This classic article by Albert Ellis is one of the first published accounts of rational psychotherapy; a theory of personality and a system of therapeutic technique that would eventually develop into what is now known as rational emotive behavior therapy. In the course of this landmark paper Ellis introduces and expands upon his hypothesis that thinking represents the most important way in which human emotion is caused and controlled. He then goes on to outline the main points of agreement and disagreement between rational therapy and the individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. Rational Psychotherapy and Individual Psychology by Albert Ellis (Kindle edition) forms part of an initiative by the website www.all-about-psychology.com to make important, insightful and engaging psychology publications widely available.
Author
Albert Ellis was an American psychologist who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He held M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University and American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He also founded and was the President of the New York City-based Albert Ellis Institute for decades. He is generally considered to be one of the originators of the cognitive revolutionary paradigm shift in psychotherapy and the founder of cognitive-behavioral therapies. Based on a 1982 professional survey of USA and Canadian psychologists, he was considered as the second most influential psychotherapist in history (Carl Rogers ranked first in the survey; Sigmund Freud was ranked third).
