When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) with clients, I assist with identifying and challenging core irrational beliefs—acceptance that a state of mind, assumption, or personal attitude is true, though which isn’t in accordance with logic and reason.
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 assumptions in order to explore Effective new beliefs.
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.
As an example, if on your commute to work you encounter slow-moving traffic (Action), you may be late to work (Consequence). In the naturalistic world, the measurement of time is a finite resource and slower traffic can delay travel times from an A-C frame of reference.
Still, if when you experience a delayed travel time (Action) and unproductively Believe, “This shouldn’t happen to me,” then you’ll likely disturb yourself into an angry disposition (Consequence). From the B-C framework, you disturb yourself with unhelpful assumptions.
Thus, I help people to stop upsetting themselves through use of B-C connections, though I can’t fully resolve their A-C connections. Noteworthy, people aren’t always or instantly aware of their core irrational beliefs. Regarding this matter, one source states:
What specific events mean to someone (how they evaluate them) depends on their underlying, core beliefs. Most beliefs are outside conscious awareness. They are habitual or automatic, often consisting of underlying ‘rules’ about how the world and life should be. When an event triggers off a train of thought, a person’s conscious evaluation of that event depends on the core beliefs they sub-consciously apply. However, with practice, people can learn to be aware of such sub-conscious beliefs.
It took quite a bit of dedicated work for me to learn that how I was self-disturbing was often in association with core irrational beliefs, and not merely fleeting descriptions and prescriptions, which weren’t in accordance with logic or reason. Now, I help clients discover their core patterned assumptions.
Regarding this, page 185 of The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion (“Pocket Companion”), encourages REBT practitioners to assist people with identifying core irrational belies which are at the center of a significant number of problems. To illustrate this point, reflect upon the slow-moving traffic example.
While it’s likely that you believe delayed travel times shouldn’t happen to you, I suspect that a core irrational belief may be generalized to other problems within your life. Perhaps it’s something along the lines of, “I mustn’t be inconvenienced, because it’s a terrible experience whenever this occurs!”
Importantly, page 186 of the Pocket Companion invites REBT practitioners not to assume that people hold such core irrational beliefs until there’s evidence to support this hypothesis. Therefore, suppose you and I have engaged in the psychotherapeutic process for a few months.
During one session, you discuss how upset you become when maintaining beliefs about telemarketers. In another instance, you lament the fact that a limited number of check-out lines are open at any given time when visiting your preferred grocery store.
Still, in another session, you discuss how when you went to the airport there was an absurdly long wait time for security on-boarding of a plane. Then, at separate session, you discuss how long it takes other people to respond to your texts.
Can you guess which core irrational belief applies to all examples herein? “I mustn’t be inconvenienced, because it’s a terrible experience whenever this occurs!”
Page 187 of the Pocket Companion encourages REBT practitioners to help clients understand how people perpetuate core irrational beliefs by looking for instances in which they think and act in ways that maintain these beliefs. Herein, I’ve given a number of examples which address the thinking aspect of the matter.
The Pocket Companion further invites REBT practitioners to help clients explore ways that people avoid these beliefs or even over-compensate for them. For instance, after a few months in therapy with me, you may become aware of how you practice denial rather than disputation of irrational beliefs.
As an example, if your intimate partner forgot to readjust the car seat to your preferred settings and you unfavorably believe, “I mustn’t be inconvenienced, because it’s a terrible experience whenever this occurs,” you may then unhelpfully say to yourself, “I’m not telling myself anything that isn’t true though.”
Denying that you’re upsetting yourself by justifying your core irrational belief may not best serve your interests and goals in the long run. Therefore, understanding of, belief in, and continuous practice of REBT is necessary in order to stop upsetting yourself.
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
References:
Dryden, W. and Neenan, M. (2003). The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion. Albert Ellis Institute. ISBN 0-917476-26-3. Library of Congress Control Number: 20031044378
Gillingham Community Church, Dorset. (n.d.). REBT and ABC. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52e0f13ae4b0bd0cf79b79f0/t/52fc9917e4b003139ba7abc3/1392285975578/abc.pdf
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, October 5). Description vs. prescription. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/description-vs-prescription
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