Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Program Goal and Program Objectives

The overall program goal is to provide a clinically appropriate setting for children and adolescents seeking assessment and referral resources, in order to enhance the mental status and level of resiliency amongst each individual.
The primary outcome objective is to decrease suicide attempts amongst juveniles in Burlington County NJ by 50%, over a 12-month time frame, as measured by the NJs Unified Service Transaction Form.
Process Objective 1: The program will implement the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale into the psychiatric assessments, while in the community, or on the actual unit, in order to help clinicians, detect signs, or triggers that are related to suicide: consequently, clinicians would
(REBT) therapy is used with this population because it recognizes how one’s beliefs strongly affects one’s emotional functioning. Within this population, there are many minors who believe that they are a burden to family, that they are bad people, and that they are disliked by majority of the people that they come into contact with. The cycle of emotions often affects their moods, and then their behaviors; mental health professionals in this program will attempt to help each individual understand how his or her thoughts interfere with mood stability and behaviors (Lipsky, Kassinove, & Miller, 1980). (REBT) concentrates on irrational beliefs and how they affect the decision making process, which is important because many of the children in crisis present with impaired insight and judgement due to irrational beliefs. Crisis intervention specialists usually has less than 30 minutes to conduct the initial assessment, which entails a detailed mental status exam. (REBT) “quickly gets to the core philosophies that tends to drive people to states of panic, depression, and suicidalness” (Ellis, 1989). In order for the clinicians to understand the behavior of individuals in shared communities, they must be able to understand what motivates the behavior of individuals (Netting, & McMurty,
Motivational interviewing is another practice that is client centered and goal-oriented for the purpose of motivating clients for positive change (Zerler, 2009). In the crisis setting, Mental health professionals explore client’s uncertainty about life and any other component that is evident during a crisis. Clients who express suicidal ideations are usually extremely ambivalent, and have a hard time seeing the good in situations, but are able to reflect and connect with their feelings: with the assistance of a mental health professional (Zerler, 2009). Thorough assessments involve all-inclusive information gathering and “integration with age-appropriate and culturally sensitive risk management”, in which motivational interviewing allows the mental health professional to complete (Zerler, 2009). Motivation Interviewing allows mental health professionals to reflect feelings, listening, and to provide summaries, in order for the client to feel understood, and to be able to hear his or her own feelings aloud. Motivational Interviewing will be used during the psychological initial