Cognitive Reconstruction and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

cOgnitive reconstrustion & rebt1

Cognitive Reconstruction and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Abigail N. Lucas

Longwood University

Cognitive Reconstruction and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Albert Ellis was ranked amongst the most influential psychologist in both America and Canada. He is well known for his founding of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In 1959, Ellis created the Albert Ellis Institute. The mission of which was to promote the use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. (Ross, 2006)

Description of Model

Cognitive restructuring is a process of learning how to properly identify and stop irrational behaviors. Most of which would be see in many mental health disorder cases, such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder, or social phobia just to name a few. Cognitive restructuring primarily involves four steps. Step one involves identifying problematic automatic thoughts or ATs for short. Step two is identifying the cognitive distortions in the ATs. Step three is using the Socratic method to rationally dispute the ATs. And finally step four is developing a ration rebuttal to the ATs.

The best way to start to understand how this model works is to begin with gaining an understanding of what ATs are. There are six different types of ATs: self evaluated thoughts, thoughts of evaluations of others, thoughts on people whom are being interacted with, thoughts on coping strategies and/or behavioral plans, thoughts of avoidance, and thoughts that do not fit in to the prior categories. And example of ATs in a classroom setting would be a student associating asking questions to feelings of negativity or of feelings no significance in the class. The students ATs would create a constant feeling of anxiety and stress. However, a student who has a positive automatic thought would realize that asking question in class would help further their understanding of the material. (Kwon, 1992)

The next step to take in order to understand this theory is knowing the ABCDE system. Ellis created this mnemonic in order to better remember the basics of rational emotive behavioral therapy. A stands for Activating event, this is the event that begins the cycle of irrational thinking. An event can range from a simple case of stage fright during a presentation to a constant lack of confidence in all daily activities. B stands for belief system, is the the cognitive aspect in anindividual’s reaction to the activating event. C is consequences of both the activating event and belief system. Ellis states that irrational thoughts lead to horrible consequences. The best example for this would be a student telling themselves that they can not complete an assignment because they will do poorly. The immediate consequence would be that the student will in fact do poorly since they have been telling themselves that they would even before starting said task. D is disputing the irrational belief that the individual has. Ellis’s method of treatment consists of challenging the client’s irrational beliefs as directly as possible, it is important to replace the negative thoughts with realistic and adaptive thoughts. E stands for the effects of the new beliefs. If this process is effective the individual would have lost their anxiety and or stress. (Bauer, n.d)

After the irrational thought is identified Ellis says that in order to change that irrational thought you must replace it with a rational one. The most common methods for this include; Socratic questioning, thought recording, labelling distortions, cognitive rehearsal, and guided imagery. These methods will allow for the irrational thought to be under enough scrutiny that the individual will see that a more rational thought would be better suited for a certain activating event.

Banks talks about how REBT is used with children and how teachers and caregivers provide information on how to deal with society and life in general. She states that it is a preventive type of approach to mental health. As the name of the therapy states, this is used as a way to change the way that the individual thinks and behaves. It is explained that all problems concerning emotions are caused that irrational thoughts about a event, instead of the trauma of the actual event. She sees this as more of a mode of intervention before the real emotional problems begin.

Effectiveness of Model

There is mixed reviews on whether or not Cognitive Restructuring is effective. According to Wein, the treatment had no effect. Wein was conducting a study on the effect of four different therapies on a group of students with a fear of snakes. While Cognitive restructuring lowered the amount of fear and was able to reduce the amount of avoiding behavior held by the subjects, it did not produce a real significant difference. Banks however, disagrees. She saw progress with children in an educational setting. There is a good amount of research showing that REBT has positive effects on young children in both neurological and developmental limitations. (Grey, 2010) I personally can see how this can go both ways. A student that has struggled in the past with feelings of low self-esteem could possibly benefit greatly from this theory. Taking away that negative self-talk and replacing it with ration thoughts of “I can do this, I am fully capable of applying myself and succeeding” would make tremendous waves in the quality of work that student is handing in.

But it could also go in the opposite direction. Some students would struggle greatly and would not be able to let go of those negative and irrational thoughts in order to make that progress. And the whole process in trying to take away those irrational thoughts could in fact drive that child farther in to isolation. And that right there is completely the opposite goal of this theory.

Rejection of Model

While I feel that there is a lot of good points made with this theory I really do feel that it is almost too much of a risk. There are tons of good points that Ellis makes such as irrational behavior leads to consequences, I just can’t fully agree with his methods of how to change these thoughts. I feel that even if a thought is irrational it needs to be treated as valid. The second you invalidate someone’s feelings you lose respect with them.

Ellis talks about how this practice is to be used with those individuals that suffer from anxiety disorders, and eating disorders. And the way he goes about changing the thoughts behind the idea of stress or panic could potentially end up causing much more damage than necessary. A individual with Bulimia should not be grilled as to why they have that irrational behavior. They should be treated with respect and slowly the thoughts should be modified until the Automatic thought has be completely replaced with a healthy and rational thought about food and eating. Same goes for an individual with severe anxiety. Most of the time those suffering from anxiety have very little idea as to what exactly triggered the activating event, all they know is that they are suddenly in a middle of a panic attack. And sometimes there almost is no trigger at all for a individual with Borderline Personality Disorder.

This theory has potential to help certain individuals, but I don’t think it belongs in a classroom of any sort. While teachers need to be aware of self talk, and positive reinforcement. This is more of a theory that pertains to a licensed therapist or clinician. They are the only ones who could successfully identify and figure out the right course of action for that individual with irrational thoughts. Teachers would be great as a third party observer, they would be able to gather the data from in class performance and see the difference in social interactions. But I truly feel that this one is far too potential harmful if done by someone who is not a licensed therapist.

References

Banks, T. (2011). Helping students manage emotions: REBT as a mental health educational curriculum. Educational Psychology In Practice, 27(4), 383-394. doi:10.1080/02667363.2011.624303

Bauer, A. (n.d.). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Applying Empirically Supported Techniques in Your Practice. PS Psychiatric Services, 1166-1166.

Freeman, A. (2005). Borderline Personality Disorder: A Practitioner's Guide to Comparative Treatments. Retrieved December 3, 2015

Grey, E. (2010). Use Your Brain: A Neurologically Driven Application of REBT With Children. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 54-64.

Kwon, S., & Oei, T. (1992). Differential causal roles of Dysfunctional Attitudes and Automatic Thoughts in depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research CognTher Res, 309-328.

Ross, W. (2006). REBT Network. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from

Wein, K., Nelson, R., & Odom, J. (1973). The relative contributions of reattribution and verbal extinction to the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring. Behavior Therapy, 459-474.