(This example is based on Byron Katie’s Four Questions, which I have found useful as an application of REBT/CBT. As far as I know, there have been no scientific studies of The Work, nor is Katie a licensed anything, nor am I, though, so take this with a grain of salt…). My son should clean up his room. Is it true? Yes! Absolutely! It’s a total mess! Can you absolutely know that it’s true? No, I cannot absolutely know that it’s true. How do you react when you think that thought? I feel guilty because my son’s room is a … Continue reading »
Jan 272008
Ideas which create self-defeating behavior Way of Being Your “At Effect” Programming 1 Emotionally Dependent The idea that we must have love and approval from all the people we find significant. Placing undue importance on what other people think of us. 2 The Perfectionist The idea that our personal worth is determined by our performance and achievement. We must always prove competent and flawless in order to be considered of value as a human being. 3 The Blamer The idea that when people act obnoxiously and unfairly toward us, they are Wrong and we should judge them and blame … Continue reading »
Jan 272008
Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) and its cousin, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have been researched quite a bit. A REBT counselor and researcher in Britain, Jim Byrne, offers this research summary. Of particular interest are his “Summary Notes On REBT Research” in Section 6 (there are no links to the sections…). The most recent meta-analysis that Byrne cites, published in 2005, concludes: A balanced approach, analyzing both the strengths and weakness, suggest that REBT has hundreds of research articles and that high-quality studies tend to support REBT’s basic theory and efficacy.
Jan 272008
Although research is as of yet inconclusive about whether meditation is beneficial, it has been beneficial to me. Admittedly, this is somewhat pseudo-scientific, yet the idea that calming the mind can benefit us seems valid, therefore I am including mindfulness as a healing tool. Just keep in mind that the jury is still out on whether meditation is better than simple relaxation or other similar tools. There is an interesting discussion on more recent research starting with this comment. Mindfulness is a way of bringing the meditative attention developed during meditation practice to every day life.
Jan 272008
Focusing is a humanistic, experiential approach, which may not pass most skeptics’ muster. I still include it here because I found it helpful (a rather experiential approach) even though I am not sure if the research on Focusing is very rigorous (a more objective approach). Focusing is a way to connect to your bodily wisdom to allow you to better understand what’s going on in your life. Eugene Gendlin, a professor at the University of Chicago, was frustrated because therapy seemed to help some people but not others. So, he decided to figure out what caused this difference. To his … Continue reading »
Dec 282007
Almost everybody by now knows that forgiveness is a good thing. If you carry around anger, you’re only hurting yourself, not the person you’re angry at, no matter how much you plot revenge. Plus, revenge is not sweet. It’s immature. So, when I realized that I was carrying around a big sack full of grudges against my ex-boyfriend, I decided I needed to forgive him. I just didn’t know how! An Internet search simply reaffirmed how important forgiveness is but there were no exercises that sounded that they would actually work. I decided to just start making a list of … Continue reading »
Recent Comments