REBTOZ

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...

The information below is taken from the REBT Network site (http://www.rebtnetwork.org/). This website was set up to provide information and support to those interested in Dr. Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. A network of schools is applying REBT across all year levels through Rational Emotive Behaviour Education in Whyalla, South Australia. All teachers have been trained in the understanding and application of Ellis' REBT. They are successfully using Ellis' renowned and tested ABC Theory Theory of Emotional Disturbance to teach students how feelings and behaviours are attached to constructed personal philosophies about ourselves, others and life. The Whyalla REBE School Network appreciates the support given to educators to help students fulfill their potential. Albert Ellis and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) The REBT Network was established in 2006 to promote Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and the life and work...

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...

2013 is the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of Dr Albert Ellis Ph.D. Below is a press release written by his wife Dr Debbie Joffe Ellis.  Contact: Dr Debbie Joffe Ellis: debbiejoffeellis@gmail.com Dr Albert Ellis ignited, and powerfully fuelled, the cognitive revolution in psychology, counseling and therapy, with his pioneering approach of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in the 1950’s. In addition, he helped transform limiting and uncivil social mores and attitudes of the time, with his vigorous actions supporting equality for women, gay rights, inter-racial marriage, ending of censorship and many more. He has often been referred to as “The greatest humanitarian since Gandhi”. He wrote over 85 published books and over 800 published articles, presented tirelessly around the USA and across the globe, and helped millions of people through his REBT approach to suffer less emotional misery and to experience more happiness in their lives. During ...

Some not only wish that life were as they would want it to be but insist it should be so. This fanciful way of thinking projects a world where everything is as it ‘oughta be.’ Do you ought should or must on yourself, others and the world? Must you always meet your own lofty expectations of yourself? Must others always treat you as you would like to be treated? Must life in general always deliver what you want? This form of oughtism manifests in all manner of ailments that get in the way of achieving our goals. For instance ‘should’ that driver have let you in back there and is he an idiot for not being as attentive as he could (should?) have been? Are you a hopeless case for getting a C minus in your assignment instead of the A you ‘should’ have got? Should life be easy for you and deliver to you all that you want to be happy? Isn’t it so unfair when things don’t go your way? These constructed oughtistic beliefs deny us the ability to deal with ch...

‘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 ...

The English lingo is replete with idioms that would pose a problem or two to a student with Aspergers Syndrome. Certain turns of phrase would be as clear as muddy water! She would remain none the wiser if you were to ask her to ‘pull your socks up’ or ‘pull your finger out'or 'take a chair!’ Are you with me? She’d be flat out trying to cop on to the message.   How difficult would it be to get a handle on the meaning of a message if it can only be taken literally. Consider the expressions ‘to get a handle on something’ and ‘turns of phrase’ mentioned above. Somehow we internalise these expressions, which make particular meanings and we draw them out of our linguistic hat and use them in the right place at the right time in the right context (We hope!). But what of the student who has Aspergers Syndrome?   What assumptions can we make about her capacity to understand these culturally specific idioms? I was once asked to observe a student in the classroom setting as the tea...