The Use of Cognitive, Emotive and Behavioral Interventions in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy When Clients Lack “Emotional” Insight

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy practitioners from around the world reported their use of cognitive, emotive, behavioral, or other interventions, both in sessions and as homework when responding to clients who reported intellectual insight but were not moved by it. Practitioners were exceptionally prone to using cognitive interventions during sessions and not particularly inclined toward emotive interventions either during sessions or as homework.     

Treatment Interventions for Perfectionism—A Cognitive Perspective: Introduction to the Special Issue

The current article provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue and includes a discussion of key issues pertaining to psychological treatments for perfectionism. We describe and review two new treatment intervention studies in this special issue that focus on perfectionism in university students as well as other contemporary research on the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat perfectionists. While the significant reductions in levels of perfectionism as a result of treatment are noteworthy, we caution that perfectionism is a relatively enduring trait; thus, some perfectionists will remain treatment resistant and overall levels of perfectionism may remain relatively high even when significant improvements are realized. Moreover, we discuss the established tendency for perfectionism to be associated with residual symptoms of distress following treatment. As part of our discussion of the other articles in this special issue, we highlight cognitive factors of likely significance in the treatment of perfectionism, including the ruminative response style, the tendency to experience perfectionistic automatic thoughts, and the role of core irrational beliefs in the development of perfectionism. These articles underscore the need to consider key cognitive factors that are central to dysfunctional forms of perfectionism. This special issue on perfectionism is the third special issue on this topic to appear in the Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy under the editorialship of Windy Dryden. We are very grateful for the continuing opportunity in this journal to explore issues related to the cognitive and treatment aspects of perfectionism.     

Albert Ellis and the Buddha: rational Soul Mates? A comparison of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Zen Buddhism

Although religion and psychology are generally conceived of as distinct domains, the theoretical underpinnings of certain psychological theories are inextricably related to religious ideology. This relationship is perhaps best exemplified by the theoretical and applied similarity between Buddhist principles and Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). Sharing a common purpose, both the Buddha and Ellis set out to improve the human condition, and to do so in a rational, empirical manner. The significance of these parallels is discussed in relation to the incorporation of early Buddhist and Zen Buddhism concepts into the current practice of REBT.     

A Functional Approach to the Assessment and Treatment of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Veterans: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy–Informed Perspective

Given that non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is related to increased odds of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, treating NSSI in veterans is a key treatment priority to help reduce suicide risk and increase quality of life. Treating NSSI can be difficult for clinicians and training in addressing NSSI can enhance therapist empathy and decrease negative attitudes. The current paper describes prevalence of and risk factors for NSSI in veterans and presents a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)-informed approach for arriving at a functional understanding of NSSI in order to inform assessment and treatment. This DBT-informed approach is demonstrated with two case examples of veteran clients. While in many circumstances treatment of NSSI may be most effective in the context of full model DBT (i.e., individual therapy, group skills training, phone coaching, and therapist consultation team), many aspects of the functional approach discussed herein are not specific to DBT and could therefore be integrated into behavioral analyses and case formulations conducted within non-DBT therapeutic approaches.     

A History of “Behavior” and “Mind”: Use of Behavioral and Cognitive Terms in the 20th Century

The Psychological Record - If we assume that the terms used in a book tend to reflect its orientation, this provides a way to compare the relative trajectories of the influences of cognitivism and...     

Warrior Resilience and Thriving (WRT): Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) as a Resiliency and Thriving Foundation to Prepare Warriors and Their Families for Combat Deployment and Posttraumatic Growth in Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2005–2009

Warrior Resilience and Thriving (WRT) and Warrior Family Resilience and Thriving were the U.S. Army’s first combat Soldier and Family cognitive resiliency training classes based on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). WRT, as a pilot program, was designed to enhance soldier and family resiliency, thriving and posttraumatic growth prior to, during and following combat deployments. WRT alloys REBT self-coaching, Army Warrior Ethos, Stoic, survivor and resiliency strategies to teach and promote advanced resiliency, emotional management and critical thinking to soldiers and their families. This article will describe efforts initiated by the author, who served twice in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he developed WRT, as well as training he conducted for over 12,500 Warriors as the Prevention Team Leader for the 98th Combat Stress Control Detachment serving Baghdad. Risk Factors for Army Warriors and families and the advantages of existential and philosophically-based interventions like REBT are described along with a brief inventory of Army resiliency initiatives.     

Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1—A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships

Investigators have long recognized that adolescents’ peer experiences provide a crucial context for the acquisition of developmental competencies, as well as potential risks for a range of adjustment difficulties. However, recent years have seen an exponential increase in adolescents’ adoption of social media tools, fundamentally reshaping the landscape of adolescent peer interactions. Although research has begun to examine social media use among adolescents, researchers have lacked a unifying framework for understanding the impact of social media on adolescents’ peer experiences. This paper represents Part 1 of a two-part theoretical review, in which we offer a transformation framework to integrate interdisciplinary social media scholarship and guide future work on social media use and peer relations from a theory-driven perspective. We draw on prior conceptualizations of social media as a distinct interpersonal context and apply this understanding to adolescents’ peer experiences, outlining features of social media with particular relevance to adolescent peer relations. We argue that social media transforms adolescent peer relationships in five key ways: by changing the frequency or immediacy of experiences, amplifying experiences and demands, altering the qualitative nature of interactions, facilitating new opportunities for compensatory behaviors, and creating entirely novel behaviors. We offer an illustration of the transformation framework applied to adolescents’ dyadic friendship processes (i.e., experiences typically occurring between two individuals), reviewing existing evidence and offering theoretical implications. Overall, the transformation framework represents a departure from the prevailing approaches of prior peer relations work and a new model for understanding peer relations in the social media context.     

“It Would Be a Shame to Lose Them”: A Critical Historical,Scoping, and Expert Review on the Use of Projective Assessments in Occupational Therapy,Part I

Projective assessments have a long history in occupational therapy, yet their relevance may be questioned. This first article reviews the clinical utility of projective assessments by providing a critical history of their development, followed by a scoping review of the current evidence. The second article outlines the opinions of nine experts in this field. Through this comprehensive process, conceptual and methodological issues are articulated in order to suggest educational and clinical guidelines, and future research avenues. The place of projective assessments in occupational therapy is demonstrated as a salient specialty area of practice in the current evolving landscape of mental health.     

“It Would Be a Shame to Lose Them”: A Critical Historical,Scoping, and Expert Review on the Use of Projective Assessments in Occupational Therapy,Part II

Projective assessments have a long history in occupational therapy, yet their relevance may be questioned. Part I of this article provided a critical history of their development and a scoping review of the evidence. This second article outlines an interview-based qualitative study of the clinical and academic perspectives of nine experts. Through this comprehensive two-part article, conceptual and methodological issues are articulated in order to suggest educational and clinical guidelines, and future research avenues. The place of projective assessments in occupational therapy is demonstrated as a salient specialty area of practice in the current evolving landscape of mental health.     

The Boundaries of Woman’s Spirituality in the Beliefs–Spirituality–Religiousness (B–S–R) Model: A Third Perspective—Beliefs as a Cognitive Basis

The real nature of the phenomenon of woman’s Spirituality is the main contemporary challenge for empirical research. The literature needs many more examples of the cognitive genesis of worldviews, Spirituality and Religiousness. The first aim of this article is to present the central tenet of the Threefold Nature of Spirituality model which theoretically explains the nature of Spirituality and the theoretical relationship between beliefs (worldviews), Spirituality and Religiousness (B–S–R model). The second aim is the empirical verification of this relationship through the application of an analysis of mediation. The 308 participants were women aged 18–50 years (M = 25.25, SD = 9.42). The results obtained indicate that is a good mediator between an individual’s worldview and Religiousness. Presented analysis of mediation allows us to describe the basic functioning mechanism of the spiritual sphere and the relationship between the three elements: worldview, Spirituality and Religiousness.