Brief Interventions in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Abstract

In this chapter, I will consider the role of brief interventions in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. With its initial emphasis on problem assessment rather than on case formulation, REBT lends itself quite well to brief work. In this chapter by ‘brief’, I mean between 1 and 11 sessions and I will focus on REBT that is brief by design rather than by default. Although often when clients end therapy quickly, and the end is not planned, it should not be necessarily assumed that they have terminated the process ‘prematurely’ as their decision is often ‘mature’ and they are pleased with what they have achieved (Talmon, 1990). In this chapter, I focus on three different formats when discussing brief interventions in REBT (see below).