Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
Albert Ellis's approach, one of the forerunners of modern CBT. Its focus is on the rigid demands on yourself, other people and the world that turn difficulty into suffering.
The key distinction
REBT distinguishes healthy from unhealthy negative emotions. This is an important point: the approach does not suggest that you should not be upset by bad things.
Losing a job is a reason for distress. That is a healthy emotion: it is proportionate to the event and does not stop you acting. But one person experiences distress and another despair that paralyses. The difference is not in the event but in the belief applied to it.
| Healthy emotion | Unhealthy |
|---|---|
| Sadness | Depressive despair |
| Concern | Panic terror |
| Annoyance | Rage |
| Regret | Destructive guilt |
What produces unhealthy emotions
Ellis described their source as rigid demands — “must”, “ought to”, “it cannot be that”:
- On yourself: “I must do everything faultlessly, otherwise I am worthless.”
- On others: “They are obliged to treat me fairly.”
- On the world: “Conditions must be comfortable; I cannot stand discomfort.”
From these demands grow three derivative attitudes: catastrophising (“this will be unbearable”), intolerance of discomfort (“I will not survive it”) and global rating of yourself or others (“he is an utter nobody”).
How the therapy works
The ABC model. We take a situation apart: the event (A), the belief (B), the consequence (C). Usually a person is sure that C was caused by A. The work begins with finding B — the link that normally goes unnoticed.
Disputing beliefs. Not “think positive”, but testing for logic, realism and usefulness. Is the world really obliged to be fair? If so, where did that rule come from?
Reformulation. A rigid demand is replaced by a flexible preference: not “I must cope faultlessly”, but “I want to do this well, and if it does not work out, that is unpleasant but bearable”.
Unconditional self-acceptance. A separate line of work: giving up rating yourself as a whole on the basis of individual actions and results.
How it differs from classical CBT
REBT is more philosophical and more direct: the specialist actively disputes the client’s beliefs. The focus is not on specific automatic thoughts but on the underlying demands that generate them.
Where it fits particularly well
With anger and resentment, procrastination, perfectionism, and in situations where a person is stuck in a sense of unfairness and cannot move on.
Find a specialist
Write to us — a coordinator will clarify what you need and suggest a therapist who works in this approach.