REBTOZ

What is a  Bonsai  child  ? It's a new term to describe the child who has been over tended to, fussed over and over supervised. When something happens at school an  enquiry  is needed to get to the bottom of 'why Isabella fell out with her friend and what did the school do about it as she is such a  sensitive  child!' Is Isabella temporarily sad or is she depressed. Could be either but it's important to know the difference.  Clinical psychologist and researcher Judith Locke writes in her book The Bonsai Child  "A sense of melancholy is labelled depression; any trepidation is labelled anxiety. A friendship fight is bullying." The Bonsai Child  is her term for children who are over-nurtured. Michael  Carr-Gregg talks about  marshmallow kids  a generation of children who are afraid to fail. Do they experience healthy disappointment when they don't achieve their goals and wants or do they feel unhealthily de...

On the 24 th July eight years ago Albert Ellis died but his work lives on. He would have been encouraged to know that schools have taken up the challenge he set many years ago; teach children how to make themselves less ‘disturbable’. Rational Emotive Behaviour Education is doing this is many South Australian schools with positive outcomes. Teachers have been trained in the understanding and application of Ellis’ ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance and they are helping their students to understand that their habits of thinking are linked to how they act and how they feel. Gone but not forgotten This insight empowers the child to monitor and assess how she is feeling and how she is estimating (thinking about/interpreting) the situation at hand. How am I feeling? Is this situation as bad as I think it is? I can reassess this situation so that I remain in control and make OK choices. Rational Emotive Behaviour Educators (REBE’rs) remind students daily that their ...

“Schools provide a convenient location to deliver emotional health prevention programs for children. Whilst there are a number of school based programs, few have been scientifically evaluated to determine what effect they have on children’s emotional health,” said lead author Professor Paul Stallard, of the University of Bath’s Department for Health. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to greatly reduce anxiety levels in schoolchildren ages nine to 10 years old, according to new research from Oxford University. Researchers believe that this therapy would benefit all children, regardless of their anxiety levels." http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/07/20/cbt-in-elementary-school-curriculum-lowers-childrens-anxiety-levels/72685.html The above extract from a PsychCentral article of July last year reinforces the work of schools in well being promotion based on CBT. Many schools in South Australia are applying Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) principles i...

Schools are showing keen interest in the good work of teachers at Para Hills School P-7. The Rational Emotive Behaviour Education in Schools Program continues to have positive outcomes for students' social and emotional well being. There is growing evidence also that students are 'switching on to' learning as they develop and build their personal capabilities to believe in themselves and to hang in there when things seem too hard. As the term draws to an end much respect goes out to all educators who work tirelessly in often challenging situations to help students fulfil their potential.  As Albert Ellis said many years ago he believed the future of psychotherapy was in the school system and this message continues to resonate strongly today and is not lost on educators far and wide who help students understand how their constructed philosophies are linked to how they feel and behave. Ellis said on many occasions that we construct how we feel because of the habits o...

According to 'A Way Forward: Equipping Australia’s Mental Health System for the Next Generation : 'Online mental health services can involve cognitive behaviour courses that help people identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and learn healthier skills and habits.' Online MH support services the report says are low cost and highly effective. Young people who are struggling with mental health concerns are finding online support useful to them. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) c ourses are available to help young people identify, challenge and change unhelpful thoughts. This is precisely what teachers are doing at Para Hills School P-7 in Adelaide South Australia. Through the Rational Emotive Behaviour Education Program children are taught how to develop healthy habits of thinking about themselves, others and the world. Teachers do this across all curriculum areas at every year level day in and day out. This very important school based approach to MH promoti...

The ABC Theory of Emotional Disturbance illustrates how feelings and behaviour at C are determined by what happens at A and B i.e. what we believe (B) about what happens (A). This is an A+B=C philosophy. What happens when our constructed view of ourselves equates to an A=C way of believing e.g. failing at A makes me feel depressed at C and causes me to give up. An A=C philosophy ‘If I fail at A I feel really bad at C 'it' (A) makes me angry and sad’ is problematic for our less resilient kids because they are unaware that constructed beliefs at B have a lot to do with it! 
A is what happens e.g. 'someone has rejected me!' and C is how I feel and act in response to A e.g. 'I feel really sad because she has rejected me so I stay at home etc' The depth of despair and how long it lasts will depend on how self accepting the person is. If a child ‘needs’ the approval of others he/she is at risk of depression, anger, anxiety because...

Rational Emotive Behaviour Education is taught at Para Hills School P-7. REBE helps students to develop a strong and healthy sense of self worth i.e. a confidence that is hard to shake especially when others disapprove of them/bully them. This a way to 'psychologically immunise' students against bullying.  Bully for You! Do you think you have nothing to offer Use self-talk which is negative and untrue And you don’t think you amount to much? Then I have just the thing for you! Bully for you, bully for you I have a bully for you! I look for people to victimise My admiring buddies think I’m great I like to see fear in your eyes You deserve to suffer mate! Bully for you, bully for you I’m the bully for you. I will persist, never let up I don’t consider how you feel My life’s work is to see you suffer You don’t matter; you’re no big deal! Bully for you, bully for you I’m the bully for you! We control our thought...