Albert Ellis » Rational Therapist
Deeply influenced his experience, reading, and unscientific nature of
psychoanalysis by January of 1953 his break with psychoanalysis was complete
and he commenced calling himself a rational therapist. - Ellis was now advocating
a new more active and directive type of psychotherapy {26965}.
- By 1955
he dubbed his new approach Rational-Emotive Therapy and it required that
the therapist help the client understand and act on the understanding
that his personal philosophy contains beliefs that lead to his own emotionally
pain.
- This new approach stressed actively working to change his client’s
self-defeating beliefs and behaviors by illuminating by demonstrating
their irrationality or rigidity.
The next year Ellis began teaching his
new technique to other therapists and by 1957 he formally set forth the
first cognitive behavioral psychotherapy by proposing that therapists
help people adjust their thinking and behavior as the treatment for neuroses.
Publications- Two years later Ellis published the book "How to Live with a Neurotic" {26978}
which elaborated on his new method.
- The next year Ellis presented a paper
on his new approach at the American Psychological Association convention
in Chicago.
- There was mild interest, but few recognized that the paradigm
that in a generation would become the zeitgeist had been set forth.
- Consequently, he was often received
with hostility at professional conferences and in print. Interestingly,
on several occasions, at symposia at APA conventions, Fritz Perls the
founder of Gestalt therapy would refer sarcastically to Ellis’ "rationality," while completely ignoring the experiential and behavioral components of
RET.
Despite the slow adoption of his approach, Ellis founded his own institute.
The Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy was founded a not-for-profit
organization in 1959. - By 1968 it was chartered by the New York State Board
of Regents as a training institute and psychological clinic.
- His was
no trivial feat as New York State had a Mental Hygiene Act which mandated
psychiatric management of mental health clinics.
- T Ellis had broken ground
by founding an institute that was purely based on psychological control
and principles.
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