Rational and irrational beliefs in counselling psychology

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior TherapyVolume 8, Number 4, Winter 1990RATIONAL AND IRRATIONALBELIEFS IN COUNSELLINGPSYCHOLOGY*Albert EllisInstitute for Rational-Emotive TherapyABSTRACT: Rational-emotive therapy (RET) holds that people largely makethemselves neurotically anxious, depressed, hostile, and self-denigrating bystrongly holding major dogmatic, absolutist, musturbatory beliefs and thatthey can use several cognitive, emotive and behavioral methods to modifythese beliefs and increase their emotional health. This paper presents someevidence supporting this hypothesis and outlines the counseling advantagesand disadvantages of active-directive cognitive restructuring.The theory that rational and irrational beliefs are important elementsin emotional and behavioral disturbance and that effective psychotherapypartly consists of replacing the latter with the former is anancient one that was stated or implied by a number of philosophers,including Confucius, Lao-Tse, and Gautama Buddha in the East andSocrates, Plato, Epicurus, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius in theWest. In modern psychotherapy it was fairly strongly held by AlfredAdler (1927, 1929), but also held, in varying degrees, by a number ofother therapists including Dubois (1907), Herzberg (1945), Johnson(1946), Kelly (1955), Low (1952), Meyer (1948), Rotter (1954), Stekel(1950), Thorne (1950), and Wolberg (1954).Whereas most of these therapists have been rather vague as to whatconstitutes rational and irrational beliefs, and as to which precise irrationalitiespresumably contribute significantly to human disturbance,rational-emotive therapy (RET) has been quite precise in thisregard. In my first major paper on RET, presented to the AmericanPsychological Association annual convention in Chicago in 1956*Invited address to British Psychological Association, Leeds, England, April 16, 1988.Reprint requests should be sent to Albert Ellis, 45 East 65th Street, New York, NY10021-6508.221 9 1990 Human Sciences Press

Albert Ellis 223to feel anxious, depressed, and worthless. When they believe "Othersmust treat me considerately, lovingly and fairly" and when it appearsthat others do not follow this command, they tend to feel angry, enraged,and vindictive. When people believe "Life should be easy andconditions must provide me with what I need immediately and painlessly,"and when life is harder than what they demand, they oftenfeel intolerant of frustration, self-pity, and depression.Although I formulated the specific RET theory that musturbatorybeliefs significantly contribute to neurotic disturbance in the early1970s, as far as I know, no particular research has been done to specificallysee whether psychotherapy and counseling clients have demands,commands and insistences and whether these actually are correlatedwith their disturbed feelings and behaviors. Knowing I was togive this paper to the British Psychological Society, I decided to makea preliminary study checking on this hypothesis. I monitored 100 ofmy sessions with regular clients, 50 with males and 50 with females,to see what self-defeating feelings they brought up during these sessionsand what musturbatory beliefs they acknowledged as concomitantsof these beliefs.RESULTSThe main findings of my pilot study are shown in Table 1. The threemain self-defeating feelings that are commonly pinpointed duringRET sessions are (1) anger at other people (including hostility, rage,fury, vindictiveness, and violence); (2) anger, low frustration tolerance,and self-pity about discomfort or lack of comfortable conditions;and (3) self-downing or feelings of worthlessness accompanied by (a)inadequacy feelings and/or (b) dire needs for approval. When I checkedthe incidence of irrational musts and absolutist demands acknowledgedmy clients as concomitants of their disturbed feelings, I foundthat my sample of 100 acknowledged 77 musts as concomitants of angerat others, 101 musts as concomitants of discomfort-oriented anger,low frustration tolerance, and self-pity, and 195 musts associated withself-downing and feelings of worthlessness.This was only a little surprising because although I expected virtuallyall my regular clients to bring self-denigrating feelings to theirsessions, I did not predict that the great majority of them would alsobring up almost two anger and/or low frustration tolerance problemsin a single, randomly chosen session.

224 Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior TherapyTable 1Frequency of Self-defeating Feelings and AccompanyingIrrational Musts Acknowledged by 100 Rational-EmotiveTherapy ClientsSelf-defeatingFeelingMain Irrational Mustsand Absolutist DemandsNumber of ClientsAcknowledging(N= I O0)Anger at perceivedinjusticesAnger atfrustrations andinconveniencesTotal irrational mustsother peopleAnger and lowfrustration toleranceabout discomfortSelf-pity and lowfrustration toleranceabout discomfortPeople must treat mefairly and justlyPeople must treat otherpeople fairly and justlyPeople must not frustrateor inconvenience mePeople must not beincompetent orirresponsibleaccompanying anger atI must experience lessdiscomfort than I nowfeelI must experience morecomfort than I now feelOther people mustexperience less discomfortthan they now feelI must live in a worldwith much more certaintyand orderI must not be deprived,hassled, or criticizedI must have thesatisfactions that othershave4342197756265563

Albert Ellis 225Table 1 (CoRtinued)Self-defeatingFeelingMain Irrational Mustsand A bsolutist DemandsNumber of ClientsAcknowledging(N= I O0)Total irrational musts accompanying low frustrationtolerance about discomforting conditions 101Self-downing and I must be competent andfeelings of successful 58inadequacyI must be in control of myfeelings, not too upset 21I must act perfectly,greatly, nobly 19I must be strong,disciplined, hard-working 9I must be moral andethical 8I must be kinder andmore loving 6Self-downing andneed for approvalI must be seen andaccepted by others ascompetent 32I must be approved andloved by significantothers 25I must be seen andaccepted by others as anice person 17Total number of irrational musts accompanyingself-downing feelings 195Grant Total of Irrational Musts 373My second mild surprise was that, on the whole, my clients broughtup a total of 373 problems, with accompanying major irrational beliefs,in only one hundred sessions. This was probably because, as aroutine homework assignment, I tell virtually all my clients to make

226 Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapybrief notes during the week about the specific emotional and behavioralproblems they experience and to look for the irrationalitiesaccompanying these disturbances and bring them up for discussionduring their next session. So that they often bring up multiple problemsduring sessions is to be expected. Nonetheless, it is interesting tonote that my regular RET clients very often plague themselves withseveral major emotional problems; and that even as they are apparentlyresolving one of them (e.g., anger at perceived injustices), theyeasily go back to creating another one (e.g., anger at frustrations andinconveniences).The fact that I found so many irrational shoulds, oughts, and mustsaccompanying my clients' self-defeating feelings is, of course, hardlysurprising--since I assume that their feelings and beliefs are correlated(and that the latter partly "cause" the former). With this theory(or prejudice!) I seek, and invariably find, the musts that supposedlyunderlie their self-defeating feelings. My clients, who are also taughtRET theory and practice, are similarly prejudiced. They also may caterto may approval. So they almost always agree that they actuallyemploy the musts I and they discover. When they occasionally disagreedwith me in the course of this study, I did not include theirmusts in my findings.If my little study reflects therapeutic reality, a few more tentativeconclusions may be drawn from observation of Table 1:1. Clients are basically grandiose and unrealistic. They not only rationallydesire but also irrationally command that others must treatthem justly and considerately, that discomfort and lack of pleasurehave to be abolished, and that they have got to perform competentlyor outstandingly and absolutely need others' approval in order to acceptthemselves. With Jehovian demands like these what are theirchances of not steadily upsetting themelves?2. Clients more often tend to enrage themselves against people who areperceived as treating them unjustly than against those who simplyfrustrate them. As I have proposed before (Ellis, 1987) because theysee that demanding total convenience in life is blatantly irrationaland don't see that demanding justice is subtly (but still just as profoundly)irrational, they insist on the latter more than the formerirrational belief.3. Clients seem to be more frequently disturbed about experiencing discomfortthan about not experiencing more comfort. This finding goesalong with that of several investigators who have found that depres-

Albert Ellis 227sion is a concomitant of people's experiencing a number of relativelyminor hassles (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).4. The dire needs to be competent and to be approved by significantothers are strong components of self-downing and feelings of worthlessness.These two musts seem to be interrelated--since clients demandcompetence in order to be approved and often behave anxiouslyand incompetently when they think they are not approved. But asBandura (1977) has shown, self-efficacy can also be a demand in itsown right. The dire need for love and approval (to be nice and loveable)may also commonly exist apart from the need to be accepted byothers as competent.5. Clients frequently demand that they be outstandingly or perfectlycompetent and successful but hardly to the degree that they insist onnormal competence.Although not shown by the data in the Table 1, many of the incompetenciesthat the clients denigrated themselves for included theirown self-defeating feelings and behaviors. At various times, and especiallyduring their first few weeks of therapy, I would say that at least80 percent of my clients excoriate themselves for experiencing anger,low frustration tolerance, anxiety, depression, or behavioral symptoms--especiallywhen these are visible to others (Ellis, 1985a, 1988;Ellis & Dryden, 1987).In my first major paper on RET (Ellis, 1958), I list eleven mainirrational beliefs that presumably are concomitants of emotional disturbance.In comparing these to those turned up in this pilot study, Ifind all of them to be frequently confirmed except one: "My past remainsall-important and because something once strongly influencedmy life, it has to keep determining my feelings and behavior today."Although many of my clients believe this when they first come to therapy,my RET "regulars", whom I used in this study, rarely keep believingit for long.CLINICAL USEFULNESS OF WORKING WITHIRRATIONAL MUSTSAssuming that clients usually have irrational musts accompanyingtheir self-defeating f~elings, are respectable clinical gains to be had byrevealing and working to change these irrationalities? I would sayYes, but with several qualifications.Some of the advantages of searching for and finding the irrational

228 Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior TherapyBeliefs (iBs) that presumably create and maintain emotional and behavioraldisturbance and of active-directively teaching counseling clientshow to surrender them are these:1. If the therapist is well versed in the theory and practice of RET,clients' iBs can be figured out and found quite quickly and easily.Some of the clients' most profound and far-reaching irrationalitiescan be hypothesized and confirmed in the first session--or shortlytherafter.2. When pinpointed by the therapist most of the irrational musts arequickly agreed to by the clients. They are usually so obvious thatthere is little resistance to the clients' seeing them and acceptingthem as being unrealistic and/or illogical. RET is therefore an intrinsicallybriefer kind of therapy.3. Most clients can fairly easily be taught how to find their iBs forthemselves and to start to dispute them in between the therapy sessions.Disputing importantly consists of using the logical and empiricalmethods of science to falsify clients' iBs (Ellis, 1985a, 1988; Ellis& Dryden, 1987; Ellis & Harper, 1975).4. Several emotive and behavioral methods of disputing and actingagainst iBs can also readily be devised and taught to clients. Thus,RET often uses shame-attacking exercises, rational emotive imagery,and implosive in vivo desensitization to uproot irrational thinking(Dryden, 1984; Ellis, 1985a, 1988; Ellis & Abrahms, 1978).5. Therapists can devise several ways of checking to see whether clientsare actually acknowledging and disputing their iBs. Thus, they canquestion what they are telling themselves, can go over their RETself-help forms (Sichel & Ellis, 1983), and can observe changes inclients' dysfunctional feelings and behaviors as they supposedly findand dispute their iBs.6. Clients can also review what they are thinking and doing to changetheir iBs and check their emotional and behavioral progress to see ifthey are truly surrendering them.7. For clients who have trouble identifying and disputing their iBs,RET provides simpler cognitive methods of changing them--such asthe use of coping or rational self-statements, distraction methods,and thought stopping (Ellis, 1985a, 1988; Ellis & Abrahms, 1978;Ellis & Becker, 1982; Ellis & Dryden, 1987; Ellis & Grieger, 1977).8. The whole history of psychotherapy is replete with stories andstudies of temporary improvement, because clients frequently makesignificant gains and then dramatically fall back to disturbed states.RET theory holds that this is because most psychotherapy helps peopleto feel better and not get better (Ellis, 1972a, 1972b, 1979b); andthat unless people make a profound philosophical change in their

Albert Ellis 229musturbatory thinking, they will tend to fall back to their devoutnegative beliefs. If the RET hypothesis is correct, clients may rarelyachieve such a profound change unless they consciously use someform of cognitive therapy to restructure their basic irrational beliefs.9. RET and other modes of cognitive behavioral therapy can easily beexplained in books and pamphlets and can be taught by talks,courses, workshops, audio and visual cassettes, charts, graphics, andother psychoeducational materials. The use of these materials frequentlyhastens and aids the counselling process.Every psychotherapeutic method seems to have its disadvantagesand the disclosing and modifying of disturbed people's irrational Betiefsis no exception. Some of its disadvantages are:1. Clients may acknowledge their iBs but refuse to admit that they areirrational. Thus, they may retain their enraged and homicidal feelingsby insisting that "Because people are wrong in treating meunfairly, they absolutely must not under any conditions do so, and Iconsequently should spend the rest of my life trying to destroythem!"2. Clients may admit that their iBs are irrational and self-defeatingbut only mildly dispute them while strongly holding on to them.Thus, they may tell themselves, "I know there is no reason why youmust love me; but you really should and I can't bear it when youdon't!"3. Clients may deny having iBs by covering them up with clever rationalizations.They may, for example, say "It's better for me to dethis report tomorrow, when I'll be fresher and more alert than to doit now when I am tired." This may sound quite rational. But whatthey really irrationally believe is, "It's not only hard to do this reportright now, but it's too hard and it shouldn't be that hard. Tohell with that awful report! I'll do it tomorrow--or perhaps never!"4. Clients may think rational thoughts but refuse to act on them. Theymay say, "It's stupid of me to criticize my mate. I'll get nowherewith strong criticism. I'd better shut my big mouth!" But then theytell themselves, "I can't be wimpishly quiet when my mate acts inthat rotten way! I have to tell him or her offi" And they foolishly do.5. Showing people their iBs may encourage some of them to irrationallydamn themselves for their foolish thinking; they may thencondemn themselves more than ever. They may tell themselves "Imust be rational! I must be rational!" and thereby make themselvesmore irrational.6. Changing one's iBs is not a panacea for all emotional problems--such as severe endogenous depression and schizophrenia. Without

230 Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapyadditional help, including suitable medication, clients who surrendersome of their iBs and still remain dysfunctional may becomedisillusioned with cognitive therapy and even with all forms of psychotherapy.7. Although RET teaches clients that appropriate negative feelings--e.g., sorrow, regret, frustration, and annoyance--are quite legitimateand self-helping when their desires and preferences arethwarted, and that only inappropriate feelings--such as panic, depressionand rage--are self-defeating, clients who learn that theylargely create their own feelings sometimes spend much time andenergy giving up appropriate emotions, such as displeasure and disappointment.They may rid themselves of panic and depression byinappropriately cultivating indifference, calmness, passivity, andalmost total lack of feeling.8. Clients who devoutly cling to iBs and have great trouble changingthem sometimes erroneously conclude, "I can't change! I'll never beable to give up my irrational Beliefs!" They therefore give up ontherapy.9. Some clients go from one extreme to the other and utopianly concludethat "Now that I can change my thinking and control my emotionsI can teach myself to be happy all the time." Ultimately, ofcourse, they become disillusioned and may hopelessly give up makingthe changes that they can make.10. Modifying one's irrational Beliefs can often be done very quickly,with almost magical results. But alas, people are not only prone toacquire and to invent self-disturbing iBs but to frequently return tothem once they have temporarily given them up. Why? Because,probably, they have an innate tendency to create and recreate them;because they have habitually held them for many years before theyattempt to surrender them; and because the people around themand their social institutions keep subscribing to many myths andirrationalities. For several reasons, then, once surrendered iBs frequentlyrise to smite us again; and when they do, clients (rationallyand irrationally!) hate the effort and pains they have to take toundo them once again. Many clients therefore succumb once more totheir irrationalities and put themselves back in the neurotic soupagain.11. The absolutist irrational Beliefs that largely lead to disturbance areoften held quite devoutly with well-nigh immovable conviction. Ifclients really give them up, they would have to make radical ideologicaland behavioral changes--and would not feel like "themselves"while and after changing. Not that they can't change; butthey often resist and don't. They and their therapist, therefore,sometimes become discouraged and often settle for partial or palliativechanges.

Albert Ellis 231DISCUSSIONThe pilot study described in this article showing the frequency ofself-defeating feelings and accompanying irrational musts acknowledgedby 100 rational-emotive therapy (RET) clients is not to be takentoo seriously until it is redone more completely and objectively. Wouldnon-RET therapists, for example, find musts and absolutist philosophiesintrinsically connected with clients' emotional problems? If so,would they find irrational ideas similar to the ones that I have presumablyfound? If they find quite different irrationalities, would theirclients accept these as readily as my clients accept the RET-orientedideas? Fascinating questions, meriting considerably more research!Showing people their irrational beliefs and teaching them how tofind them and use the scientific method--empirical and logical analysis-todiscard them is no panacea for all emotional and behavioralproblems. But it seems to have helped large numbers of people, withor without the help of therapists, for many centuries. Cognitive restructuring,moreover, seems to be overtly or covertly employed by allkinds of supposedly nonrational therapists--including most of thosewho claim to be following psychoanalytic, experiential, existential,and behavioral methodologies. In fact, I would guess that it is the onetechnique used by virtually all therapists from time to time and, probably,much more frequently than many of them ever acknowledge.Only rapport-gaining and supportive methods may actually be moreoften employed.If I am right about this, considerable research is still to be done asto which beliefs are rational and irrational, how irrational ideas leadto specific emotional and behavioral disturbances, and what are thebest cognitive, emotive, and behavioral methods of uprooting theseself-defeating philosophies.REFERENCESAdler, A. (1927). Understanding human nature. New York: Greenberg.Adler, A. (1929). The science of living. New York: Greenberg.Baisden, H. E. (1980). Irrational beliefs: A construct validation study. Unpublisheddoctoral dissertation. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.DiGiuseppe, R. A., Miller, N. J., & Trexler, L. D. (1979). A review of rationalemotivepsychotherapy outcome studies. In A. Ellis & J. M. Whiteley(Eds.), Theoretical and empirical foundations of rational-emotive therapy(pp. 218-235). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

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