The ABCDE Method of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Introduction

The ABCDE model of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was developed by Albert Ellis, the founder of REBT, as a way to uncover and challenge irrational or self-defeating beliefs that lead to problematic emotional or behavioral consequences in our lives. (NOTE: REBT is the first form of cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT that was developed, and it differs from other cognitive-behavioral approaches in that it tends to be more philosophical in its approach.)

All people hold some irrational or unhelpful beliefs or engage in thought process errors. This is not something that only people experiencing mental health problems do—this is something all humans do. Learning to spot our thinking errors (see handout) allows us to challenge them proactively, and to avoid the reactions (consequences) that are causing problems in our lives.

NOTE: This exercise is best done with a therapist. A therapist can help you uncover triggers, problematic consequences, thinking errors, and find new, more helpful ways of thinking.

Instructions

1. Start by listing all Activating events or triggers that lead to problematic emotional or behavioral consequences in your life. Internal triggers are things like thoughts or memories. External triggers are things that happen in the world (examples: someone insults you; you miss the bus; it snows and the roads are icy).
   
   
2. List the problematic or undesirable emotional or behavioral Consequences that occur after these activating events (examples: I got angry, I yelled at my partner).
   
   
3. List all of the Beliefs or ways of thinking that link the activating events to the problematic consequences. This step often requires deeper analysis and self-reflection. Many of our beliefs operate unconsciously or implicitly—we may not even be aware of what we’re thinking or the assumptions we hold. Working with a therapist is especially helpful here, as they can help you uncover beliefs you didn’t know you had and recognize patterns in your thinking. Once you’ve identified your beliefs, examine them to see if you can spot any of these beliefs or ways of thinking on the common thinking errors handout.
   
   
4. Practice Disputing the thinking errors or self-defeating / irrational beliefs you identified. A therapist can be invaluable in this step as well, helping you find new ways of challenging problematic thinking patterns and offering perspectives you might not have considered on your own. See if you can spot the logical errors in the examples on the Common Thinking Errors handout.
   
   
5. Finally, think of new, rational and Effective (rational / helpful) beliefs and ways of thinking that you can use to replace your irrational or unhelpful beliefs or ways of thinking. Having a philosophy of life is very helpful here, as it helps to guide our thinking and our values. This could be a spirituality or philosophical school of thought you already identify with; alternatively, you can construct your own philosophy of life. Many people choose to integrate various aspects of existing philosophies of life into a coherent synthesis.
   

A (Activating event/s — internal or external; list as A1, A2, A3, and so on, if there are more than one)

B (Belief/s or ways of thinking — conscious or implicit; list as B1, B2, B3, and so on, if there are more than one)

C (Consequence/s — emotional or behavioral; list as C1, C2, C3, and so on, if there are more than one)

D (Disputation/s of beliefs or ways of thinking)

E (Effective new beliefs / life philosophy)

Further Explanation of the ABCDE Model

We all experience Activating events in life that trigger emotional and behavioral Consequences. Our Beliefs or automatic thoughts determine these consequences, to a great extent.

The same event can lead to different consequences, depending on the beliefs of the individual. For example, person #1 spills a drink on their pants and they make a joke about it, they try to dry it off, and then go about their day not giving it much more thought. Person #2 spills the same kind of drink on their pants and they get angry, they become embarrassed—they let this event ruin their whole day.

What is the difference between these two reactions? There could be a variety of factors that come into play—such as, personality differences, their life history, etc.—however, a major factor is how they think about the event.

Person #1 in this example seems more likely to hold adaptive (rational / helpful) beliefs and ways of thinking, such as: that they should only focus on what they can control (the drink has already been spilled; there is nothing they can do to change that, but they can control how they react to it); that their worth and esteem should come from themselves, not what others think of them (this mitigates feelings of embarrassment); that frustrations are part of life and that it benefits us to accept that life is messy and complicated (this prevents them from having low frustration tolerance).

Person #2 in this example seems more likely to hold irrational or self-defeating beliefs and ways of thinking, such as: worrying about things outside of their control (examples: what others think about them, what happens in the world, etc.); that it is unacceptable and horrible that frustrating things happen; that because this happened the rest of their day will be just as bad. These beliefs and ways of thinking are maladaptive (irrational or unhelpful).

Person #2, for whatever reason, might be predisposed to thinking in this way or experiencing anxiety, but they can learn to Dispute and replace this way of thinking and lessen their anxiety. By learning to spot and dispute their irrational or self-defeating beliefs, they are changing their habitual ways of thinking and actually “rewiring” their brains. They can then go on to adopt new, more Effective beliefs—and they may even adopt an effective philosophy of life that helps them to live, think, and act in a way that conforms with their values, and helps them to reach their life goals.

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