What is Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy & How Does it Work?

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) was introduced in the 1950s. However, it’s not as commonly known as some other behavioral and/or talk therapies. There’s no question that your thoughts and beliefs can influence your emotions and behaviors. REBT is designed to help you change any irrational thoughts influencing your behaviors or causing your emotions to feel like they’re on a rollercoaster. It helps to change your way of thinking, so you’ll be able to overcome difficult situations in the present and future by working through any negative underlying beliefs. That includes things like negative self-talk or self-sabotaging thoughts.

Let’s take a closer look at Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, how it works, and whether it’s right for you. 

The Principles of REBT

The main principles of REBT focus on the ABCs of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). This approach suggests that activating events in people’s lives can trigger irrational thoughts and beliefs. Even if the event only happened once, those thoughts remain, negatively influencing that individual’s behaviors.

The ABC principles are: 

• Activating a situation or belief that triggers negative reactions

• Beliefs about the event that are unrealistic and/or irrational

• Consequences of those beliefs

The consequences of an irrational belief often include negative behaviors and can lead to damaging emotions that fuel even worse behaviors or ideas. In the end, it becomes a vicious cycle that is hard to break. That’s where REBT steps in. The goal is to eliminate irrational beliefs about a specific event or idea and replace them with realistic thoughts. The more rational a person’s thoughts, the more stable and positive their emotions and behaviors will be. 

Reaching Your Goals

You might have irrational beliefs about a workplace environment or even your own sense of self-worth. When negative beliefs hold you back, even when you only associate them with a specific thing, it’s harder to achieve your goals. REBT helps you reach your goals by using a variety of techniques. Some of the most common include reframing, modeling, or even humor.

REBT differs slightly from traditional CBT in its approach to irrational thoughts and beliefs. It suggests that irrational beliefs are rigid and illogical, while rational beliefs are flexible and don’t swing from one extreme to another. While it’s not for everyone, REBT helps people like social workers, athletes, and other individuals that might frequently deal with negative or stressful situations. So far, it’s proven to be successful in helping those individuals restructure their responses.

What to Expect

It’s important to understand that REBT isn’t a type of therapy to take lightly. Using some of the techniques listed above (and others), your therapist will try to break down irrational thoughts and beliefs by disputing them. While that might not be easy to work through, at first, you’ll eventually see how having someone challenge your negative beliefs can not only help you understand where those beliefs stem from but how you can learn to challenge your own irrational thoughts over time.

REBT focuses on the present rather than diving into the past and trying to work things out from there. It is a goal-driven therapy that is meant to help you move forward and have an easier time dealing with adversity by changing your irrational thoughts or negative beliefs.

If you’re tired of being held down by your own negative emotions, or you’re worried that you might be struggling with irrational thoughts, feel free to contact me. I’m happy to help you set up an appointment. Additionally, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to learn more about Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy and whether it’s the right choice for you.