Windy Dryden

• Goldsmiths University of London

This 3rd edition, transdiagnostic evidence-based guide to cognitive behavioural counselling (CBC) takes the practitioner step-by-step through the CBC process, from initial contact with the client to termination and follow up. Part One, the basic guide, consists of 21 counsellor/client tasks, grouped into four stages of preparation, beginning, middl...

In our previous study (Dryden and Hurton in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 29, 2013), we investigated the action tendencies that 100 people reported having, but did not act on in specific episodes where they felt hurt. In this study, we examine the reasons given by this same group of people for not so acting. Understanding the types of reasons why p...

In this questionnaire-based study, we investigated the action tendencies that 100 people reported having, but did not act on, in specific situations in which they felt hurt. An awareness of these types of unacted-on tendencies will help rational emotive behavior therapy therapists to be alert to the possible presence of hurt feelings and hurt-relat...

The exploratory research on which this chapter has been based set out to develop an initial framework and categorization scheme for understanding patients’ initial doubts, reservations, and objections to the ABCs of REBT and their application. Sixty patients were asked to write down their doubts following a pre-therapy “Introduction to REBT” sessio...

In 2010, I undertook a study of a random sample of 20 counseling and psychotherapy textbooks to identify the most common errors and confusions made by the authors of these textbooks regarding the ABCs of REBT. I found a total of 240 errors and confusions, the majority arising from incorrect beliefs at B, particularly about irrational beliefs. A var...

In this series of research studies, I have looked at how the following groups have conceptualized the ABCs of REBT: (a) clients, (b) authors of counseling and psychotherapy textbooks, (c) REBT therapists, and (d) the founder of REBT and his wife whom he appointed as the guardian of his views. I found that each of these groups made a variety of erro...

In this chapter, I will describe a study in which I analyzed Albert Ellis’s posthumous contribution to the APA Theories of Psychotherapy series (Ellis and Joffe Ellis 2011) for evidence of errors and confusions with respect to the ABCs of REBT.

In the previous chapter, I presented and discussed the errors and confusions that a sample of authors of counseling and psychotherapy textbooks made when discussing the ABCs of REBT. None of these authors was an REBT therapist in good standing, and while it may be assumed that REBT therapists would be accurate when they taught REBT’s ABC framework...

In this paper, a number of theoretical issues concerning rational beliefs in REBT will be discussed. In particular, a distinction will be made between rational beliefs which appear rational but are only partially rational (called here, partially formed rational beliefs) and rational beliefs that are fully rational (called here, fully formed rationa...

Leading psychologist, lecturer, and author Windy Dryden has compiled his most valuable writings on Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy from the last thirty five years. This collection reveals the thinking, concepts and practical experience that have made Dryden one of the most respected and cited REBT authorities of our time.

In this article, the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) approach to procrastination is outlined and demonstrated using the transcript of a session conducted in the REBT “Master Therapists” DVD Series (Dryden in Overcoming Procrastination: Master Therapists DVD series, Albert Ellis Institute, New York, 2008). A commentary provides links betwee...

In this study, a random sample of twenty counselling and psychotherapy textbooks were studied with respect to the errors and confusions made by the authors of these textbooks with respect to the “ABCs” of REBT. A total of 240 of such errors/confusions were found with most being made about beliefs at “B”, particularly about irrational beliefs. A var...

In this commentary on the six papers in this special issue on pluralism in counselling and psychotherapy, I consider a number of themes. I argue that the authors have shown a lack of reflexivity in that they do not, in general, consider seriously the problems with pluralism. I also argue that there are difficulties in privileging client views in th...

The present study examined the perceived credibility of two versions of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), specific and general, in the treatment of academic procrastination. A total of 96 university students rated treatment plans for their potential effectiveness which also included manipulations of two further variables: (1) the expertness...

I discuss what I consider to be Albert Ellis’s ten most important contributions to the development of REBT. I also give a personal view on what we will miss on his passing and on what we won’t.

The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of two brief treatment methods for panic disorder: Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Visual/Kinaesthetic Dissociation (VKD), neither of which have been the object of scientific enquiry. The study is a two-way between-groups pre-test/post-test experimental design with baseline and follow-up...

In this study, 19 REBT therapists from the Albert Ellis Institute’s referral list from a sample of 83 provided a specific “ABC” assessment of a problem and its solution that they would teach a class of counselling graduate students. This material was analysed for evidence of errors and confusions with respect to the “ABCs” of REBT. A total of 81 of...

In this study, I analysed Albert Ellis’s posthumous contribution to the APA “Theories of Psychotherapy” series (Ellis and Joffe Ellis 2011) for evidence of errors and confusions with respect to the “ABCs” of REBT. A total of 74 of such errors/confusions were found with most being made about beliefs at “B” (n = 59), particularly about irrational bel...

A systematic review of the published literature from 1995 to 2007 considers the published evidence on the use of interventions employing Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in criminal justice efforts to reduce re-offending. Thirty-six studies are briefly described, summarised and appraised for research quality using a six point scale. Twenty-four s...

What is counseling and how does it work? Counselling in a Nutshell provides the answers to these questions and more, as part of a step-by-step guide to the counseling relationship and the therapeutic process. Drawing together theory from the psychodynamic, person-centered and cognitive-behavioral approaches, Windy Dryden explores: bonds between cou...

This paper presents the REBT Competency Scale which can be used in the evaluation of adherence to an REBT treatment model in clinical and research applications. The scale has been developed to map closely onto the REBT treatment protocol developed by Dryden et al. (A primer on rational emotive behaviour therapy, Research Press, Champaign, 2003). Ba...

In this article, I reflect on the one-off sessions that Albert Ellis and I did with Jane. It is clear that Albert Ellis’s work is an example of inelegant or general REBT, while my session is an example of specific or elegant REBT. First, I speculate on the possible reasons why Ellis practised inelegant REBT is his session. Then, I critique my own w...

In the summer of 1994, two of the most published authors in the field of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Albert Ellis and Windy Dryden, each saw the same client. The transcript of Windy Dryden is presented with slight modifications to protect the confidentiality of the client and those in the client’s life.

The contributions of Albert Ellis to the understanding of human happiness including his suggestions for living a happier life have not been represented in the field of positive psychology. This article presents Ellis’ theoretical constructs associated with his conception of happiness (dual nature of human psyche, self-actualization, purpose and goa...

In this paper, I am going to outline how to teach professionals new to REBT the major principles of this distinctive CBT approach. I will also discuss how you may show them the wider applications of rational thinking.

The main purpose of this paper is to present a personal account of my therapeutic journey and to show how my practice of CBT is informed not only by orientation-specific variables (e.g. emphases on 1) attitude; 2) perpetuation of disturbance as opposed to its acquisition; 3) specificity; 4) the development of client self-help skills; and 5) homewor...

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) encourages the client to focus on their emotional problems in order to understand, challenge and change the irrational beliefs that underpin these problems. REBT can help clients to strengthen conviction in their alternative rational beliefs by acting in ways that are consistent with them and thus encourage...

This exploratory research set out to develop an initial framework and categorization scheme for understanding patients’ initial doubts, reservations and objections to the ABC’s of REBT and their application. 60 patients were asked to write down their doubts following a pre-therapy “Introduction to REBT” session. Subsequently, an emergent content an...

In this article, I consider the relationship between rationality and resilience. First, I outline six responses to life’s adversities: (a) a true disturbed response; (b) a feigned disturbed response; (c) a feigned indifferent response; (d) a true healthy response; (e) a feigned healthy response; and (f) a mixed response. These responses underpin tw...

Without Abstract

The purpose of this article was for selected Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) cognoscenti to examine the impact of the events of September 11th, 2001, on their beliefs about religion, spirituality, and their personal philosophy—including the role of evil in the universe and the implications of these issues on their use of REBT. The degree o...

While numerous studies support Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Theory (REBT), they tend to be limited by their use of correlational designs, simulated scenarios and self-report measures. This study tested a core REBT hypothesis in an experimental design using multiple pshysiological as well as psychological measures. Ninety patients from a me...

The 9 members of the Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy’s International Training Standards and Review Committee (of which Albert Ellis is currently one) predict the status of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) after the death of Albert Ellis, its progenitor. Most respondents addressed whether REBT will exist in its own right or be subsume...

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) hypothesizes that the functionality of inferences is primarily affected by the preferential and demanding nature of rational and irrational beliefs, respectively. It is then, secondarily, influenced by the functional and dysfunctional contents to which rational and irrational beliefs, respectively, refer. T...

This article describes a role playing experiment that examined the sufficiency hypothesis of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). This proposition states that it is sufficient for rational and irrational beliefs to refer to preferences and musts, respectively, if those beliefs are to affect the functionality of inferences (FI). Consistent wit...

A cognitive behavioural model of body image is presented with specific reference to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). We make specific hypotheses from the model for testing BDD patients in comparison with: (i) patients with "real" disfigurements who seek cosmetic surgery; (ii) subjects with "real" disfigurements who are emotionally well adjusted; and...

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) consists of a preoccupation with an 'imagined' defect in appearance which causes significant distress or impairment in functioning. There has been little previous research into BDD. This study replicates a survey from the USA in a UK population and evaluates specific measures of BDD. Cross-sectional interview survey o...

In summary, then, in 1962 RET displayed important features still current. These include the interrelatedness of cognitive, emotive and behavioural processes, the important role that cognition plays in psychological problems, its humanistic view of the self and the futility and dangers of self-rating. The emphasis on perpetuation rather than acquisi...

A study was carried out using 96 subjects to discover how their preferences for four therapeutic approaches varied as a function of their sex, the type of problem they were asked to imagine they had (intimate or work/academic), and sex and title (counsellor or psychotherapist) of the professional from whom they would seek help. The four approaches...

Outcome research has to date yielded little convincing evidence concerning the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of RET. One major cause of this problem appears to be the lack of empirical evidence to confirm that outcome studies have implemented RET as it is theoretically intended and with high quality. This paper reviews constructs relevant...

96 subjects were asked to imagine that they had gone to their GP for help with an emotional problem. The subjects were further asked to imagine that the GP had referred them to either a male or female counsellor, clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. Whilst in role, subjects were asked to rate their concern about 15 possible fears of therapy, and...

In this chapter, I discuss two concepts that I have found useful in my clinical practice of RET. The first concerns Bordin’s (1979) reformulation of the psychoanalytic concept of the therapeutic alliance, an idea I have found helpful in my struggles to develop a general framework for the conduct of RET. The second addresses the clinical reality tha...

This interview conducted in August 1989 with Andrew Swart, Head of the Counselling and Careers Unit at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg covers the following areas: (a) the pressures faced by counsellors working in South Africa, (b) the Society for Student Counselling and its internal politics, and (c) the work of counsellors in South A...

96 university students were asked to imagine that they were suffering from study anxiety to the point of wishing to receive help with the problem. They were then asked to read a booklet detailing either (a) the rationale for systematic desensitization or Rational-Emotive Therapy and (b) told that counselling lasted for 5 or 15 weeks. They then asse...

Because of the personal religious and philosophical beliefs of Albert Ellis, Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) is often perceived as inappropriate for clients with strong religious beliefs. Three of the major irrational thought processes hypothesized by RET to be at the core of psychopathology are shown to also be inconsistent with Judeo-Christian phi...

Subjects were asked to imagine that they were going to present an academic seminar. They were further asked to imagine (a) that they adhered to a rational belief or an irrational belief; (b) that they had made or had not made an effort in preparing for the seminar and (c) that their performance counted or did not count towards their final examinati...

The focus of this paper is on the concept of chaining in rationalemotive therapy. Four types of chains are discussed and illustrated: (a) inference chains; (b) inference-evaluative belief chains; (c) disturbance about disturbance chains and (d) complex chains.

96 subjects were asked to imagine that they were about to enter a room in which there may have been one or more spiders. They were also asked to imagine that (a) they either held a rational or an irrational belief about spiders, (b) they were about to enter the room either alone or with someone, and (c) that the room was either dark or light. Havin...

Ninety-six subjects were asked to imagine that they were going to a party. They were further asked to imagine (a) that they adhered to a rational or an irrational belief; (b) that they had jilted or been jilted by a partner with whom they were having an intimate relationship; and (c) that they knew or did not know other friends who would be going t...

Several features of Grieger's (1985) contextual model of the ABCs of RET are criticized. It is argued that (a) Grieger fails at various points to give due regard to the interactive nature of evaluative and interpretive thinking and that he fails to show clearly how people's evaluative thinking can color the interpretations that they make about A; (...

We have previously written articles and chapters covering important aspects of the practice of RET (Dryden, 1985b; Ellis, 1969, 1974a, 1982a, c, 1986a), but some of these are outdated and/or out of print. Therefore, in this book we have revised and updated this previous material, added several chapters of new RET formulations, and attempted to prod...

Faculty includes Dr Albert Ellis (USA), Dr Richard Wessler (USA) Dr René Diekstra (NL), Dr Dryden (GB), Dr Ray DiGiuseppe (USA).