techniques focused on replacing irrational beliefs (Ellis, 2021). Additionally, coping is utilized to manage the adverse consequences of patients’ actual emotional patterns (Ellis, 2021). REBT helps combat mental illnesses, including anxiety, depression, phobias, addictive behaviors, substance abuse, aggression, procrastination, sleeping disorders, and disordered eating habits.
REBT’s core principles can be illustrated using the ABCs theory by Ellis. According to this model, people usually have goals, for instance, living a good and happy life, and seek to achieve them with the help of accessible means. However, there are some adversaries (A) that thwart these goals. These obstacles create consequences (C) or emotions and feelings in people that can either help or prevent them from achieving their goals (Ellis, 2021). Individuals usually construct these consequences (C) themselves by choosing either rational and useful or irrational and dysfunctional beliefs (B). Although the adversaries (A) are responsible for creating people’s emotional and behavioral consequences (C), the adversaries (A) are not the only reason why such consequences (C) occur. In other words, people choose how to respond to adversaries (A) with the help of rational and irrational beliefs (B). The selected beliefs (B), together with adversaries (A), create either self-defeating/disturbing or positive emotions termed as consequences (C) (Ellis, 2021). Therefore, REBT implies that people’s internal reactions and emotions mainly depend on their choices rather than on external factors.
Strengths of REBT
Firstly, REBT is found to be extremely effective in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Schenk et al. (2020) interviewed 40 first-year medical students diagnosed with GAD. The students participated in eight REBT sessions, and the researchers tested their level of anxiety and irrational beliefs before and after REBT-based interventions. They found that anxiety levels were a lot lower in the post-intervention period compared to the pre-intervention, implying that REBT was effective in treating GAD (Schenk et al., 2020). The level of irrational beliefs was also significantly lower in the post-intervention period than before the therapy sessions.
REBT’s second strong point is its ability to improve clients’ mental well-being as it pertains to professional endeavors and contentment with their jobs. This strength is illustrated by the study conducted by Kim and Yoon (2018). Their research revealed that REBT intervention was effective in reducing job stress and burnout levels and increasing job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Moreover, people who were exposed to REBT sessions showed decreases in the level of turnover intentions (Kim & Yoon, 2018). The study was conducted on 47 nurses from two hospitals; 23 of them attended REBT sessions eight times once a week, whereas the other 24 represented a control group. The researchers collected the measurements of their stress, burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment levels before and after the sessions. According to the findings, the 23-member intervention group showed significant improvements in all four aspects (Kim & Yoon, 2018). Therefore, the authors concluded that REBT was an effective type of therapeutic intervention to reduce the levels of job stress, burnout, and turnover intention and increase the levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction.
The third advantage of REBT is that it can help to reduce parental stress levels in families with autistic children. The research by Ede et al. (2020) claims that families that participated in rational emotive family health therapy better managed the level of their parenting stress after the therapy sessions. The fourth strength of REBT is that it helps to increase positive thinking aside from reducing the influence of dysfunctional thinking patterns. In the study conducted on school students with depression and anxiety, it was found that adolescents who took REBT sessions achieved a reduction in the levels of depression and anxiety and higher levels of self-esteem and hope (Sælid & Nordahl, 2017). Moreover, REBT’s effects were found to last for a longer period compared to other types of therapeutic interventions.
REBT is also reported to benefit athletic performance, which is its fifth strength. According to Wood et al. (2017), after the REBT-based intervention, athletes demonstrated “reductions in irrational beliefs… coupled with reductions in systolic blood pressure indicative of an adaptive physiological response” (Wood et al., 2017, p. 329). Other positive effects included improved sports performance during simulation competitions and lower levels of performance-avoidance goals (Wood et al., 2017). Moreover, the results indicated an increase in self-awareness, emotional control, and concentration during the competitions.
Finally, REBT can also help to reduce the level of depression among children with learning disabilities. Ugwu et al. (2022) conducted a study on Nigerian children with learning disabilities and symptoms of depressive disorder. According to their research, REBT was highly effective in helping the participating children to manage their symptoms of depression (Ugwu et al., 2022). This study implies that children with pre-existing learning difficulties have an opportunity to avoid depression thanks to REBT.
Weaknesses of REBT
Despite a large number of studies that supports the efficacy of REBT, this type of therapy has its disadvantages as well. Its first shortcoming is that REBT is found to be relatively ineffective in severe mental and developmental disorders, such as schizophrenia, personality disorders, and Asperger’s syndrome (Frolli et al., 2020). According to the study conducted by Corey (2016), REBT fails to help patients with schizophrenia and personality disorders. REBT techniques are mainly concerned with the client’s beliefs and responses to external stimuli, while schizophrenia incorporates actual mental problems not associated with the perception of external adversaries (Corey, 2016). REBT does not outperform standard psychoeducation in reducing symptom severity in schizophrenia (Onyemaechi et al., 2019). Secondly, as a subtype of CBT, REBT usually ignores the patient’s past and deals mainly with his or her present emotions (Lina & Valencia, 2021). However, according to Corey (2016), past experiences, for instance, childhood trauma, represent an important part of psychological treatment and should be taken into account.
Concerning the third shortcoming, in REBT, the roles of patients and therapists during the sessions can also cause some problems. REBT can be a challenging experience for clients as the therapist usually takes the position of a forceful and confrontational leader. Practitioners should carefully consider their limits of power and persuasion to avoid imposing their philosophy while also supporting clients in overcoming irrational thinking (Corey, 2016; Erganila & Suwarjo, 2021). The fourth limitation to practicing REBT can be its effect on children and mentally retired people. Psychologists that seek to apply REBT to these groups of people might realize that these clients find it challenging to work with abstract ideas like beliefs because of their age and stage of brain development. While it can be possible to incorporate REBT while working with these people, the effectiveness of REBT significantly decreases. In other words, REBT cannot guarantee positive outcomes in patients that need physical interventions or are unable to get fully involved in the sessions because of their cognitive abilities.
The fifth shortcoming of REBT is that some patients can undermine the role of homework, which is an integral part of the method. During REBT sessions, it is usually highlighted that internal changes are not enough if they are not applied in practice and not reinforced again in reality (Rezaeisharif et al., 2021; Yöntem & Özer, 2018). However, some patients ignore their home assignments, which can negatively impact the overall result after REBT sessions. Finally, REBT is not a one-trial learning treatment and requires some sort of mutual effort and intention to change from the patients. In cases where patients are not willing to change anything in themselves, REBT cannot show any improvements in the level of rational beliefs.
Conclusion
In my opinion, REBT is a powerful and effective type of CBT, the validity of which is supported by a vast majority of studies conducted in the field of psychotherapy. Despite certain drawbacks mentioned above, the overall viability of REBT in alleviating widespread mental issues, such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleeping disorders, and other problems, was proven. Moreover, the fact that patients can carry out their therapy without any professional interventions can also encourages me to support REBT. When patients are unable to attend REBT practitioners, they can use supplementary material and psychoeducational approaches to help themselves in difficult situations. In this way, patients can work on their mental health and practice self-help without any external assistance. Considering the long-lasting results of REBT and its positive consequences for patients’ mental conditions, I can conclude that REBT can be practiced widely by psychotherapists and support patients in overcoming their mental disorders.
References
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