Having originated rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) in 1955, the influential psychologist and president of his namesake institute brings relevant theory and practice up to date. With the REBT emphasis on change, he favors the use of verbs rather than nouns in discussing issues in counseling in the postmodern era and treatment of specific behavioral problems/disorders. c. Book News Inc.

Albert Ellis, the renowned creator of one of the most successful forms of psychotherapy — Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) — offers this candid self-assessment, which reveals how he overcame his own mental and physical problems using the techniques of REBT. Part memoir and part self-help guide, this very personal story traces the private struggles that Ellis faced from early childhood to well into his adult life. Whether you are already familiar with Ellis's many best-selling psychology books or are discovering his work for the first time, you will gain many insights into how to deal with your problems by seeing how Ellis learned to cope with his own serious challenges.In his early life, Ellis was faced with a major physical disability, chronic nephritis, which plagued him from age five to nine and led to hospitalization. This experience then caused the emotional reaction of separation anxiety. At this time he also suffered from severe, migraine-like headaches, which persisted into his forties. Later in life, he realized that some of his emotional upset was the result of initially taking parental neglect too seriously. Active and energetic by nature, he gradually learned that the best way to cope with any problem, physical or emotional, was to stop "catastrophizing" and to do something to correct it.As Ellis points out in all of his work, when faced with adversity, we must realize that we have a real choice, either to think rationally about the problem or to react irrationally. The first choice leads to healthy consequences—normal emotions such as sorrow, regret, frustration, or annoyance, which are justifiable reactions to troubling situations. The second choice leads to the unhealthy consequences of anxiety, depression, rage, and low self-esteem. When we recognize irrational beliefs as such, we must then use our reason to dispute their validity. Ellis goes on to describe how these techniques helped him to cope with many other adult emotional problems, including failure in love affairs, shame, anger, distress over his parents' divorce, stress from others' reactions to his atheistic convictions, and upset due to his attitudes about academic and professional setbacks.Honest and unflinching yet always positive and forward-looking, Ellis demonstrates how to gain and grow from trying experiences through rational thinking.

The most well-known and respected psychotherapist of our time offers a "three-pronged" system for maintaining--or regaining--emotional health, consisting of healthy thinking, healthy emotions, and healthy behavior.

With a new foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe, PhD, ScD, St. John's University "Albert Ellis has written many books on his favorite topic Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Although he writes on that topic very well, he often does not write about generic psychotherapy. REBT is an integrative form of psychotherapy. Following this model, psychotherapists can incorporate many diverse techniques and strategies to change clients' dysfunctional behaviors and emotions . Much of what Al identifies as good REBT in this book is just good psychotherapy. Because people so universally identify Al with REBT, people may generally overlook his wisdom as a clinician. Having worked with Al for more than thirty years, I have been fortunate enough to learn from him. Much of the knowledge I learned from Al and cherish the most is not necessarily about REBT theory. They concern wise ways of thinking about clinical problems. That is why, out of all Al's books, this is my favorite. This is Al Ellis, the clinician." -- From the Foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe, PhD, ScD, Director of Professional Education, Albert Ellis Institute; Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, St. John's University Now available in an affordable paperback, this edition takes a look at the underlying causes of resisting cognitive-emotional-behavioral change and the methods used to overcome them. Written in present-action language, Ellis gives an overview of the basic principles of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Ellis charts the changes in the field that have taken place in the 20 years leading up to 2002, when this edition was originally published. The book also integrates recent therapies into REBT, including psychotherapy, solution-focused therapy, and recent findings of experimental psychology.

"From the often credited 'creator of psychology's cognitive revolution,' Albert Ellis' comprehensive guidebook for practicing therapists includes thorough discussions of theory and procedures, case examples, and dozens of exercises. Modern cognitive-behavioral therapy has its roots in the rational approach created by Albert Ellis - the 'father of rational therapy' - in the 1950s. Now known as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Ellis' systematic, integrative approach has grown and matured into powerful mainstream psychotherapy. Hundreds of thousands of patients have benefited from the active interventions of therapists using the REBT model. Major themes in this user-friendly manual: theory of REBT, practice of REBT, cognitive techniques, emotive and experiential techniques, behavioral techniques, integration of REBT and other therapies." - Back cover.

First developed in 1955, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is the original form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and one of the most successful psychotherapeutic techniques in the world. Its founder, world-renowned psychologist Albert Ellis, now offers an up-to-date description of the main principles and practices of this innovative and influential therapy. REBT emphasizes the importance of cognition in psychological disturbances. Its aim is to help patients recognize their irrational and destructive beliefs, feelings, and behaviors, and to restructure harmful philosophic and behavioral styles to achieve maximal levels of happiness and productivity. In this book Dr. Ellis points out the most recent revisions of the original therapy and examines the use of REBT in treating specific clinical problems. Among the topics considered are depression, stress management, addiction, marital problems, the use of hypnosis, disposable myths, and many other obstacles to mental health. This fascinating look at REBT by its internationally recognized creator will be of inestimable value to professionals and laypersons alike.

“No other individual—not even Freud himself—has had a greater impact on modern psychotherapy.” —Psychology Today All of us worry about something, big or small, every day. But much of the emotional misery we feel is an overreaction—and can be significantly reduced using the techniques in this book. World-renowned therapist Dr. Albert Ellis, who created Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), believed that anger, anxiety, and depression are not only unnecessary, they’re unethical, because when we allow ourselves to become emotionally upset, we’re being unfair and unjust to ourselves. Thinking negative thoughts is a choice we can refuse to make. Applying the proven, time-tested principles of REBT is a simple, logical way to find true mental health and happiness. REBT acknowledges the power of emotions, but it also helps us understand which feelings are healthy and which are not. This classic book teaches you how to: · Retrain your brain to focus on the positive and face obstacles without unnecessary despair · Control your emotional destiny · Refuse to upset yourself about upsetting yourself · Solve practical problems as well as emotional problems · Conquer the tyranny of “should,” and much more Get the tools you need to take back your life—and your happiness. If you can refuse to make yourself miserable, you’re that much closer to making yourself happy—every day. “Shows how to avoid the traps of self-harm and find mental health.” —Publishers Weekly

Examining the thinking of great religious teachers, philosophers, and psychologists, the founder of one of the world's most successful forms of therapy teaches readers how to accept themselves--and others--unconditionally.

Reissued with a new foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe, PhD, ScD, St. John's University "New trainees often get the theory of psychopathology; they struggle to get the case conceptualization and the strategic plan. Then they ask themselves. "What do I do now?" Going from the abstractions to the actions is not always clear. The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy represents a compilation of years of theoretical and clinical insights distilled into a specific theory of disturbance and therapy and deductions for specific clinical strategies and techniques....The structure of this books focuses on an explication of the theory, a chapter on basic practice, and a chapter on an in depth case study. A detailed chapter follows on the practice of individual psychotherapy. Although the book is not broken into sections, the next four chapters represent a real treasure. The authors focus on using REBT in couples, family, group, and marathons sessions. Doing REBT with one person is difficult to learn. Once the clinician adds more people to the room with different and sometimes competing agendas things get more complicated. These chapters will not only help the novice clinician but also the experienced REBT therapists work better in these types of sessions. So, consider yourself lucky for having picked up this book. Reading it will help many people get better." - From the Foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe, PhD, ScD, Director of Professional Education, Albert Ellis Institute; Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, St. John's University This edition, involving a unique collaboration between Albert Ellis and the world's greatest Ellis scholar, Windy Dryden, modernizes Ellis's pioneering theories. The book begins with an explanation of rational emotive behavior therapy as a general treatment model and then addresses different treatment modalities, including individual, couple, family, and sex therapy. The authors have added material new since the book's original edition on teaching the principles of unconditional self-acceptance in a structured group setting. With extensive use of actual case examples to illustrate each of the different settings, and a new brand new foreword by Raymond DiGiuseppe that sets the book into its 21st-century context.