The human mind is as wonderful as it is complex, and all the emotions and thoughts that appear in it influence our daily lives in a very significant way. Many times, without realizing it, all of this conditions our actions, relationships, and way of living — until we become aware that we must manage and organize all our irrational thoughts and feelings to move forward and feel better about ourselves.
Today, there are various psychological approaches aimed at organizing and managing all those negative ideas and feelings that arise for no apparent reason. In this post, we’ll talk about Rational Emotive Therapy, one of the most widely used methods to help people identify and change irrational beliefs.
Are you interested in the world of psychology and personal growth? We invite you to keep reading this post!
What is Rational Emotive Therapy and what does it consist of?
Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) is a psychotherapeutic approach created by psychologist Albert Ellis, based on the premise that all our emotions and behaviors are conditioned by our irrational and unrealistic beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world around us.
The goal of RET is to identify and challenge these irrational beliefs and replace them with more rational thoughts that allow us to live more harmoniously with our environment. Therapists who use this method help people develop a healthier and more constructive mindset, free from unfounded conditioning, which in turn can lead to stronger emotional health and a greater sense of life satisfaction.
What are the main objectives of Rational Emotive Therapy?
As with any psychological therapy, it’s important to establish the foundation and the final goal, setting small milestones that serve as guides throughout the process. Although each person is unique, with their own concerns and ambitions, RET is generally applied with a focus on these five objectives:
- Identify and challenge irrational beliefs
- Develop more rational thoughts
- Improve emotional management
- Promote the change of maladaptive behaviors
- Enhance quality of life and emotional well-being
And the question is… how are these goals achieved? By working through each of the phases of RET that we detail below.
How RET works: understanding its stages
The development of Rational Emotive Therapy consists of the following five stages:
- Assessment: The therapist and patient work together to identify the irrational beliefs and negative thinking patterns that are causing emotional and behavioral problems.
- Challenging irrational beliefs: The psychologist helps the client question and challenge their irrational beliefs by examining the evidence and logic behind them. Critical thinking is encouraged, and more rational, adaptive alternatives are sought.
- Cognitive restructuring: The patient learns to replace irrational beliefs with more rational and realistic thoughts. The adoption of new thinking patterns is promoted, and problematic situations are reinterpreted.
- Skills training: Specific techniques and strategies are taught to manage negative emotions, solve problems, and improve communication and interpersonal relationship skills.
- Practice and maintenance: The patient practices the new skills and rational thoughts in daily life. Self-reflection, continuous practice, and consolidation of achieved changes are encouraged.
6 examples of techniques and exercises used in Rational Emotive Therapy
To conclude, we want you to know some examples of exercises and specific techniques used during Rational Emotive Therapy sessions. Many of these can also be practiced independently at home. Would you like to try them?
- Disputing irrational beliefs: The therapist guides the client to question and challenge their irrational beliefs. Logical questions and arguments are used to confront the beliefs and encourage critical reflection on their validity.
- Cognitive restructuring task: Homework assignments are given in which the client must record and question their irrational thoughts. Later, these thoughts are restructured to find more rational alternatives.
- Imaginary exposure: The patient imagines facing feared situations or triggers of negative emotions. Through repeated exposure, anxiety is reduced, and a more balanced emotional response is developed.
- Socratic questioning technique: The psychologist asks reflective questions so that the patient can identify their own irrational thoughts.
- Reattribution techniques: Work is done on reassigning responsibility and self-concept. The goal is for the patient to realize they are not responsible for everything that happens and that their self-worth is not determined solely by meeting unrealistic standards.
- Automatic thought record: The patient becomes aware of compulsive behaviors by writing down automatic thoughts and associated emotions in specific situations. These thoughts are then analyzed and questioned from a more realistic perspective.
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