Albert Ellis
Activity 8: A guide to Rational Living with Albert Ellis
Ellis is being interviewed by ………It is a very likable and frank interview. Ellis describes an interactional system where behavior is affected by what we think. By changing our philosophy, thoughts and states of mind one can change the outcome, which is the behavior. Ellis touches in this interview on changing the ‘disturbed’ behavior as well. I find this highly challenging and questionable when the behavior is psychotic or borderline abnormal.
Rational emotive therapy (RET) is suggested by Ellis as a tool for replacing irrational, self-indoctrinated ‘musts’ with a more flexible mindset.
In contrast to Freud:
Ellis differs from Freud on a personal level. He criticizes Freud’s tendency
to attribute almost all to the past and to the parents etc. In this video he explains that his own thinking and theories are a result of his preference for efficiency and a practical set of motives. “We disturb ourselves” is a powerful statement by Ellis. The finger of blame is pointed at ourselves, rather than at external factors. We are solely responsible for feeling and thereafter behaving in a certain way. A very harsh contrast to psychoanalytic theory. I find myself agreeing with Ellis’ sense of taking responsibility for our own set of thought pattern and how it elicits behavior.
Ellis also coins new terms to describe disturbed thought pattern: ‘musterbation’ is similar to ‘terribleizing’, ‘catastrophizing’ and ‘awfulizing’. This is a line of dogmatic thinking that should be replaced by flexible cognitive techniques. By disputing these thoughts the client can have more productive behavior.
In conclusion and in a characteristic manner, Ellis touches on negative emotional states such as depression, rage and despair and he states that it largely has to do with what we tell ourselves. Therefore, in a productive manner we should make a preference for a thought over another.
Ellis is being interviewed by ………It is a very likable and frank interview. Ellis describes an interactional system where behavior is affected by what we think. By changing our philosophy, thoughts and states of mind one can change the outcome, which is the behavior. Ellis touches in this interview on changing the ‘disturbed’ behavior as well. I find this highly challenging and questionable when the behavior is psychotic or borderline abnormal.
Rational emotive therapy (RET) is suggested by Ellis as a tool for replacing irrational, self-indoctrinated ‘musts’ with a more flexible mindset.
In contrast to Freud:
Ellis differs from Freud on a personal level. He criticizes Freud’s tendency
to attribute almost all to the past and to the parents etc. In this video he explains that his own thinking and theories are a result of his preference for efficiency and a practical set of motives. “We disturb ourselves” is a powerful statement by Ellis. The finger of blame is pointed at ourselves, rather than at external factors. We are solely responsible for feeling and thereafter behaving in a certain way. A very harsh contrast to psychoanalytic theory. I find myself agreeing with Ellis’ sense of taking responsibility for our own set of thought pattern and how it elicits behavior.
Ellis also coins new terms to describe disturbed thought pattern: ‘musterbation’ is similar to ‘terribleizing’, ‘catastrophizing’ and ‘awfulizing’. This is a line of dogmatic thinking that should be replaced by flexible cognitive techniques. By disputing these thoughts the client can have more productive behavior.
In conclusion and in a characteristic manner, Ellis touches on negative emotional states such as depression, rage and despair and he states that it largely has to do with what we tell ourselves. Therefore, in a productive manner we should make a preference for a thought over another.