Albert Ellis demonstrates his signature style with a difficult client; using rationality, strong language, and forceful directives, he is remarkably effective in just one session.
Orville would like to reduce his marijuana, alcohol and hallucinogen dependency but doesn’t know how. Ellis immediately focuses in on Orville’s low frustration tolerance and “self-downing” as the irrational beliefs that sustain his drug and alcohol addictions. Ellis debunks Orville’s claim that if he doesn’t always behave well, he is a bad person. He clarifies that it is certainly highly preferable to behave well, but that we are all fallible human beings who screw up sometimes. Orville’s distractibility and flights into tangential stories challenge Ellis to keep Orville on task. You’ll be impressed to see how Ellis remains focused on the issue at hand, pushing Orville to grapple with beliefs that are tough to change and addictive behaviors that are difficult to conquer.
This video is part of the 4-video series, REBT in Action. Other self-study videos in this series include:
- My Kids Don’t Appreciate Me: REBT with a Single Mother
- Coping with the Suicide of a Loved One: An REBT Approach
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy for Addictions
- REBT for Anger Management
