Albert Ellis Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Model

Eve is a 17 year old patient who is having some trouble. She is a senior in high school who usually makes good grades. Recently her eight-month relationship with Mark ended, he wanted to see other people and could not explain to Eve what she did wrong. She has begun to have trouble concentrating and completing her homework, sleep problems, appears sad, nothing seems enjoyable to her anymore, she also began to think that she was a loser because Mark had broken up with her and started worrying that she was unlovable. She also began to worry that she may be a really bad person on the “inside.” She began having thoughts of suicide, which she shared with her brother and is the reason she is now in therapy. The intervention intended to help
I used Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Model and his ABCDE method to design an intervention for Eve. Using the ABCDE method I began by identifying the activating event. The activating event for Eve was her unexpected break-up with Mark. I came to the conclusion that the break-up was the activating event because Eve did not start showing unusual behavior until after the end of the relationship. Before the break-up Eve was studying and completing her work and received A’s and B’s, it seems she was not having sleeping problems, suicidal thoughts or eating less than normal. But after Mark unexpectedly broke up with her those became issues. The next step is B, the irrational belief. Eve’s irrational belief is that: “I am a bad, unlovable person if, I get rejected by someone.” I decided that this was Eve’s irrational belief because she began to think of herself as a loser, began to worry she would not find another person who cared to her, that she was unlovable and because she began to question if she was a bad person “inside.” The next step in the method is identifying the emotional consequences, C. I determined that the emotional consequences in Eve’s case were anxiety and depression. I believe anxiety is one of the emotional consequences because since the break-up Eve has been worried about a numerous amount of issues, such as if she was a loser, that she was unlovable and would not find anyone else and worrying that she was a really bad person. I believe depression is another emotional consequence because nothing seems enjoyable for Eve anymore. She has also had a hard time studying and focusing on school and has had thoughts of suicide. The next step is dispute, D. I will intervene by disputing her irrational belief by questioning, “Where is the evidence that you are a bad person?” and “Is this irrational