Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is an active-directive form of cognitive behavior therapy that serves as the process of self-help by teaching people how to address their own issues from a humanistic perspective. I practice this psychotherapeutic modality daily in both my personal and professional life.
Noteworthy, REBT theory uses the ABC model to illustrate how when Activating events (“Actions”) occur and people maintain irrational Beliefs about the events, these unhelpful assumptions – and not the actual occurrences – are what create unpleasant cognitive, emotive, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people use: demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance, and global evaluations. Addressing these, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unhelpful attitudes in order to explore Effective new beliefs.
When clients approach me about problems X, Y, or Z, I address these issues with A, B, and C of the ABC model. To demonstrate how this format works, consider the following scenario.
Client Jane Doe attends session and states that she’s upset when her husband doesn’t follow through with agreed-upon plans (problem X). As well, Jane is displeased with her daughter who foregoes completion of homework assignments while favoring overuse of a smartphone (problem Y).
Also, Jane tells me that prior to session she attempted to establish contact with a distant friend for the fourth time this month, though the friend has apparently ignored Jane’s calls and texts (problem Z). With issues XYZ, I’ll invite Jane to use ABC.
Rather than working on all issues at once, it’s important to address each problem separately. Therefore, I’d ask Jane to select which of these matters is worth examining first. Imagine that Jane chooses problem X.
Action – Jane’s husband reportedly doesn’t follow through with agreed-upon plans.
This is a somewhat vague issue. Therefore, I ask Jane to tell me what in particular she considers most troublesome about this matter. In REBT, assessing for the critical A allows a psychotherapist and client to better understand the precise component of an action which is most relevant for the ABC process.
Critical A – As has apparently happened on many occasions, Jane’s husband again neglected to fix the in-sink garbage disposal and when she tried to use it this morning Jane flooded the sink and was late for work due to taking time to clean up the mess.
Once a clear picture of the activating event is obtained, I find it helpful to properly format the process of self-disturbance. From a psychological standpoint, people disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection.
Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection. Generally speaking, many clients report subscribing to an A-C perspective when beginning services with me.
From a naturalistic world perspective, a broken in-sink garbage disposal and clogged sink (Action) can result in an overflow of the sink (Consequence). In REBT, practice of denial isn’t customary. Therefore, I acknowledge that clogged sinks sometimes lead to messes (A-C).
Nevertheless, an activating event isn’t what leads to Jane’s reaction from a B-C perspective. Sometimes, clients tell me it’s easier for them to tell me what identifiable consequence was present immediately following an action.
After they’ve identified the unpleasant result of an irrational belief, we may then address what assumption caused the consequence. Still, imagine that Jane has received services with me for a number of months and she knows how to sing her ABCs. Are you familiar with the lyrics?
“A C B D E F…” Wait, that’s not right. Let’s try this again. “A B C D E F…” That’s it! Action, Belief, Consequence…
Belief – Regarding the critical A, Jane states that she assumed, “He should follow through with agreed-upon plans, because it’s terrible having to run late for work over something that should’ve already been resolved, like this damned sink issue!”
There is no “husband-disturbance,” “sink-disturbance,” or “late-to-work-disturbance” in REBT. Rather, this modality identifies self-disturbance. It’s with unhelpful attitudes such as Jane’s expressed belief that people upset themselves.
Consequence – As a result of her unproductive assumption, Jane tells me that she felt anger and tightness in her jaw. As well, she called her husband and left a lengthy voicemail detailing how worthless he was.
For virtually every problem Jane brings to session – XYZ and anything else – I assist her by formatting the matter in an ABC fashion. Once the issue has been properly aligned in a manner that appropriately demonstrates how Jane upsets herself during events, I then ask about a goal for each ABC-formatted issue.
Perhaps rather than disturbing herself to anger and lashing out at her husband, Jane would like to instead be annoyed by, frustrated about, or disappointed in regard to the event. With this goal in mind, I’s assist Jane with the process of disputation.
When disputing, the action and consequence aren’t the targets of challenge. Again, denial isn’t something commonly practiced in REBT. To dispute whether or not an activating event or a negative emotion occurred is pointless, because these elements actually happened.
And while Jane’s belief also occurred, it’s the very element that caused an unpleasant consequence and can be altered for future activating events. Therefore, disputation of irrational beliefs is helpful in order for Jane to learn how to help herself during future undesirable events.
As disputation can be a somewhat lengthy affair, I won’t demonstrate this technique herein. Still, I encourage you to review entries contained in the Disputation category of my blog for specific examples of how I conduct this process.
The main takeaway herein is that ABC with XYZ affords individuals the ability to un-self-disturb. Once learned in a session and frequently practiced through negotiated homework exercises outside of session, people can humanistically help themselves during future events.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit (edited), fair use
References:
Freepik. (n.d.). Arrangement of blank wooden cubes [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/arrangement-blank-wooden-cubes_12557985.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=31&uuid=c5f03ecb-0201-43c8-8e13-9d0d4ba5b5ce
Hollings, D. (2024, May 23). A humanistic approach to mental health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/a-humanistic-approach-to-mental-health
Hollings, D. (2024, June 14). An active-directive approach to behavioral health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/an-active-directive-approach-to-behavioral-health
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Blog – Categories: Disputation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/blog/categories/disputation
Hollings, D. (2024, May 19). Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt
Hollings, D. (2024, March 19). Consequences. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/consequences
Hollings, D. (2022, October 31). Demandingness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/demandingness
Hollings, D. (2024, April 2). Denial. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/denial
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2024, April 2). Four major irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/four-major-irrational-beliefs
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (2023, September 13). Global evaluations. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/global-evaluations
Hollings, D. (2024, April 13). Goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/goals
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, April 18). Homework. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/homework
Hollings, D. (2023, October 15). I’m my own mechanic. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/i-m-my-own-mechanic
Hollings, D. (2023, May 18). Irrational beliefs. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/irrational-beliefs
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance
Hollings, D. (2024, April 22). On disputing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-disputing
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2023, March 20). Practice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/practice
Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2024, June 5). Self-help. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-help
Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Sensation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sensation
Hollings, D. (2022, October 7). Should, must, and ought. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/should-must-and-ought
Hollings, D. (2022, November 9). The ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-abc-model
Hollings, D. (2022, December 23). The A-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-a-c-connection
Hollings, D. (2022, December 25). The B-C connection. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-b-c-connection
Hollings, D. (2022, November 2). The critical A. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/the-critical-a
Hollings, D. (2022, November 15). To don a hat. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/to-don-a-hat
Hollings, D. (2024, March 18). Unhealthy vs. healthy negative emotions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/unhealthy-vs-healthy-negative-emotions
Comentarios