ALBERT ELLIS: HIS LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Albert Ellis is the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and the President of the Albert Ellis Institute. He has been referred to as one of the most influential psychotherapists in America (see: Davison, Neale and Kring, 2003) and has written or edited more than 50 books and monographs as well as published over 700 articles. In addition, Ellis has received numerous awards from such prestigious organizations as the American Psychological Association, the American Humanist Association, the American Academy of Psychotherapists, the Society for the Study for Scientific Sex, the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and the Academy of Psychologists in Marital and Family Therapy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the life of Albert Ellis. The paper focuses on his formative experiences, his theory and methods of therapy (emphasizing their contribution to psychology), and also reviews the research findings related to his work. The next section of the paper presents some critiques of REBT in relation to contemporary views of psychology. The paper ends with a brief summary and the formulation of conclusions formulated based on the reviewed material.

As to the influences that facilitated his many accomplishments, Weiner's (1988) biography of Albert Ellis indicates that there were two life-changing situations in Ellis' life. Born in 1913 in New York City, when E

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principle (Activating event, Belief/Thought Processes, Emotional Consequences). The client is then asked challenging questions regarding the logic of his response to activating/adverse events. Challenging any observed irrationality in the clients' thought processes is sometimes done using imaginal disputation in which the client is asked to use imagery to imagine a situation that makes him upset. Commonly, Gladding (1996) states, imaginal disputation is used in one of two ways. The first way is to have the client imagine the situation, examine the self-talk, and then change the self-talk leading to a more moderate and reasoned response. The second way is to have the client imagine a situation in which he or she responds differently than is habitual. The self-talk in this imagery is discussed and examined. Another REBT technique discussed by Gladding (1996) is the Emotional Control Card. This is an actual card intended for the client to carry. The card contains a list of inappropriate or self-destructive feelings countered with appropriate non-defeating thoughts and feelings. If clients find themselves in difficult situations, this card is used as quick reference to help intervene and not only stop the negative self-talk but
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Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)