REBTOZ

Angus’ experience to date had taught him that he was inherently stupid and along with other associated self-generated conditions he decided he was in essence a no hoper. How did he ‘know’ this? Because the information he received from others and the meanings he made of  it, led him to conclude he was a hopeless case. Therefore, he anticipated failure and rejection. And he expected that the world would ‘be’ unfair and if anything good came his way, it was an accident, fate. He had constructed a predominantly Brain Bully sense of who he was, an irrational assessment of his nature, his capabilities; he had a bad self, and he deserved failure and the derision of others. His anger, depression and anxiety were attached to a belief construction that was informed by messages received which he deemed were true and correct. His significant adult mentors and others informed his belief constructions and his take on reality was set, and it was not a very healthy one. Angus didn’t get some ...

  ‘Nothing’s good or bad but thinking makes it so’ says Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Alfred Korzybski said the ‘word is not the thing.’ If a child is not good or bad intrinsically but somehow determines they can be they’re not thinking straight according to Dr. Albert Ellis and others. Doing something well does not somehow suggest that it reflects how ‘good’ we are, that we are ‘good’ for doing good. Isn’t it more accurate to believe that ‘I did Ok’ but that has nothing to do with my OK ness? Believing we’re OK when we do well or others deem us to ‘be’ OK is what Ellis calls self – esteem, where he argues, we feel good when we do good or when others approve of us. He calls this conditional self-acceptance, where self-worth is determined externally; an externally controlled and determined sense of the self, good or bad. Unconditional self-acceptance regards the ‘self’ consistently as one of worth even if one does good or bad or when others approve of us or disapprove of us. We accept ourse...

A global rating of another's worth is when a quality or characteristic or behaviour is abstracted from all the competencies and traits possessed by an individual and is then used to assess a person's entire personhood. For example, deciding a person is 'bad' because they do something we don't approve of e.g., they didn't wave back! When discussing this with a teacher colleague, she notes that there are several fellow educators she works with who label some students in negative global rating terms, suggesting that ‘that’s the way they are’ and that they will not change. These observations concur with my own experience as a teacher and counsellor, where a ‘fixed mindset’ mentality affects how some teachers behave towards their students, projecting a conditional acceptance of the other attitude, defining student worth in a negative way. The word is not the thing. Alfred Korzybski Albert Ellis, who created Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, spoke of uncondition...

I saw the sign ‘head for rent’ and thought I couldn’t possibly pass up such an opportunity. I’ll pay in kind of course (as I don’t materially exist) and I can be a helpful adviser to you, but I am you at the same time. How can that be you ponder? All I can say is that I am me talking to you, but you are me and so you are talking to yourself. If that’s giving you a headache, I can’t empathise because I don’t have a head, but I live inside yours. I’m the talk you hear inside your head; I’m Brain Friend and I’m here to stay. The two of us  We work together We will work hard  Through stormy weather! Your previous tenant, old Brain Bully had set up permanent residence here and by all accounts had a great time making you sad and causing you not to try all those things you would like to do because they told you ‘You’re so dumb. Don’t even try. What’s the point?’ There are some reminders of their presence here. I can see the tear stains on your eyes from your silent...

What is the Albert Ellis Professional Learning Centre? It is a professional learning facility designed to provide quality professional learning to teachers, para professionals, counsellors and community mental health workers. The workshop program is based on the pioneering work of Dr Albert Ellis who created Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. He died in 2007 but his legacy lives on through The Centre. What is Albert Ellis' ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance and how does this help students? A represents what happens, B represents my constructed set of beliefs (philosophy) and C is the emotional and behavioural consequence of A + B. Through Rational Emotive Behaviour Education students learn to understand how their beliefs (B) have a significant influence on behaviour and emotions. This is usefu l for students because many believe that their behaviour and emotional upset is directly related to A i.e. someone or something MADE them angry/depressed/anxious. With this insight s...

Albert Ellis PhD. This appears in the current Jan/Feb 2013 edition of the  National Psychologist : Vol 22, No. 1. Dr Debbie Joffe Ellis talks about her late husband and his work: Dr Albert Ellis, Master Therapist. Albert Ellis, legendary pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology, was a genius. He created his approach of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), describing its methods and techniques in clear style - through his writings, presentations, trainings and therapy sessions. REBT was understood and embraced by people within the world of psychology and those from every walk of life. His whole-hearted and earnest goal was to help as many people as possible to suffer less emotional misery and to experience more happiness in their lives. His tireless work over more than six decades helped millions of people change their lives for the better. Yes, Albert Ellis was a genius. He was my mentor, my model. He also happened t...

‘You can’t teach young students the ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance and it should only be used by a trained psychologist in the counselling setting.’ Albert Ellis railed against this kind of misinformation put forth to preserve the status of the psychologist as ‘expert.’ Ellis of course wanted his ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance to be accessible to all, especially to teachers and students. Far better that young children learn why they feel and act as they do and to develop insights and skills preventatively and educatively in the school setting. Jonas Salk who created the polio vaccine hypothesised that if we could ‘psychologically immunise’ students they would be less prone to mental health issues and would probably be physically better off too. Bat Fink, the cartoon character said to his enemies ‘your bullets cannot harm me, my wings are like shields of steel?’ He would wrap his wings around himself deflecting any harmful bullets from hitting him, thwarting ...