Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavioral ParadigmJESSICA SALVADOR

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

The first form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Was founded by Albert Ellis in 1955 Assumed that people contributed to their psychological problems based

on how they viewed the issues that were happening in their lives

Based on the concept that a causal relationship happens between behaviors, cognitions, and emotions

“We are what we think”

Core of REBT: Reducing irrational beliefs by replacing them with more practical,

effective beliefs

“ABCDE model”

(Erford, 2010)

Albert Ellis

ABCDE model and A-B-C-D- analysis

Developed for counselors to follow as they analyze their client’s patterns of thought

According to the ‘‘ABCDE’’ model, people experience undesirable activating events

A is the activating event that initiates the faulty thinking pattern

B is the client’s belief system though which all life experiences are filtered

C represents the emotional or behavioral consequence that is produced by the interaction of A and B

D represents the disputing irrational beliefs

E is where the client develops a new response

(Erford, 2010)

Procrastination: An Overview

Comes from the Latin word, procrastinare ‘to put off until the next day’

Often described as a ‘thief of time’ In essence, procrastination is a lack of self-management

Surveys suggest that 20% of the adult population is affected by chronic procrastination and occurs in 3 main areas: Personal maintenance

Self-development

Honoring commitments to others

(Neenan, 2008)

Procrastination: An Overview

6 Procrastination styles:

1. The perfectionist – hesitant to initiate a task for fear of it being less than perfect, thus sees his/herself as a failure in their own or in others’ eyes.

2. The dreamer – wants life to go smoothly and avoids difficult challenges

3. The worrier – fears things are going wrong and is overwhelmed by events

4. The defier – resistant and defensive against others’ instructions and suggestions because this means s/he is being told what to do

5. The crisis-maker – likes to display bravado in declaring that s/he can’t be motivtated until the last minute because this is when they do their best work.

6. The over-doer – takes on too much many tasks without prioritizing them

(Neenan, 2008)

Procrastination from the REBT perspective

“While research and theory on procrastination continues to grow, a common concern among researchers in the procrastination field is that the potential seriousness of procrastination is not as widely recognized as it should be” (Pychyl & Flett, 2012).

Views procrastination not as time management failure, but as a weakness of will and as a form of self-regulation

Lack of viewing procrastination as a serious issue is partly due to the fact that it is so widespread

Seen as an extreme variant of a personality trait called conscientiousness (Pychyl & Flett, 2012).

Procrastination from the REBT perspective

All us have a combination of the 6 procrastination styles. However, some are more prominently displayed than others. From the REBT perspective, “underpinning these various procrastination styles there are likely to be found ego disturbance and discomfort disturbance beliefs” (Neenan, 2008).

Ego disturbance Found in perfectionists

‘I must do the task very well or else I’m a failure.’

Discomfort disturbance Found in dreamers

‘I shouldn’t have to work hard to fulfil my dreams. I can’t stand having to get my mind around all those boring details.’

Clients can have both types ‘I shouldn’t have to struggle!’

Procrastination from the REBT perspective Procrastination is seen as an

avoidance behavior

According to Dryden and Gordon, the “one thing all people who procrastinate have in common…is a clear-cut emotional problem” (Neenan, 2008).

In order to ‘release’ this emotion, clients can face the situation through visualization and identify the beliefs maintaining their procrastination by using the ABCs of REBT

Procrastination from the REBT perspective

Dryden and Sabelus examine two versions of REBT, specific and general, in the treatment of academic procrastination

Specific REBT Emphasizes the role played by extreme and rigid beliefs (aka

‘irrational beliefs’)

General REBT Tantamount to CBT

Focus on irrational and rational beliefs is not prominent

Has equal weighing in theory and practice with other CBT concepts and methods

(Dryden & Sabelus, 2010)

Procrastination from the REBT perspective

Specific REBT The behavior is dependent upon certain

conditions that the student insists needs to be present when it is, in reality, absent

Ex: comfort, certainty that one will get a good grade and being in the mood to engage with the task

This kind of irrational belief leads one to procrastinate

Specific REBT targets these irrational beliefs and changes them to rational ones

Ex: ‘‘I would like to be in the mood to study, but I don’t have to be in such a mood. I can begin to study when I am not in the mood’’

Procrastination from the REBT perspective

General REBT

A scope of factors of procrastination are considered, but none are prioritized at the theoretical or practical level

General REBT will consider the role of irrational beliefs in procrastination, but this will not be a dominant feature in the conceptualization or treatment of procrastination

(Dryden & Sabelus, 2010)

Effectiveness of REBT in treating procrastination

Pychyl and Flett state that although researchers have yet to know the extent to which treatment success can be achieved with procrastinators vs. non-procrastinators, there are countless of cases illustrating the success of implementing REBT and CBT interventions for procrastination.

In a recent study of a cognitive-behavioral intervention, it was shown to be very effective in addressing the procrastination of those who were found to have high levels general procrastination and decisional procrastination

The longitudinal assessment shows that the gains achieved were still maintained at follow-up.

(Pychyl & Flett, 2012).

Effectiveness of REBT in treating procrastination

In a paper written by Windy Dryden, he illustrates how procrastination is addressed via REBT

He conceptualizes procrastination as avoidant behavior that is manifest at “C” in the “ABC” framework

Emphasizes that procrastination creates a complicated situation for the therapist because when procrastination occurs and avoidance takes place, the procrastinator isn’t faced with the “A” or with the feared negative emotions at “C” due to the procrastination itself

Unless care is taken, the avoidance behavior of procrastinators may be involuntarily enhanced.

(Pychyl & Flett, 2012).

Effectiveness of REBT in treating procrastination

In a study down by McCrown et. al, they observed the thought differences of procrastinators and non-procrastinators based on a series of self-report and behavioral measures.

Group comparisons found that procrastinators had more maladaptive thoughts in four areas—self-depreciation thoughts and feelings, other-depreciation, life condition depreciation, and frustration intolerance

These data offer extensive support for REBT conceptualizations of procrastination, as well as stressing the several forms of maladaptive believes that highlight procrastination.

(Pychyl & Flett, 2012).

Discussion and Conclusions

Pychyl has argued that there is a lot to be gained from regarding procrastination as a deficit in self-determination and in countering the issue

This can be done by promoting a sense of personal responsibility among those who need to stop their negligent ways and become more conscientious in daily life

Other work builds on the REBT of promoting self-acceptance by showing that self-forgiveness is a key goal for procrastinators

Overall, REBT is effective in the treatment of procrastination

First widely cited book written about procrastination was published by Albert Ellis and Bill Knaus in 1979

Discussion and Conclusions

The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D.

$16 paper on Amazon; $2.84 Kindle

Homework

References

Backx, W. (2011). Views on REBT, past, present and future: Albert ellis' contribution to the field. Journal of Rational - Emotive & Cognitive - Behavior Therapy, 29(4), 263-271. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10942-011-0142-4

Daniel, D., Szentagotai, A., Kallay, E., & Macavei, B. (2005). A synopsis of rational-emotive behavior t herapy (REBT); fundamental and applied research. Journal of Rational - Emotive & Cognitive - Behavior Therapy, 23(3), 175-221. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10942-005-0011-0

Dryden, W., & Sabelus, S. (2012). The perceived credibility of two rational emotive behavior therapy rationales for the treatment of academic procrastination. Journal of Rational - Emotive & Cognitive - Behavior Therapy, 30(1), 1-24. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10942-010-0123-z

Erford, B. T. (2010). Orientation to the counseling profession, advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations. Prentice Hall.

Neenan, M. (2008). Tackling procrastination: An REBT perspective for coaches. Journal of Rational - Emotive & Cognitive - Behavior Therapy, 26(1), 53-62. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10942-007-0074-1

Pychyl, T. A., & Flett, G. L. (2012). Procrastination and self-regulatory failure: An introduction to the special issue. Journal Of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 30(4), 203-212. doi:10.1007/s10942-012-0149-5