1. Cognitive Therapy Chapter 13
Rational Emotive Therapy - Albert Ellis
Cognitive Therapy - Aaron Beck

2. Albert Ellis ABC Theory
Upstate
Albert Ellis ABC Theory
Men are disturbed not by things, but the view they take of things. (Epictetus)
How we interpret events is important
Purpose – help clients straighten out crooked irrational thinking
A - Activating Event
B - Thoughts/Belief about A
C - Behavioral and Emotional Consequences
Ellis believes it is our irrational beliefs and self-statements at B which result in emotional and behavioral problems at C.

3. Upstate
Irrational beliefs cause problems – must convince clients beliefs are irrational
I must be loved and approved by everyone
I must be thoroughly adequate and competent in every respect
It is awful when things don’t work out the way that I want them to
People need to be dependent on someone stronger than themselves
One should be upset over other people’s problems
There is always a perfect solution to human problems.

4. Emotional and Behavioral Consequences Belief about A (Thoughts)
Upstate
Albert Ellis - Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis devised an A-B-C Theory.   C
Emotional and Behavioral Consequences A
Activating Event B
Belief about A (Thoughts)
“This is awful, I can’t stand it.” (self statements)
Break up in relationship.
Feels depressed, cries, unable to work.
Normal emotions. Continues to work.
“This is unfortunate. I am sad, but it’s not the end of the world.”

5. Upstate Situation (Activating Event) Negative Self Statement
Positive Self Statement
“I’ll reapply next year. There are other programs I can apply to. It’s unbelievably competitive.”
“I’m really dumb. I will never amount to anything.”
Not getting into graduate school
Having to participate in class discussion
“Everyone else knows more than I do, so what’s the use of saying anything. I’m so stupid.”
“I have as much to say as anyone else and my ideas are valid. It’s OK to be nervous.”

6. Upstate Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis confronts people with their irrational beliefs and teaches them to (D) dispute these beliefs which will result in different feelings/behavior
Encourages them to make positive self statements
Gives homework assignments so they can practice positive self statements and rational responding
Practice, practice, practice
Reinforce success.

7. Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Upstate
Beck’s Cognitive Therapy
Beck uses the term cognitive distortions
These are illogical errors in thinking
Examples of cognitive distortions are: (also see casebook p. 173)
Arbitrary inference
Selective abstraction
Overgeneralization
Polarized thinking.

8. Upstate Cognitive Distortions
Arbitrary Inference - reaching conclusions without sufficient and relevant evidence
Example: You make the assumption that other people are looking down on you and you are so convinced that you don’t bother to check it out.

9. Upstate
Selective abstraction - forming a conclusion based on an isolated detail. You pick out a negative detail in a situation and dwell on it exclusively
Example: A student after a test thinks exclusively about the questions he missed and concludes he will flunk out of college. He got 83 out of 100 correct and made a B.

10. Upstate
Overgeneralization - holding extreme beliefs on the basis of a single incident and applying this belief inappropriately to other situations
The pain of rejection may be due to overgeneralization
Example: A shy person asks someone for a date but is turned down. He concludes he will never get a date and will be lonely and miserable forever.

11. Upstate
Polarized thinking - thinking in all-or- nothing terms or either/or extremes
Often forms the basis for perfectionism
Example: A straight A student who receives a B says that now he is a total failure.

12. Upstate
Therapeutic Collaboration - the client and therapist work together to frame the client’s conclusions in the form of a testable hypothesis
This working together is called collaborative empiricism
Beck often asks questions such as “What is the evidence for” or says “Let’s examine that”.
Beck works with Richard