Treatment Process Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
Borrowing from A-B-C personality theory, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) contributes to the practice by adding steps D, E, and F, where the former represents disputing. At this step, the counselor steps in to assist Ana to counter the irrational belief. Based on the therapy’s suggestion, a counselor asks the patient for evidence of their belief or the potential worst outcome for not giving up the belief (Ellis and Joffe-Ellis, 2019). While the counselor might point out the unreasonable beliefs, they teach the client the significance of disputing them daily outside therapy sessions (Onuigbo et al., 2018). The philosophy behind the therapy results from a rational belief replacing the irrational one(s) once the self-defeating belief has been disputed. Borrowing from Albert Ellis, Balks, and Duru (2019) shows it’s the irrational beliefs that result in the patients’ negative thoughts. Therefore, the outcome of the negative thoughts is associated with the patients’ unreasonable or faulty belief(s), and happiness comes from replacing them with positive thoughts.
Role of Counsellor
The counselor has only one responsibility, guiding the patient during therapy. When offering this assistance, Ana will be guided to identify the cause of the irrational belief(s) and confront them. In the same process, the counselor will help Ana to replace their belief(s) with rational ones (Moon et al., 2021). Often, the counselor is not interested in the client’s previous encounters, which causes unreasonable beliefs. What matters is the ability of the patient to overcome irrational beliefs(s).
Patient’s Experience during Treatment
During treatment, Ana will experience working hard towards achieving a rational belief. From the start of the therapy onwards, she will encounter homework assignments from the counselor aimed at desensitizing her by having Ana participate in the activities that are causing her irrational belief(s) (Balks and Duru, 2019). Moving through the stages, Ana will also experience collaboration with the therapist, and as she continuously desensitizes her fear(s), she will encounter change within the eight sessions of therapy. The therapy approach allows the therapist to focus on the patient’s specific issues towards avoiding detailed examination (Ellis and Joffe-Ellis, 2019). Since the therapy enables the counselor to help the patient identify and dispute the fears, self-help from the client will minimize possibilities for future treatments. That informs the reason why the treatment is employed as brief therapy.
How REBT Addresses Ana’s Social and Cultural Needs
Ana constantly worries since her military-based husband is deployed overseas in a combat zone for the upcoming eight months. Worse, she has lost ten pounds in the past three months; she has been unemployed and feared she might be unable to raise their one-year-old child independently. From her assessment, the significant stressors in Ana’s life are raising the baby on her own, the husband being deployed overseas, financial challenges resulting from job loss, and support deficiency from friends and family.
The therapy will help Ana culturally and socially by distinguishing the types of issues in her life. By helping Ana identify the practical issues in her current situation, she will begin to understand the adverse effects in her life. The counselor will ask Ana to categorize the significant stressors as either a must or not through the therapy. Once she realizes none of them are significant in her life, she starts to acknowledge the negative impact of her thoughts on her social and cultural needs. Moreover, Ana will also realize her negative perspective of things hinders her from achieving the assistance she needs, from family and friends, in raising her child.
The therapy becomes an essential tool that activates Ana’s automatic interpretation of the consequences associated with the faced issues. Further, Ana’s perspective of her actions to herself and the people around her will inform her on whether she believes positive or negative. Once she acknowledges the consequences associated with her perspective, she is called to consider what her further actions would be emotionally and behaviorally (Wirga et al., 2020). Once she distinguishes the path to follow, Ana embarks on the journey to modify her unreasonable beliefs and changes the outcome of her initial beliefs by improving her social and cultural life.
Role of Choice and Decision-making in REBT
Since REBT is an action-oriented therapy, attention is on assisting patients in countering their irrational beliefs. Therefore, the role of decision-making and choice in the therapy is to allow the patient to determine whether the held negative belief is essential in their life. The decision made upon realizing the outcomes of the belief is critical in helping the patient control outcomes like depression and anxiety. Irrational beliefs trigger human neuroses resulting in anxiety and depression (Moon et al., 2021). In Ana’s case, she is observed to have depression and is anxious.
The patient overgeneralizes or distorts reality by exaggerating negative thoughts and ignoring the positive ones. Since the therapy emphasizes using words like musts, should, and oughts, challenging Ana on what is a must among her issues allows her to make a decision that contributes to a stronger self (Wirga et al., 2020). Early in life, the psychological dysfunction in patients with irrational beliefs is countered by teaching the child to embrace self-defeat principles that help them grow stronger by continuously revisiting them (Ellis and Joffe-Ellis, 2019). REBT follows the same strategy, and by helping patients make the right choice, they embark on a positive path.
How a Counsellor Implements Cognitive Processes
In every therapy session, the counselor has the mandate of asking the patient to talk about their troubling problems, feelings, and thoughts. However, if this becomes a challenging experience, the therapist helps the client gain more comfort and confidence. Without undue risks to the patient, cognitive processes focus on specific issues via a goal-oriented technique (Dredze, 2019). The therapy employed by the therapist might differ based on circumstances and preferences, but all similarly implement the process.
A counselor implements cognitive processes by adhering to the following steps. One, the counselor identifies the troubling issue(s) in the patient’s life, including challenges like grief and medical conditions, among others, followed by deciding what to focus on (Dredze, 2019). Two, the therapist becomes aware of the patient’s emotions, thoughts, and beliefs about the issues, followed by a suggestion to keep a journal of every thought relative to how it impacts the issue. Three, the counselor identifies patients’ inaccurate or negative thinking and helps them to focus on their behavioral, emotional, and physical responses in different circumstances (Dredze, 2019). Lastly, the therapist helps the client reshape the inaccurate or negative thoughts by encouraging them to ask themselves whether their perspective of the condition is factual or inaccurate (Dredze, 2019). While this might be difficult, the patient may encounter distinct ways of rethinking their lives and themselves.
References
Balks, M., & Duru, E. (2018). The Protective Role of Rational Beliefs on the Relationship Between Irrational Beliefs, Emotional States of Stress, Depression, and Anxiety. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy, p. 1-17.
Dredze, J. M. (2019). Albert Ellis and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: Revisiting the Master’s Words a Decade Later. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy, p. 1-11.
Ellis, A., & Joffe-Ellis, D. (2019). Rational emotive behavior therapy. American Psychological Association.
Khrakovskaya, M. G., & Sumchenko, G. M. (2018). Aphasia and Alalia from the Perspective of Natalya N. Traugott’s Studies on Higher Cognitive Processes. Human physiology, 44, 2, 124-128.
Moon, J. R., Huh, J., Song, J., Kang, I.-S., Park, S. W., Chang, S.-A., Yang, J.-H., & Han, J. S. (2021). The effects of rational emotive behavior therapy for depressive symptoms in adults with congenital heart disease. Heart & Lung, 50, 6, 906-913.
Onuigbo, L. N., Eseadi, C., Ebifa, S., Ugwu, U. C., Onyishi, C. N.,& Oyeoku, E. K. (2018). Effect of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Program on Depressive Symptoms Among University Students with Blindness in Nigeria. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy, p. 1-22.
Wirga, M., DeBernardi, M., Wirga, A., Wirga, M. L., Banout, M., & Fuller, O. G. (2020). Maultsby’s Rational Behavior Therapy: Background, Description, Practical Applications, and Recent Developments. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy, p. 1-25.