THEORIES COMPARISON

Theories Comparison
Shahira bt Affandee (012013051039)
Management and Science University
DPC 0093 Theories of Psychotherapy in Counseling
Prepared for Ms Wan Zuat Yin

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Discussion of Counselling Theories

Background of the Counselling Theories
Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) is previously called rational therapy and
rational emotive therapy, is a complete, active-directive, theoretically and empirically based
psychotherapy which focuses on resolving emotional and behavioural problems and
disturbances and allow people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. REBT was created
and

developed

by

the

Albert

Ellis(1913-2007).

Retrieved

from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_emotive_behavior_therapy
Corey, G. REBT is one form of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and was first
expounded by Ellis in the mid-1950s; development continued until his death. REBT was the
first of the cognitive behaviour therapies. The basic conjecture to REBT is that people
contribute to their own psychological problems, as well as to specific symptoms, by the firm
and extreme beliefs they hold about the events and situations. REBT is based on the
assumption that cognitions, emotions, and behaviours interact significantly and have a
communal cause-and-effect relationship. Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy, 9, 291.
Corey, G. REBTs basic hypothesis is that our emotions stem mainly from our beliefs
which influence the evaluations and interpretations we make of the reactions we have to life
situations. Through the therapeutic process, clients learn skills that give them the tools to
identify and dispute irrational beliefs that have been acquired and self-constructed and now
are maintain by self-introdoctrination. They learn to replace thoughts that are affection them
with way of thinking that is more rational and relevant. The therapeutic process allows client
to apply REBT principles of change not only to a particular presenting problem but also to
many other problems in life or future problems they might encounter. Theory and Practice of
Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9, 292.

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Corey, G. Ellis maintains that transference are is not encouraged and when it does
occur, the therapist is likely to confront it. Ellis believes the transference may spontaneously
occur in therapy. When a clients deep feelings appear, transference and countertransference
that sometimes automatically appear in a counselling process, the client doesnt get the
chance to reveal their real feelings or abreact strongly about them. Ellis believe that such
work results in making client to feel better, but not get better. Theory and Practice of
Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9, 292.
The focus of this theory is working with the thinking and acting rather than expressing
feelings. Therapy is seen as an educational process.
Mulhauser, G. (2011). Ellis viewed humans as naturally irrational, self-defeating
individuals who need to be taught to change crooked thinking from self-defeating musts,
shoulds, oughts, and demands. People can be helpful and loving as long as they do not think
irrationally. The three areas in which people hold irrational beliefs are in thinking that they
must be perfect, that others must be perfect, and that the world must be a perfect place in
which to live. The goal of the therapy is to teach people to think and behave in a more
personally satisfying way by making them realize they have a choice between self-defeating,
negative behaviour and thought and a more efficient, enhancing, positive behaviour. This is
accomplished by teaching people to take responsibility for their own logical thinking and the
consequences

or

behaviours

that

follow

it.

Retrieved

from

http://counsellingresource.com/lib/therapy/types/rational-emotive/
REBT counsellors use exploration, ventilation, interpretation, confrontation,
indoctrination and re-education. Counsellors are didactic and frequently assign homework.
With children counsellors may find working on internal verbalization and role reversal
techniques helpful. Rational-emotive-behavioural education is an offspring of REBT that

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focuses on how feelings develop, how to discriminate between valid and invalid assumption,
and how to think rationally.

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Nystul, M. (2006) Person-Centred Therapy was first found by Carl Rogers (1902-1987) as
the fourth of six children. He was raised in a close-knit family with strict religious standard
(Rogers, 1961). In 1931 Rogers obtained a Ph. D, degree in clinical psychology from the
Teachers College of Columbia University.
Rogers then embarked on his professional career, taking a position as a
psychologistwith the Child Guidance Clinic of Rochester, New York. Shortly thereafter, in
1939, he wrote his first book, The clinical Treatment of the Problem Child, which was based
on his experience at the guidance centre. This led to his appointment as a full professor in
Psychology at Ohio State University. It was there during the 1940s that Rogers began to
formulate his own approach to conseling and psychotherapy, culminating in the publication
of Counseling and Psychotherapy in 1942.
From 1945 to 1964 Rogers held academic positions at the University of Chicago and
the University of Wisconsin. During this time he was able to continue developing his
personal approach and explore its implementation in education, group process, and
counselling and psychotherapy. Rogers noted that he had a somewhat negative experience
with his academic peers at Ohio State University and the University of Wisconcin (Heppner
et al., 1984). He felt he was not liked by his colleagues, although he did not have a
particularly high regard for them either. Not surprisingly, he preferred graduate students or
people outside the department as friends (Heppner et al., 1984). In 1964 Rogers left academia
permanently. During the last years of his career, he worked at the Institute for the Study of the
Person in La Jolla, California. Today, the institute continues to provide training opportunities
in person-centred counselling. Introduction to Counselling An art and Science Perspective,
3, 207.
McLeod, S (2008). Carl Rogers proposed that therapy could be simpler, warmer and
more optimistic than that carried out by behavioral or psychodynamic psychologists.

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His view differs sharply from the psychodynamic and behavioral approaches in that
he suggested that clients would be better helped if they were encouraged to focus on their
current subjective understanding rather than on some unconscious motive or someone else's
interpretation of the situation. Rogers strongly believed that in order for a client's condition to
improve therapists should be warm, genuine and understanding. The starting point of the
Rogerian approach to counseling and psychotherapy is best stated by Rogers (1986) himself.
"It is that the individual has within himself or herself vast resources for self-understanding,
for altering his or her self-concept, attitudes and self-directed behavior - and that these
resources can be tapped if only a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can
be provided."
Rogers rejected the deterministic nature of both psychoanalysis and behaviorism and
maintained that we behave as we do because of the way we perceive our situation. "As no
one else can know how we perceive, we are the best experts on ourselves." (Gross, 1992)
Believing strongly that theory should come out of practice rather than the other way round,
Rogers developed his theory based on his work with emotionally troubled people and claimed
that we have a remarkable capacity for self-healing and personal growth leading towards selfactualization. He placed emphasis on the person's current perception and how we live in the
here-and-now.
Rogers noticed that people tend to describe their current experiences by referring to
themselves in some way, for example, "I don't understand what's happening" or "I feel
different to how I used to feel".
Central to Rogers' (1959) theory is the notion of self or self-concept. This is defined
as "the organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself". It consists of all
the ideas and values that characterize 'I' and 'me' and includes perception and valuing of 'what
I am' and 'what I can do'.

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Consequently, the self-concept is a central component of our total experience and

influences both our perception of the world and perception of oneself. For instance, a woman
who perceives herself as strong may well behave with confidence and come to see her actions
as actions performed by someone who is confident.
The self-concept does not necessarily always fit with reality, though, and the way we
see ourselves may differ greatly from how others see us. For example, a person might be
very interesting to others and yet consider himself to be boring. He judges and evaluates this
image he has of himself as a bore and this valuing will be reflected in his self-esteem. The
confident woman may have a high self-esteem and the man who sees himself as a bore may
have a low self-esteem, presuming that strength/confidence are highly valued and that being
boring is not. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html

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Key concept of the Counseling Theories

REBT is emotional problems descend from childhood, and as a result, invented the ABC
theory of personality, (2005). In the proposed model of personality, A refers to the trigger or
event such as having an argument with a significant other. B serves as the clients belief
system about the event. For instance, the person who had an argument might believe that the
rest of their day has been ruined because of the argument they had earlier on. On the other
hand, C represents the consequence which can either be adaptive or maladaptive depending
on whether the A or event is perceived rationally or irrationally and the emotions arising as a
result, Corey (2009). If the event is perceived rationally, then adaptive or constructive
behaviour is portrayed e.g. relaxation, meditation or effective coping strategies, and the
person moves on with the rest of the day, Willson et al (2006). However, if irrational thoughts
(such as people should or must not argue with me) is attached to such events then problematic
behaviour is evident in the individual; this is where psychological, behavioural and emotional
problems start emerging from, Corey (2009). Willson et al (2006) lists a few examples of the
consequences that can arise from these irrational beliefs which range from drinking to
depression amongst many other disturbances which can be observed in day today life.
Wolfe,2007. A-B-C Framework. This model provides a useful tool for understanding clients
feelings, thoughts, events, and behaviour. Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy, 9, 293.

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Diagram source :http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/rational-emotive-behaviortherapy-rebt-definition-techniques.htmlRational emotive behaviour therapy is based on

the assumption that human beings are born with a potential for both rational, or straight,
thinking and irrational, or crooked, thinking. People have predispositions for selfpreservation, happiness, thinking and verbalizing, loving, communion with others, and
growth and self-actualization, endless repetition of mistakes, superstition, intolerance,
perfectionism and self-blame, and avoidance of actualizing growth potentials. REBT
encourages people to accept themselves even when they make mistakes. View of Human
Nature, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9, 292.
We actively reinforce our self-defeating beliefs through the processes of
autosuggestion and self-repetition, and we then behave in ways that are consistent with these
beliefs. It is largely our own repetition of early-indoctrinated irrational beliefs, rather than a
parents repetition, that keeps dysfunctional attitudes alie and operative within us. The
therapist teaches clients how to feel sad, but not depressed, even when they are unaccepted
and unloved by significant others. Ellis suggested that if we want to be psychologically

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healthy, we had better stop blaming ourselves and others and learn to fully and
unconditionally accept ourselves despite our imperfections. Ellis (Ellis & Blaus, I998; Ellis &
Harper, 1997) hypothesizes that we have strong tendencies to transform our desires and
preferences into domands and commands. View of Human Nature, Theory and Practice of
Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9, 292-293.
The Three Basic Musts: According to Albert Ellis and REBT, irrational beliefs are the
source of psychological distress. Any irrational belief stems from a core 'should', 'must', 'have
to', 'need to' statement. Ellis identifies three common irrational beliefs regarding demands
about the self, other people, or the world. These beliefs are known as 'The Three Basic Musts'
which include the following thoughts:
1. I must do well or else I am no good.
2. Other people must treat me fairly and kindly and if they don't, they are no good and they
deserve to be condemned and punished.
3. I must get what I want when I want it, and I must not get what I don't want. If I don't
what I want, I can't stand it.

get

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Nystul, M. (2006)

Person-Centred Therapy is based on Rasking and Rogers (2005)

when the note that trust is the most fundamental concept in person-centred therapy. This
theory contends that clients can be trusted to establish their own goals and monitor their
progress toward these goals. In addition, counsellors trust that all individuals have inherent
self-actualizing tendencies
Many other key concepts can be derived from Rogers (1951) theory of personality,
which is described in 19 propositions. The key concepts emphasize the role of a persons
internal frame of reference and the self in understanding the dynamics of behaviour. The
following are for propositions that characterize Rogers personality theory:
1. People react to the phenomenal field as the experience and perceive it.
A persons phenomenal field is his or her internal frame of reference for
perceiving the world. This proposition suggests that what a person
perceives will be influenced by the past experiences.
2. The best point to understanding behaviour is the internal frame of
reference of the person. This proposition is logically related to the first
proposition. Since each persons perception is unique, it can only be
understood from the persons internal frame of reference. Rogers
therefore advocated developing a phenomenological perspective when
working with clients, which involves understanding things from the
clients perspective.
3. People tend to behave in a manner consistent with their concept of
self. The self is the centre of the organism and consists of how a person
sees the self in relation to others. The self-attempts to foster
consistency within the organism by promoting behaviour that is
compatible to ones view of the self.

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4. The more people perceive and accept experiences, the more they will
tend to be accepting and understanding of others. Self-acceptance and
understanding are viewed as contributing factors in understanding and
accepting others as unique individuals.

Introduction to Counselling An art and Science Perspective, 3, 207.

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Therapeutic Process of Counselling theories

REBT
The therapeutic Goals of REBT involves a collaborative effort on the part of both the
therapist and the client in choosing realistic and self-enhancing therapeutic goals. The
therapists task is to help clients differentiate between realistic and unrealistic goals and also
self-defeating and self-enhancing goals. A basic goal is to teach clients how to change their
dysfunctional emotions and behaviors into healthy ones.
As the therapist, they show clients how they have incorporated many irrational
shoulds, oughts and musts. The therapist disputes clients irrational beliefs and
encourages clients to engage in activities that will counter their self-defeating beliefs and to
replace their rigid musts with preferences. Also, To demonstrate how clients are keeping
their emotional disturbances active by continuing to think illogically and unrealistically.
Other words, because clients keep reindoctrinating themselves, they are largely responsible
for their own personality problems and helping clients modify their thinking and minimize
their irrational ideas.
About REBT technique that might have been criticized is that it challenges clients to
develop a rational philosophy of life even though it is so that in future they can avoid
becoming the victim of other irrational beliefs. REBT is teaching clients about the cognitive
hypothesis of disturbance and showing how faulty beliefs lead to negative consequences.
Clients need to learn how to apply logical thought, participate in experiential exercises and
carry out behavioral homework as a way to bring about change. REBT mainly emphasizes
here-and-now experiences and clients present ability to change the patterns of thinking and
emoting that they constructed earlier. The therapist does not devote much time to explore
clients early history and making connections between their past and present behavior. Nor

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does the therapist usually explore clients early relationships with their parents or siblings and
clients are expected to actively work outside the therapy sessions while they learn to
minimize faulty thinking.
The cognitive methods that is applied in REBT are
a) Disputing irrational beliefs
a. Therapist actively disputing clients irrational beliefs and teaching them how
to do this challenging on their own. Ex : If I dont get the job I want, it may be
disappointing, but I can certainly stand it.
b) Doing cognitive homework
a. REBT clients are expected to make list of their problems, look for their
absolutist beliefs and dispute these beliefs. Use REBT Self-Help Form and
critically evaluate the disputation of some beliefs.
b. Homework assignments are the way of tracking down the shouldsand
musts that are part of their internalized self-message.
c. Also applying the A-B-C framework to many of the problems clients
encounter.
d. Encourage the clients in risk taking situations that will allow them to challenge
their self-limiting beliefs.
e. Encourage clients to be more positive rather than negative.
c) Changing ones language
a. Clients learn that musts, shoulds can be replaced by preferences.
b. Instead saying It would be absolutely awful if.. to It would be
inconvenient if..
d) Psychoeducational methods
a. REBT and many other therapy introduces clients to various educational
materials.
b. Therapists educate clients about the nature of their problems and how
treatment is likely to proceed.
c. They ask clients how particular concepts apply to them.
d. Clients are to cooperate with a treatment program if they understand how the
therapy process works and if they understand why particular techniques are
being used.

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Emotive techniques of REBT are such as Rational emotive imagery which is a form
of intense mental practice designed to establish new emotional patterns. Clients imagine
themselves thinking, feeling and behaving exactly the way they would like to think, feel, and
behave in real life. It can also be shown how to imagine one of the worst things that could
happen to them, how to intensely experience their feelings etc. Some therapists may also use
humour in REBT contends that emotional disturbances often result from taking oneself too
seriously. Humour shows the absurdity of certain ideas that clients steadfastly maintain, and it
can be of value in helping clients take themselves much less seriously. Ellis uses humorous
songs, and he encourages people to sing to themselves or in a group when they feel depressed
or anxious. The other technique is role playing in which sometimes clients have unhealthy
feelings or disturbances. Therefore, clients can rehearse certain behaviors to underlying
irrational beliefs that are related to unpleasant feelings.
E.g : You will feel stupid of not being unemployed in one company, therefore you can
mock interview to reduce the anxiety.
Shame-attacking exercises are also used in REBT. Ellis developed exercises to help people
reduce shame over behaving in certain ways. He thinks that we can stubbornly refuse to feel
ashamed by telling ourselves that it is not catastrophic if someone thinks we are foolish.
The exercise are aimed at increasing self-acceptance and mature responsibility, as well as
helping clients see that much of what they think of being shameful has to do with the way
they define reality for themselves. Lastly is the use of force and vigor
The use of force and energy as a way to help clients go from intellectual to emotional insight.
Clients are also shown how to conduct forceful dialogues with themselves in which they
express their unsubstantiated belief and the powerfully dispute them. Sometimes the therapist
will engage in reverse role playing by strongly clinging to the clients self-defeating

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philosophy. Then, the client is asked to vigorously debate with the therapist in an attempt to
persuade him or her to give up these dysfunctional ideas. Force and energy are a basic part of
shame-attacking exercises. Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9.
As for the Behavioral technique of REBT, therapists use most of the standard
behavior therapy procedures, especially operant conditioning, self-management principles
relaxation techniques etc. Behavioral homework assignments to be carried out in real-life
situations are important. Homework gives clients opportunities to practice new skills outside
of the therapy session, which may be even more valuable for clients than work done during
the therapy hour.

Person-Centred
Rogers (1951, 1961) minimizes the importance or use of techniques. Instead of relying on
techniques, he emphasized the importance of the counselling relationship. He believed that
the counselling relationship can create core conditions that are the necessary and sufficient
conditions for the clients self-actualization. In addition, the person-centred therapist uses
listening skills to communicate empathic understanding and help the client explore inner
choices. Introduction to Counselling An art and Science Perspective, 3, 209.

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The goals of person-centred therapy are (Seligman, 2006):

1. To facilitate clients trust and ability to be in the present moment. This allows the
2.
3.
4.
5.

client to be honest in the process without feeling judged by the therapist.

To promote clients self-awareness and self-esteem.
To empower the client to change.
To encourage congruence in the clients behaviour and feelings.
To help people to gain the ability to manage their lives and become self-actualised.

The techniques employed in person-centred therapy are different from those employed in
other therapies. The difference is that other therapies are often focused on something the
client can do during the therapy session, whereas the techniques used in person-centred
therapy are employed by the therapist to create an environment that facilitates the process of
self-awareness.
The following techniques will be discussed in relation to the person-centred approach:
congruence, unconditional positive regard and acceptance, empathy, and reflection of
feelings.
1. Congruence: Congruence is whether or not therapists are genuine and authentic in
what they say and do. Quite often, if the therapist is saying one thing but the body
language is reflective of something else, clients are aware of this and may impact on
their trust and openness in the therapeutic relationship (Seligman, 2006). For example,
a therapist may say I understand where you are coming from to a client but have a
confused look on his or her face. The client can see this confusion and feels
uncomfortable with expressing feelings from this point forward. Therefore, a major
role of therapists is to be aware of their body language and what they are saying as
well as being in the present moment. If confusion arises, the therapist needs to be able
to address this with the client. Going back to the previous example of the therapist
stating understanding and having a confused look, the therapist notices the client
looks uneasy after the comment about understanding and goes on to explain to the

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client why and how he or she understands the statement. This puts the client at ease
and ensures the continuation of trust.
2. Unconditional positive regard: Unconditional positive regard refers to the therapist
accepting, respecting and caring about clients (Seligman, 2006). It does not mean the
therapist has to agree with everything the client says or does, however, the therapist
should see the client as doing the best he or she can and demonstrate this by
expressing concern rather than disagreeing with him or her. Unconditional positive
regard allows clients to express how they are thinking without feeling judged, and
help to facilitate the change process by showing they can be accepted.
3. Empathy: Empathy is a skill used by person-centred therapists to show understanding
of the clients emotions. Empathy is different to sympathy in that sympathy is often
seen as feeling sorry for the client whereas empathy shows understanding and allows
the client to further open up (Seligman, 2006). An example follows:
Client: I feel as though no one cares about me and that I am all alone.
Empathy response: So you are feeling alone at the moment and as if no one cares.
Sympathy response: Im sorry that you feel that way.
Non-directiveness: The person-centred approach utilises non-directiveness as a technique by
its therapists.
Non-directiveness refers to allowing clients to be the focus of the therapy session
without the therapist giving advice or implementing strategies or activities.

Other techniques that person-centred therapists use in the therapeutic process include
reflection of feelings, open questions, paraphrasing and encouragers. Examples of each
follow:
1. Reflection of feelings:
Client: I didnt know what to do; I was so confused and angry.

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Counsellor: So you are feeling confused and angry.

2. Open Questions:
Client: I had a car accident the other day and the other person got out and started abusing.
Counsellor: And how did that make you feel?
3. Paraphrasing:
Client: I have been feeling depressed for the past 2 months since I broke up with my
partner. I am having trouble sleeping and cant concentrate at work.
Counsellor: So the feeling of depression is impacting on your everyday life.
4. Encouragers:
Client: It makes me feel like crying, I dont know what to do.
Counsellor: Uh-huh

The person-centred approach can be applied to working with individuals, groups and families
(Corey, 2005). The person-centred approach has been successful in treating problems
including anxiety disorders, alcoholism, psychosomatic problems, agoraphobia, interpersonal
difficulties, depression, and personality disorders (Bozrath, Zimring & Tausch, as cited in
Corey, 2005).
It could also be used in counselling people with unwanted pregnancy, illness or loss of a
loved one. When compared with other therapies such as goal-focused therapies, personcentred therapy has been shown to be as effective as them (Corey, 2005). Retrieved from
http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/person-centred-therapy/

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Comparison and Contrast of the Counselling Theories

SIMILARITIES

DIFFERENCES

Both believe that great optimism

that people can change, even when

REBT

PERSON-CENTERED

deeply disturbed.
A perception that individuals are

Therapists provide much

Therapists encourages the

often unnecessarily self-critical,

direction.

client to

THEORIES COMPARISON
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and that negative attitudes can

become positive

(What to think, what

determine direction.

thinking is rational or not)

(Client come to their own

rationales and decide to help

Belief that human being are

Therapists work hard to

themselves)
Therapists accept and respect

essentially rational

point out deficiencies in

their client's

their clients

ways of thinking and

thought processes

perceiving. (Clients are free

(Like how they shouldnt

to think or feel the way they

have corporated the

really are feeling, no thinking

irrational l shoulds,

is wrong or right)

They believed that clients can

oughts and musts.)

Methods

Therapy leads to actions

change, even if they are deeply

include homework

chosen by clients (client

disturbed

assignments by the

apply their own solution and

therapist. (Bibliography

action in which they have

method, poem, book

decided is best for them)

Clients willingness to change is as

reading)
Therapists point out the

Therapists relate to clients on

important for the techniques to be

irrational harm

a feeling level, in a respectful

clients may be doing to

and accepting way

success.

themselves and to
interpersonal
Clients can turn negative selfattitude into positive ones.

relationships.
Behavioural Approach

Humanistic Approach

THEORIES COMPARISON
22

The willingness to work hard in

Believes that humans can

The basis of the model is

helping clients, particularly through

self heal if the core

Action ,Belief and

professional therapy and

conditions are in place

Consequence

nontechnical writing
Both act as guidelines to therapist

Counsellor teaches

The relationship between the

and as a haft in treatment process

technique,homework and

client and the counsellor is

uses worksheets to aid the

the most important aspect of

therapy

the therapy succeeding

Strength and weaknesses of Theories

REBT
As for advantages or strengths, REBT is a drug-free approach for people looking for
solutions in changing the way they think, not using drug therapy. The results are seen
relatively quickly because of the emphasis on the present. The therapist does not need to
delve into every bad thing that ever happened. He/she needs to look at a few activating
situations and do exercises about how to change your thinking about these events. another
advantage is that once a person becomes well-versed in the technique, he/she can use it
anytime if the negative or irrational beliefs appear. When a person is skilled at the technique,
there may not be a need to go to a therapist every time. but hard work is the only way to feel
better and continue to feel better about yourself. So, we must do the work on a daily basis to
help us understand our behavior.

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As for the weaknesses, because REBT is a very active approach, people need to be
willing to take responsibility for their beliefs and actions and be willing to "do the work." it
can be a long and difficult process to uncover the musts that we tell ourselves, and then to go
about disproving them. Some people are just not drawn to a philosophy of unconditional love,
either for themselves or others. Some people cannot move past the traumas in their own lives
to arrive at unconditional love whereas intelligent, self-reflective people will arrive at
conclusions much more quickly. Another criticism is that this technique would be easy to
practice poorly and since the approach is loose, it would be easy to get off track. Some people
would even say that all the talking and "disputing" could be better spent "doing" something
about the problems. For people who don't like to talk, this would probably not be the best
approach. If the client does not want to be an active participant in changing the way he/she
thinks, this method would not be a good fit. Or even if a client is already very skilled in selfreflection,

this

might

be

less

http://www.stressgroup.com/abcscrashcourse.html

useful

approach.

Retrieved

from

THEORIES COMPARISON
24

Person-Centered Theory
The Strengths of this theory is that it offers a perspective that is up-to-date and
optimistic (Seligman, 2006) and many aspects are relevant to a multicultural perspective
(Seligman, 2006).It has provided a basis for many other therapies such as the emphasis on the
client-therapist relationship (Seligman, 2006). Research has substantiated the importance of
the client-therapist relationship (Seligman, 2006). Other than that, clients have a positive
experience in therapy when the focus is on them and their problems and clients feel they can
express themselves more fully when they are being listened to and not judged.
The Weaknesses of this theory is that the approach may lead therapists to just be
supportive of clients without challenging them (Corey, 2005) and this will lead to difficulty in
therapists allowing clients to find their own way (Corey, 2005). It could be an ineffective way
to facilitate therapy if the therapist is non-directive and passive (Corey, 2005). It can
sometimes turn to be something simplistic and unrealistically optimistic (Seligman, 2006).

THEORIES COMPARISON
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Also, the Person-centred therapy does not draw on developmental, psychodynamic or

behavioural therapy thus limiting the overall understanding of clients (Seligman, 2006)
because listening and caring may not be enough (Seligman, 2006) therefore it may not be
useful with significant psychopathology (Seligman, 2006). It is also not appropriate for those
who are not motivated to change. It Fails to prepare clients for the real world due to the
unconditional positive regard of the therapist (Seligman, 2006). Also, it uses lack of
techniques

to

help

clients

solve

problems

(Seligman,

2006).

Retrieved

from

http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/person-centred-therapy/

Conclusion
As for REBT, in todays Clinical experience and a growing supply of experimental
evidence show that REBT is effective and efficient at reducing emotional pain. When Albert
Ellis created REBT in the 1950's he met with much resistance from others in the mental
health field. Today it is one of the most widely-practiced therapies throughout the world. In
the early days of REBT, even Dr. Ellis did not clearly see that consistent use of its
philosophical system would have such a profound effect on the field of psychotherapy or on
the lives of the millions of people who have benefited from it.
Even though REBT may have been criticized in various aspects it is still one of the most
useful technique in todays era. The most common criticism of REBT is that it is too harsh
it is overly didactic and that REBT therapists put words in the mouths of their clients. Critics
imagine that the client will say, Im angry at my brother, and that the therapist will say,
Thats because you are telling yourself that he MUST do what you want him to do. From

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now on, tell yourself that, although you WANT him to do things, it is not logical to think that
he MUST! However, this criticism seems to be more a reflection of the therapists personal
style rather than of REBT. Retrieved from http://rebtinstitute.org/blog/2011/12/29/rebtcriticism-theory-or-personal-style/
But lets suppose that Albert was overly didactic and harsh. REBT theory posits that there are
four types of irrational beliefs and that, in order to get better, it is important to change those
beliefs to more rational ones. Albert provided various disputes to help challenge the irrational
beliefs. Yet, the disputes arent overly didactic in themselves. Nothing in the theory discusses
presentation of these beliefs to clients. In fact, therapeutic theories rarely discuss how to
present the theories to clients. Only humanistic, I think.

So my point is, REBT theory can be lectured, yelled, or asked in a series of questions.
How it is presented is really up to the therapist; it is not ingrained in the theory itself. In fact,
Janet Wolfe does a great job of disputing periodically in her video presentations. Clearly,
every therapist is different. Not all REBT therapists are alike, and neither are all
psychodynamic or even humanistic therapists. Whether or not a therapist is overly harsh is
completely up to the therapist.
The Person-Centered therapy are also being widely used by all therapist around the
world now. Rogers initially started out calling his technique non-directive therapy. While his
goal was to be as non-directive as possible, he eventually realized that therapists guide clients
even in subtle ways. He also found that clients often do look to their therapists for some type
of guidance or direction. Eventually, the technique came to be known as client-centered

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therapy. Today, Rogers' approach to therapy is often referred to by either of these two names,
but it is also frequently known simply as Rogerian therapy.
It is also important to note that Rogers was deliberate in his use of the term client
rather than patient. He believed that the term patient implied that the individual was sick and
seeking a cure from a therapist. By using the term client instead, Rogers emphasized the
importance of the individual in seeking assistance, controlling their destiny and overcoming
their difficulties. Self-direction plays a vital part of client-centered therapy.
Much like psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Rogers believed that the therapeutic
relationship could lead to insights and lasting changes in a client. While Freud focused on
offering interpretations of what he believed were the unconscious conflicts that led to a
client's troubles, Rogers believed that the therapist should remain non-directive. That is to
say, the therapist should not direct the client, should not pass judgments on the client's
feelings and should not offer suggestions or solutions. Instead, the client should be the one in
control.
Though, it may have been criticize about its effectiveness. There are also certain
individuals that this theory application may be limited to be applied on them. Usually, this
theory can really upset the Ego of a person (we all have egos = our self-concept the voice
that tells you how things should be and how you should do things). Egos demand that we do
things, fix things. Egos do not believe that things get better without intentional action. As
such this theory does not always work for people who are having a difficult time controlling
the just fix it already demands of their ego. It is hard for many people to believe that
humans can reach resolutions by simply working on their more fundamental attributes (such
as self-awareness). This indeed can be a difficult theory for some people to accept, as it
requires trust in your innate ability and patients for that ability to develop. Most of the
therapist now feel like this these conditions are necessary but not sufficient. It can become

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supportive without challenging the client, which makes change difficult. It also places limits
on therapists behavior within the session, such as limiting their teaching or guiding role. But
still, the person-centered theory still have its own rationale. The basic hypothesis of the
person-centred approach is that potentially the person who can best understand and change
the client is the client himself. The task of the therapist is to create the conditions where the
client feels free enough, strong enough to do that. The obvious advantages of this emphasis
on the centrality of you, the client, are that your "solutions" are more likely to be the ones
which fit you. You are more likely to be able to act upon your own decision than any of mine.
For a longer term, "social educational", effect is that having seen yourself come to your own
solution and act upon it you may be more able to do the same for yourself on future
problems. Another even more basic part of the rationale for this focus on the "reality" of the
client is that often there is no other way that therapy can meaningfully proceed (this would be
particularly obviously. Retrieved from
http://www.elementsuk.com/libraryofarticles/thepcato.pdf

After all, both of the theories has their own pros and cons. Both of them are still
applicable to certain individuals depending on the character of a person. It requires a lot of
attention and observation by the counsellor or therapy to identify which techniques are most
suitable. But as for my own opinion, REBT would definitely suit most of the clients while it
will also challenges the skill of the therapist while enhancing their ability and statistic has
shown that REBT conduct to better and quicker improvement in clients.

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References

Corey, C. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling & psychotherapy. (7th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning.

Corsini, R.J., & Wedding, D. (2000). Current Psychotherapies. (6th ed.). Belmont,
CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

George, R.L., & Cristiani, S. (1995). Counseling, theory and practice. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon Publishers.

Rogers, C. (1961). On becoming a person: A therapists view of psychotherapy.

London: Constable.

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Seligman, L. (2006). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems, strategies,

and skills. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Ltd.

Corey G. (2011). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 9.

Albert Elliss Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Key concepts (REBT), The

therapeutic process (REBT), Application of REBT, 291-300.

Mulhauser, G (2011) Underlying Theory of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy.

http://counsellingresource.com/lib/therapy/types/rational-emotive/
Nystul, M (2008) Introduction to Counselling An art and Science Perspective, 3,

207, 208,209,242,243,244
AIPC Article Library

http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/person-centred-therapy/
The Library of Articles

http://www.elementsuk.com/libraryofarticles/thepcato.pdf
The ABC's of REBT
http://www.stressgroup.com/abcscrashcourse.html