What is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) focused on changing?

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is fundamentally focused on identifying and changing irrational beliefs that lead to emotional and behavioral issues. This approach, developed by Albert Ellis, operates on the premise that it is not the events themselves that cause emotional distress, but rather the beliefs and interpretations individuals form about those events. By targeting these irrational beliefs, REBT helps individuals replace them with more rational and constructive thoughts, which in turn leads to healthier emotional responses and behaviors.

The core of REBT is the ABC model, where A represents an activating event, B symbolizes the beliefs about that event, and C denotes the consequent emotional or behavioral outcome. Thus, the focus on changing irrational beliefs is pivotal to achieving emotional well-being and promoting effective problem-solving and coping mechanisms in individuals. This makes the emphasis on beliefs, rather than solely behaviors or environmental factors, crucial to the therapeutic process in REBT.