ALBERT ELLIS: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 1

Transcription

1 ALBERT ELLIS: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 1 ALBERT ELLIS: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY Copyright 2014 Ennio Ammendola Fordham University

2 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 2 Abstract This psychobiography provides a general overview of the life and major contributions of Dr. Albert Ellis, considered one of the most original and unconventional thinkers of our century in the field of clinical and counseling psychology. Dr. Albert Ellis, the originator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), was persistent in his view that people s psychological disturbances are a result not of a situation but by the rigid views that they take of them. In this paper, I demonstrate how Ellis revised, developed and evolved these eleven irrational beliefs in response to his life adverse situations. To corroborate this premise, each of the eleven irrational beliefs are presented, described, and then compared to one of Dr. Ellis self-described adverse life experiences. Finally, his impact to the field of psychology is discussed. Keywords: Albert Ellis, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), irrational beliefs

3 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 3 Albert Ellis: A Psychobiography Albert Ellis created of one of the major approaches to psychotherapy in the history of psychology known as Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He was born on September 27 th, 1913 in Pittsburgh and died in New York City on July 24, 2007, at 93 years of age. He was the eldest of three children. His father, businessman, often traveled on business trips. Albert described his mother as a self-absorbed woman with bipolar disorder. At the beginning of his professional career, he worked as a psychoanalyst but then felt uncomfortable with its focus on early-life influences to the degree that in 1950 he developed REBT, which widely considered a precursor to cognitive behavioral therapy (Hollon & DiGiuseppe, 2011). Finally, Albert was a very prolific and energized clinician, typically working at least 16 hours a day and authored and co-authored more than 80 books and 1200 articles by the time of his death. Irrational Beliefs That Influence and Help Maintain Emotional Disturbance One of the most interesting and still debated cornerstones of Rational Emotive Behavior Theory are the types of irrational beliefs that characterize this modality. Ellis originally proposed 13 different irrational beliefs and they were not in any structural or categorical order. Campbell (198X) condensed the original 13 beliefs into five types of beliefs: demandingness, awfulizing, frustration intolerance, self-condemnation, and other-condemnation (DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden, & Backx, 2014). Since the beginning, these beliefs represented the major illogical, irrational, and selfdefeating ideas implicated as the basis of all neuroses in Western civilization. Albert conceptualized them as a reaction to the main existing idea in our society that our family and society indoctrinate individuals with irrational beliefs. Dr. Ellis reacted to this notion of direct or indirect indoctrination from society by stressing what Epictetus (90 B.C. 1994) had explained,

4 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 4 Men are not disturbed by things, but by the view which they take of them (from the Enchiridion). The updated version of Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy modified the irrational beliefs with the result being a change from 13 to 11 beliefs (Ellis, 1994). Overall, these 11 beliefs are an important testament to the REBT theory of psychopathology, which states that beliefs are the most important determinant of emotions. Finally, in 1997 the original irrational beliefs were regrouped into five types of beliefs: demandingness, awfulizing, frustration intolerance, self-condemnation, and other-condemnation (DiGiuseppe, Doyle, Dryden, & Backx, 2014). Throughout this paper, we will use the terms beliefs rather that thoughts or cognitions. As David et al (20XX) pointed out, it is not the presence of the thoughts but the active believing they are valid and true that leads to emotional disturbance Although the field has found that the five category model represents a more parsimonious way to conceptualize the irrational beliefs (IBs), I believe that it is helpful to return to the original classification of 11 IBS and how Albert conceptualized them as a way to understand his own life s difficulties and the challenging of them represented a self-help coping strategy. This paper demonstrates how each of the 11 irrational beliefs represent a personal conflict in Dr. Ellis life struggles and misfortunes in several areas of his life. As such, this manuscript represents an excursion into Psychobiography. As such, for each of the irrational beliefs, I present a brief explanation of their content with the relevant irrational belief presented to support one of Dr. Ellis life struggles. This approach provides a rationale for each irrational belief as well as a corroboration of the rationale for its development.

5 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 5 Irrational Belief No.1: It is a dire necessity for adult humans to be loved and approved by virtually every significant other person in their community. This irrational belief represents the demand that children and adults must receive love and approval by others to live a happy life. The main irrational attitude held by people is that the nature of love and approval is perceived as absolutely necessary in society as well as in the community. This demand rests on several faulty ideas such as the following. It represents a perfectionistic and unattainable goal. One will have to keep worrying constantly about how much others love you or approve of you tomorrow. It is impossible for someone to always be lovable all people are a bit grump at times. To be approved by others, someone will almost invariably become ingratiating or obsequious, and to always loved, the person will sometimes behave in an insecure and annoying manner toward others to the point that they will lose the approval or love. To counter this absolute necessity for love and approval, Ellis suggested people implement a new philosophy based on the desire and preference of being loved and approved, but not the demand or need (Ellis, 1994). The belief that people require love and approval can be viewed as being an extension of Dr. Ellis separation anxiety that he experienced during several hospital stays (Reference). His first hospitalization was for nephritis when he was five and a half, and he continued to be hospitalized nine more times until age 9 years. Dr. Ellis described seeing his mother in the hospital only once a week at most, and he virtually never saw his father. He also described ten long months being away from school, his neighborhood friends, and his brother (Ellis, 2004). Thus he most likely struggled with separation and neglect by significant people. Many critics or people new to REBT find this aspect of the theory troublesome. We know that humans are a social species and we live in groups. So this it struggle Al faced and he had to deal with the fact

6 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 6 that people humans most depend on were neglectful. Yet he survived. Perhaps this experience had other influence on Dr. Ells. Perhaps he developed a more introvert, less warm personality because of this isolation. Nevertheless, he did not have to be come miserable about it. Irrational Belief No.2: One absolutely must be competent, adequate, and achieving in all important respects or else one is an inadequate, worthless person. The belief of having to be absolutely competent and adequate all the time can be viewed as being an extension of Dr. Ellis censorship of his first Ph.D. thesis. He experienced one of the worst sex-related censorships in 1946 when he was writing his Ph. D. thesis at Columbia University. Dr. Ellis was already an authority on love and, as a result, he chose a love relating topic for his dissertation, which was entitled A study of the love relationships of women. Initially, his topic was accepted; however, due to its liberal or radical content, his facility committees advised him that the department would most likely rejected his dissertation with the rationale that he had to stop his audacity to continue his vile study, or else they would oppose him (Ellis, 2004). This irrational belief is based on the demand that we must be competent, adequate, and achieving, and if we are not, we perceive ourselves as worthless human beings to such an extreme that we might as well die. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as: no human can be competent in all areas of his/her life; the compulsive drive for accomplishment usually results in stress; we start comparing ourselves invidiously to other achieving individuals; we start giving a great emphasis to the value that other people place on our performance; the demand of having to be competent sidetracks us from a main goal of happy living; and over-concerning with achievement normally results in our acquiring enormous fear of taking chances (Ellis, 1994).

7 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 7 To counter this absolute demand to be competent in many areas, it is suggested to implement a more reasonable new philosophy based on the idea that we try to do something and not to do it perfectly, otherwise we begin doing things to please others and not for our own sake anymore. Irrational Belief No.3: People absolutely must act considerately and fairly and they are damnable villains if they do not. They are their bad acts. The belief that people have to act absolutely considerately and fairly, can be hypothesized as being an extension of Dr. Ellis having to cope with abysmal parental neglect. Dr. Ellis described his condition as being half-orphan because his parents were never there physically (Ellis, 2004). His father worked a sales representative and frequently traveled, while he described his mother in the following terms: she was much more immersed in her own pleasures or her own ego-aggrandizing activities than she was in understanding and taking care of her children (Ellis, 2004). This irrational belief comes from the demand that we are fundamentally villains who must be denigrated for the rest of our lives in order to suffer for our sins. This demand is selfdefeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as the following. We are not going to make our own choices, but we are compelled to act in a certain way in accordance with biosocial influences. We cannot really be absolutely denigrated all the time for our stupidity or ignorance. We are fallible human beings who are expected to make mistakes and errors; and we falsely believe that severe punishment will usually induce us to stop our wrongdoing and to behave much better in the future (Ellis, 1994).

8 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 8 To counter this absolute demand to act fairly all the time, Dr. Ellis suggested to implement a new approach based on the acceptance of people when they act stupidly (but not like their stupid behaviors) in order to avoid false overgeneralizations. Irrational Belief No.4: The idea that it is awful and terrible when things are not the way one would very much like them to be. The belief that it is awful and terrible when things are not the way one would like them to be can be seen as being an extension of Dr. Ellis coping with failing, especially in two areas of his life: writing and love affairs. Dr. Ellis was obsessed with having to be at the top or near the top of his class and demanding to be more competent in several sports because he was horrified about personal rejection. In the area of love affairs, Dr. Ellis held the demand of being passionately admired by his beloved at the times. He also was terrified about the idea of rejection, and condemned himself at the idea of such. This irrational belief is based on the demand that we get exceptionally frustrated and disappointed when things do not go the way we would like them to go. This demand is selfdefeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as: we demand that things should be different but it hardly makes them so; we have little ability to tolerate inevitable frustration; and we cannot accept unusual medical problems or other unfortunate human condition (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand to get exceptionally frustrated and disappointed when things do not go the way we would like them to go, it is suggested to implement a new existential philosophy based on the acceptance (but not liking) that some circumstances in life are really unpleasant and the only thing we can do is to face them and to do the best we know.

9 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 9 Irrational Belief No.5: The idea that emotional disturbance is mainly externally caused and that people have little or no ability to increase or decrease their dysfunctional feelings and behaviors. The belief that emotional disturbance is mainly externally caused, can be regarded as an extension of Dr. Ellis attitude of getting quite angry and acting stupidly at what he defines horrible world conditions (Ellis, 1994). At the beginning, his emotional disturbance was attributed to external factors that were not under his control. Then, he realized that he created his emotional disturbance by believing that people had to treat him fairly. Once he could identify that the way he was talking to himself caused his emotional disturbance, he realized that people have little or no ability to increase or decrease his dysfunctional feelings and behaviors (Ellis, 1994). This irrational belief is based on the demand that we become disturbed by other people and events and these external forces contribute to our depression and anxiety. This demand is self-defeating because it rests on several faulty assumptions and ideas such as following. Other people and events are what harms us directly or indirectly. We have a tendency to see external things as horrible. We cannot control our beliefs and emotions and that horror is always externally forced upon us no matter what we do; and that all unexpected events will usually shock us and lead us to serious feelings of panic, horror and depression (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that emotional disturbance is mostly externally caused, Dr. Ellis suggested that people believe that events can be under our control and we have to attend to what comes from within ourselves in order to acknowledge that we are creating our misery.

10 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 10 Irrational Belief No.6: The belief that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome one should be constantly and excessively concerned about it and should keep dwelling on the possibility of its occurring. The belief that if something is or might be dangerous or fearsome one should be constantly and excessively concerned can be viewed as being an extension of Dr. Ellis being terrified about personal rejection due to his shyness around women. Consequently, when he was nineteen, he forced himself every day to sit close to any woman on a bench at the Bronx Botanical Garden. He then gave himself one minute to talk to them and by doing so, he calmed his fears of approaching women. He also reported that he only made one date out of the 100 women, but the most important thing was overcoming something that was previously perceived as being dangerous. This irrational belief is based on the demand that we must stubbornly keep worrying about any potential danger. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as the following. People make ourselves feel anxious all the time, and anxiety is not constructive. Intense anxiety about the possibility of actual danger prevents us from preparing for and meeting the danger effectively. Worrying intensively over the possibility of an event often contributes to bringing it about. Experiencing over-concerned about a dangerous situation usually leads to people exaggerating the chances of its actual occurring (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that we must stubbornly keep worrying about any potential danger, it is suggested that we acquire a new set of attitudes that help us to realize that severe worries are caused by what we tell ourselves as well as that our irrational fears are not helpful.

11 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 11 This irrational belief is not represented in the reduction of the 11 IBs to the five major categories. As a result, this belief that cause Dr. Ellis such disturbance and for which he discovered some alternative beliefs to deal with the inevitability of real danger in life is often lost to practitioners new to REBT that have read only the more modern literature. For this reason, I recommend that those interested in REBT return to Dr. Ellis original text. Irrational Belief No.7: The belief that one cannot and must not face life s responsibilities and difficulties and that it is easier to avoid them. The belief that one cannot and must not face life s responsibilities and difficulties and that it is easier to avoid them represents an extension of Dr. Ellis tendency to procrastinate. Dr. Ellis described himself as a born procrastinator and influenced by his mother, which always did her work at the last minute (Ellis, 1994). He came to then realized how unproductive and dysfunctional it was for him to avoid tasks, and, consequently, during his first year of college he decided to stop his dysfunctional procrastination to the point that he meet deadlines for his projects. This irrational belief rests on the demand that life s difficulties and responsibilities must be avoided because we cannot face them. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as. The idea that avoidance represents an easy way out. People can do things in the future because they have already succeeded in doing some aspects of them in the past and present. Moreover, a less responsible life is exceptionally rewarding (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that life s difficulties and responsibilities must be avoided because we cannot face them, it is suggested to a acquire a new set of attitudes to face situations that we dislike by doing the best we know in order to avoid doing things that we tell ourselves are too hard for us.

12 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 12 Irrational Belief No.8: The idea that you must be quite dependent on others and need them and cannot mainly run your own life. The belief that you must be quite dependent on others and need them and cannot mainly run your own life can be regarded as being an extension of Dr. Ellis coping with his terrible parental neglect. He soon realized early in life that he could not rely on his parents and that being dependent on them without being able to run his own life was probably leading him to disturbance. He soon realized that he could not depend on others and that he had to deal with his feelings independently and sooner rather than later. This irrational belief is based on the demand that we should maximize our tendency to be dependent on others so that they can make the choices for us. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as: the more you rely on others, the more you will make yourself give up many things that you want and the more you rely on others, the less you will tend to do things for yourself (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that we should maximize our tendency to be dependent on others so that they can make the choices for us, it is suggested to focus on the acceptance of the fact that you can always be respected when you make decisions for yourself. Irrational Belief No.9: The idea that a person s past history is an all-important determiner of one s present behavior and that because something once strongly affected one s life, it should indefinitely have a similar effect. The belief that one s history is an all-important determiner of one s present behavior can be viewed as being an extension of Dr. Ellis coping with his early hospitalization. His life from early ages was characterized by illness, headaches, nephritis, sleeplessness, stomach issues, and diabetes to the degree that he was once hospitalized for ten months at a young age. He could

13 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 13 have been a victim of his childhood experiences by having them impact his life negatively, but he was able to live with these experiences by perceiving them as past memories and not as something that would indefinitely impact the course of his life. This irrational belief rests on the demand that what happened in our past absolutely dictates our present behaviors. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as: we do not change our present because it is always influenced by our past. People tend to overgeneralize believing that because something was true in some circumstances in the past that it has to remain true in any circumstance. Also, people tend to employ easy solutions to our problems (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that what happened in our past absolutely dictates our present behaviors, it is suggested to accept the general idea that the past is relevant but that we can work on our present in order to change our future. Irrational Belief No.10: The idea that other people s disturbances are horrible and that one must feel very upset about them. The belief that other people s disturbances are horrible and that one must feel extreme upset about them represents an extension of Dr. Ellis coping with his parents divorce. He describes his father as someone who traveled a lot and had several affairs during his twelve years of marriage. He also describes his mother as an uncaring mother who was quite absent in terms of showing affection. At an early age, he realized that even if his parents were disturbed, it did not have to influence his life negatively to the point that he had to upset himself about them for the rest of his life. This irrational belief is based on the demand that other people s suffering is horrible and that we must feel very upset about them. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on

14 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 14 several faulty ideas such as the following. People must make ourselves upset when we think about other people s disturbance; we believe that by being upset we change other people s behaviors; you are distracted by others concerns and you do not address yours (Ellis, 1994). To counter this absolute demand that other people s suffering is horrible and that we must feel very upset about them, Dr. Ellis suggested to reframe the definition of horrible by focusing on whether the behaviors of others can be changed or not in order to minimize their horrific nature. Irrational Belief No.11: The belief that there is invariably a right, precise, and perfect solution to human problems and that it is awful if this perfect solution is not found. The belief that there is invariably a right, precise, and perfect solution to human problems and that it is awful if this perfect solution is not found represents an extension of Dr. Ellis coping with some events in his life where REBT did not personally work for him. He described an event that occurred in 1999 when he was scheduled to open a workshop in Colorado. His flight was delayed because of a thunderstorm, and the plane could land in time. He recalled failing to control his reactions and spending most of the time awfulizing obsessively. He clearly demonstrated that any of us can interrupt our functional life by having to cope with a situation that does not lead to a perfect solution. This irrational belief is based on the demand that we have absolute control over human problems. This demand is self-defeating because it is based on several faulty ideas such as: there is always a certain, perfect, and absolute truth in the world; there are horrors waiting for us if we don t arrive at a correct solution; and that perfectionism helps us to solve our problems (Ellis, 1994).

15 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 15 To counter this absolute demand that we have absolute control over the human problems, it is suggested to acquire a new philosophy based on a tendency to adapt problem-solving approaches in order to think about more balanced rather than perfect solutions. Personal Consideration Albert Ellis work and originality has influenced many clinicians in the field of clinical psychology and has shaped their lives personally and professionally. The existential nature of REBT has demonstrated its impact on helping people not only to change their beliefs and emotions, but also to explore their personal roots in order to address concerns regarding their values as human beings. I also have been mostly affected not only by his theoretical conceptualization of psychological disturbance but also by his philosophical worldview to promote healthy change. Finally, I personally know another generation of clinicians trained by Albert Ellis who honor his work and his legacy. I am sure that because of them, his originality will continue to characterize the field of psychology and REBT will continue remain one of the most innovative modalities to treat emotional disturbance.

16 ALBERT ELLIS AND PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY 16 References DiGiuseppe, A. R., Doyle, K. A., Dryden, W., & Backx, W. (2014). A Practitioner s Guide to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Ellis, A. (1994). Reason and emotions in psychotherapy- a comprehensive method of treating human disturbance. New York, NY: Birch Lane Press. Ellis, A. (2004). Rational Emotive behavior Therapy: It works for me It can work for you. New York, NY: Prometheus Books.