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Is REBT better than CBT?
REBT addresses the philosophic basis of emotional disturbance as well as the distorted cognitions (the focus of CBT), which makes it more powerful. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) Similarly to REBT, CBT helps individuals identify harmful patterns and learn how to interrupt them. Inspired by REBT, psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck noticed it was some types of thinking that caused emotional suffering. From this he developed CBT. CBT may not be for you if you want to focus exclusively on past issues or if you want supportive counselling. CBT instills the notion that your faulty or irrational thought patterns are responsible for maladaptive behavior and mental health problems. If one accepts this premise, then some practitioners may dismiss the other factors which play a part in mental illness such as genetics and biology. Today, Ellis is considered the originator of cognitive behavior therapy, although he used the term rational emotive therapy, later changing it to rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT).
Why is REBT better than other therapies?
Research has shown that REBT can be an effective form of therapy with correct use. A therapist can help a person understand that the activating event does not cause the consequences. Rather, it is the person’s beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about the event that lead to their negative reaction. Ellis is best known for REBT, which led to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Rather than focusing on early childhood experiences, psychoanalysis, dream interpretation, or a client’s relationship with family and parents, REBT aims to directly address problematic beliefs that lead to self-defeating behaviors. REBT therapists strive to help their clients develop three types of acceptance: (1) unconditional self-acceptance; (2) unconditional other-acceptance; and (3) unconditional life-acceptance. Some have criticized REBT for being harsh, formulaic and failing to address deep underlying problems. REBT theorists have argued in reply that a careful study of REBT shows that it is both philosophically deep, humanistic and individualized collaboratively working on the basis of the client’s point of reference. A main limitation of the various studies testing the REBT theory was that many researchers misunderstood the basic REBT theory. For example, some researchers conceptualized rational beliefs as low levels of irrational beliefs, which is a misunderstanding of the theory.
What is REBT best used for?
REBT is generally accepted as an effective type of therapy. A 2017 review of 84 published articles on REBT concluded it’s a valid treatment that can help with obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, depression, and disruptive behavior. The overall goal is to help patients develop a more positive outlook by restructuring these irrational thoughts and beliefs that they hold. As REBT therapists work to restructure thoughts that will change the feelings or behaviors that a person may feel during therapy. The main controversies around REBT are claims alleging that: It is poorly understood and too dogmatic: Something that even Albert Ellis himself admits can be a problem is practitioners not understanding REBT properly and trying to use it as a cure-all. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been proven to help people with their mental health conditions in several studies. For people with borderline personality disorder, in particular, DBT results in: Less self-harm behavior and anger.
What is the main difference between REBT and CBT?
CBT is concerned in finding the root cause of disturbing thoughts and does not distinguish between different ones, unlike REBT, which aims to understand how secondary disturbances can influence mental health conditions. Recent research with brain scans shows that REBT helps to prevent relapse and normalizes brainwave patterns. Besides shifting your brain from a depressed state to normal, REBT and other cognitive training techniques help you feel better too. Fundamental to REBT is the concept that our emotions result solely from our beliefs, not by the events that occur in our lives. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for our beliefs to be healthy and rational, because the consequences of these beliefs will be emotional growth and happiness. REBT will take a person’s hopes and dreams and show them as options and prove that they do not have to come to past. The psychoanalytic therapy al- lows the client to open up about their past experiences without having the feelings they once had. Criticisms of Traditional CBT Given the dominance of CBT in certain settings, it is not surprising that the approach has garnered its fair share of critics. Opponents have frequently argued that the approach is too mechanistic and fails to address the concerns of the “whole” patient.