ALBERT ELLIS: Founder of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy

Albert Ellis was born in Pittsburgh in 1913.  Ellis recalled both his parents as being emotionally (and often physically) unavailable and wrote that he had assumed much of the care of his two younger siblings.  As a very young child he also had numerous health problems and much of his years between the age of 5 and 7 in the hospital.

After graduating from college with a business degree in 1934, Ellis tried and did not succeed in business or as a fiction writer.  He subsequently became interested in human sexuality, wrote on the subject, and became sought-after for his expertise and advice.  This motivated him to begin a program of study at Columbia University in clinical psychology as well as a clinical practice as a psychologist since there were in New York no laws requiring licensure at the time.  Also prior to receiving his PhD in 1947, Ellis began to write about the lack of scientific validity of various personality tests then in use.

In 1950, Ellis wrote about the problem of the scientific and evidential basis for psychoanalysis, in which he himself had been trained:

“Some analysts, notably Jung, have at times been frankly unscientific, even antiscientific, and have contended that there are more things to analysis than are dreamed of in scientific ideologies.  Other analysts … have offered doughty lip-service to scientific ideals, but have in practice advocated semi-mystical theories of analysis that are antithetical to scientific viewpoints. …  Most contemporary psychologists and psychiatrists agree, however, that thorough going scientific knowledge is the only valid basis for analytic (and other) therapy, and that rigorous criticism of non-scientific psychological methods is quite justified.”

Ellis continued to study and write about human sexuality and also collaborated in legal cases defending publishers of sexual materials, gays, and others accused of “obscenity” and consensual sexual “crimes.”  These latter activities did not come without cost as Ellis was refused teaching positions and had presentations canceled or banned.

But by 1953 Ellis is said to have broken with the psychoanalytic methods in which he had been trained and began calling himself a rational therapist.  In 1955 he began calling his approach “Rational-Emotive Therapy,” basing it on the examination and correction of self-defeating beliefs and the behaviors that followed from them.  By this time he had also begun teaching he technique to other therapists.  In 1959, Ellis founded a non-profit organization, The Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy, to facilitate this work.

Now known as Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy, or REBT, Ellis stated that he derived his approach from his own professional experiences, his reading of classical philosophy and especially the writings of ancient Stoics, and the ideas of Polish-American philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski, who developed the theory of General Semantics.  There is an anecdote concerning Korzybski’s demonstration of how context and beliefs play into human experience and especially emotional responses:

According to Ellis, REBT:

“ … is a comprehensive approach to psychological treatment that deals not only with the emotional and behavioral aspects of human disturbance, but places a great deal of stress on its thinking component.  Human beings are exceptionally complex, and there neither seems to be any simple way in which they become ‘emotionally disturbed,’ nor is there a single way in which they can be helped to be less-defeating. Their psychological problems arise from their misperceptions and mistaken cognitions about what they perceive; from their emotional underreactions or overreactions to normal and unusual stimuli; and from their habitually dysfunctional behavior patterns, which enable them to keep repeating nonadjustive responses even when they ‘know’ that they are behaving poorly.”

Ellis was a known atheist and humanist and thought that unbelief was the most emotionally healthy stance.  He was recognized by the American Humanist Association as “Humanist of the Year” in 1971.  At the same time, Ellis acknowledged that he could not be absolutely certain that no god(s) exist and was also careful to state that REBT did not depend on one’s beliefs about religion.  In fact, Ellis coauthored a book with a Mormon and a Christian evangelical religious psychologist that integrated REBT with belief systems based on the supernatural.

Although many of Ellis’ ideas were criticized from the beginning, REBT proved to be the forerunner of a therapeutic strategy now known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.  CBT’s are in wide use internationally and have gained significant theoretical and scientific support.  In 1982, a survey of American and Canadian psychologists ranked Ellis ahead of Freud in terms of impact on their profession.  In the same year, a survey of US psychology journals found that he was the most cited author after 1957.

Ellis’ work eventually extended into areas such as business, education and politics.  He publicly debated others involved in these subjects including Objectivist Nathanial Branden and anti-psychiatric activist Thomas Szasz.  And Ellis held many workshops and seminars worldwide for many years and well into his 90’s.

Ellis was diagnosed with diabetes in 1953 but this did not prevent his living a long life.  Towards the end he was in poor health but remained remarkably active nonetheless.  His last book, published after his death on July 24, 2007, combined his theory of personality with biological and evolutionary concepts.

A number of quotes help to shed light on Albert Ellis’ key ideas:

“Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they're alive and human.”

“As a result of my philosophy, I wasn't even upset about Hitler. I was willing to go to war to knock him off, but I didn't hate him. I hated what he was doing.”

“By not caring too much about what people think, I'm able to think for myself and propagate ideas which are very often unpopular.  And I succeed.”

“I get people to truly accept themselves unconditionally, whether or not their therapist or anyone loves them.”

“I had a great many sex and love cases where people were absolutely devastated when somebody with whom they were compulsively in love didn't love them back.  They were killing themselves with anxiety and depression.”

“I think it's unfair, but they have the right as fallible, screwed-up humans to be unfair; that's the human condition.”

“I think the future of psychotherapy and psychology is in the school system.  We need to teach every child how to rarely seriously disturb himself or herself and how to overcome disturbance when it occurs.”

“If something is irrational, that means it won't work.  It's usually unrealistic.”

Ellis even had something to say about the changes in the medical care system:

A lot has happened these last 15 years.  15 years is enough time for people to meet and start families, for children to grow up, and, yes, for some of us to grow old and die.  We've had all of those things happen over the years.  It has a been a wonderful journey full of the usual ups and downs that are typical of our lives.  But change is continual and change is inevitable.  Through the wonders of modern technology, wo of the NTCOF's founders, Mike and Marilyn Sullivan, who retired and moved to Florida in 2008, joined us at our February 2010 service.  They aptly pointed out what an achievement it is for this pioneering experiment to have been as successful as it has been.  And THIS MONTH - March 2010 - the HOUSTON Church of Freethought is celebrating its TENTH anniversay with its March 14th service!  If you're anywhere near Houston, check them out!  Dr. Gorski will be speaking at the HCOF's 10th Anniversary Celebration service.