The human mind is as marvellous as it is complex, and all the emotions and the thoughts that arise within it have a significant influence on our day-to-day lives. Often, without us realising it, all of this ends up shaping our actions, relationships and way of life; until we realise that we need to manage and organise all our irrational thoughts and feelings in order to move forward and feel better about ourselves.
Nowadays, there are various psychological approaches aimed at organising and managing all those negative thoughts and feelings that overwhelm us for no apparent reason, and in this post we’ll be discussing rational emotive therapy, one of the most widely used approaches to help people identify and change irrational beliefs.
Are you interested in the world of psychology and personal development? We invite you to carry on reading this post!
What is Rational Emotive Therapy and what does it involve?
LRational Emotive Therapy (RET) is a psychotherapeutic approach developed by the psychologist Albert Ellis, based on the premise that all our emotions and behaviours are shaped by our irrational and unrealistic beliefs about ourselves, others and the world around us.
The aim of the TRE is to identify and challenge these irrational beliefs and replace them with more rational thoughts that enable us to live more harmoniously with our surroundings. Therapists who work with this method help people to develop a a healthier and more constructive mindset, free from unfounded constraints, which in turn may lead to a emotional wellbeing to build resilience and foster a sense of life satisfaction.
What are the main objectives of rational emotive therapy?
As with any form of psychological therapy, it is important to establish the starting point and the ultimate goal, setting out a series of smaller milestones to serve as guides throughout the process. Although every person is unique, with their own concerns and ambitions, when TRE is applied, the focus is on these five objectives:
- Identify and question irrational beliefs
- Develop more rational thoughts
- Improving the emotional management
- To promote change in inappropriate behaviour
- Improving quality of life and emotional wellbeing
And the question is: how are these objectives achieved? By working through each of the phases of TRE, which we set out in detail below.
How the TRE works: exploring its stages
The development of rational emotive therapy consists of the following five stages:
- Assessment: the therapist and the patient work together to identify the irrational beliefs and negative thought patterns that are causing emotional and behavioural problems.
- Challenging irrational beliefs: The psychologist helps the client to question and challenge their irrational beliefs by examining the evidence and logic behind them. Critical thinking is encouraged, and more rational and adaptive alternatives are sought.
- Cognitive restructuring: the patient learns to replace irrational beliefs with more rational and realistic thoughts. The adoption of new patterns of thinking is encouraged, and the patient practises reinterpreting problematic situations.
- Skills training: specific techniques and strategies are taught to manage negative emotions, solve problems and improve skills in communication and interpersonal relationships.
- Operation and maintenance: the patient practises the new skills and rational thinking in their daily life. Self-reflection, ongoing practice and the consolidation of the changes achieved are encouraged.
6 Examples of techniques and exercises used in rational emotive therapy
To round off, we’d like to share some examples of specific exercises and techniques used during rational emotive therapy sessions. You’ll also be able to practise many of them on your own at home. Fancy giving it a go?
- A dispute over irrational beliefs: the therapist guides the client to question and challenge their irrational beliefs. Questions and logical arguments are used to challenge these beliefs and encourage critical reflection on their validity.
- Cognitive restructuring exercise: Tasks are set for outside the session in which the client must record and challenge their irrational thoughts. The focus then shifts to restructuring those thoughts in order to find more rational alternatives.
- Imaginary exhibition: the patient imagines themselves facing feared situations or situations that trigger negative emotions. Through repeated exposure, the aim is to reduce anxiety and develop a more balanced emotional response.
- The Socratic method of debate: the psychologist asks questions designed to encourage reflective thinking, so that the patient can identify their irrational thoughts for themselves.
- Reallocation techniques: The focus is on re-attributing responsibility and self-concept. The aim is for the patient to realise that they are not responsible for everything that happens and that their self-worth is not determined solely by meeting unrealistic standards.
- Log of automatic thoughts: The patient is made aware of their compulsive behaviours by encouraging them to write down their automatic thoughts and associated emotions in specific situations. These thoughts are then analysed and challenged from a more realistic perspective.
