Life Transformation Through REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy) By Author “Anuj Chugh”
I had recently attended a 4-day course programme at Emoticons India, Pune, India covering Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy which consisted of two levels – Level one in which it is taught how to use this form of psychotherapy on yourself and Level two wherein we were asked to role-play and form pairs of one therapist and one client & perform live therapy amongst each other under the guidance of our mentors. It was an enlightening experience, motivating us to dust ourselves, break the action-behaviour patterns of our previously dull selves or past, if any or to motivate us to challenge our core assumptions that were based on mostly false premises and function at even greater levels in basically all that we choose to apply this most simple form of therapy to. Also I have understood from my one and a half decade of exploring and analysing all different forms of self-help that are out there that basically when you master the art fully, any one art, I must say, in pure unadulterated form, you have under your full grip and have been able to attain full mastery, the result is always happiness. The secret is not the books, the secret is not in the books, the secret is you and when you have attained this happiness through self-mastery, it is yours to keep. The others around you whom you come into contact with or happen to come into contact with, in the day-to-day dealings of your life, tend to become excited about your presence, they want to be around you as they sense something right about you, that you are the one and you have somehow cracked the mental code to your happiness. In reality, it is nothing. It is just the result or the culmination of continued efforts and practice in rational way of thinking, while keeping our beliefs and emotions in check (REBT) through rational thoughts and hence, being able to take charge of your emotions and creating new behaviour patterns that would actually take you somewhere in life, i.e. a place where you would love yourself to be, where hopes, wishes, and dreams do not just remain in fantasy’s domain but are either practical, or become practical and well within your reach. The basic underlying premise of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy that I like is that your life is precious and you should not be going through the hell you go through, but strive to improve your life conditions, make them better by making yourself wiser. How do you go about doing that? The chief is to target and attack your core irrational beliefs which are based on false premise. Deep down there is always an unconscious belief harboured that is not true and which causes us hopeless-ness, sadness, or depression. The role of the REBT practitioner or the REBT therapist is to trace / locate that core belief by probing deep on the recent activating event that have caused distress / cognitive dissonance to the client. The moment you understand and realize that what you have believed is not true, it hits upon you like a realization and dawns upon you like an enlightenment, like a friend from now on, always be at your side at all times, never to waiver or leave you. The result is you have ultimately become your own therapist and this will lead you to peak performance and lets you unleash your true potential. Once you accept the truthfulness of the new beliefs that are