Rational and Irrational Beliefs: Research, Theory, and Clinical Practice

Daniel David · Steven Jay Lynn · Albert Ellis

Aug 2009 · Oxford University Press

About this ebook

In Rational and Irrational Beliefs: Research, Theory, and Clinical Practice, leading scholars, researchers, and practitioners of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) and other cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) share their perspectives and empirical findings on the nature of rational and irrational beliefs, the role of beliefs as mediators of functional and dysfunctional emotions and behaviors, and clinical approaches to modifying irrational beliefs, enhancing rational beliefs, and adaptive coping in the face of stressful life events. Offering a comprehensive and cohesive approach to understanding REBT/CBT and its central constructs of rational and irrational beliefs, contributors review a steadily accumulating empirical literature indicating that irrational beliefs are associated with a wide range of problems in living and that exposure to rational self-statements can decrease anxiety and other psychological symptoms, and play a valuable role in health promotion and disease prevention. Contributors also identify new frontiers of research and theory, including the link between irrational beliefs and other cognitive processes such as memory, psychophysiological responses, and evolutionary and cultural determinants of rational and irrational beliefs. A truly accessible, state-of-the-science summary of REBT/CBT research and clinical applications, Rational and Irrational Beliefs is an invaluable resource for psychotherapy practitioners of all theoretical orientations, as well as instructors, students, and academic psychologists.

About the author

Daniel David, Ph.D. is Aaron T. Beck Professor of Clinical Cognitive Sciences and Head of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Babe?-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He is also an adjunct professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Steven Jay Lynn, Ph.D., ABPP is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychological Clinic at Binghamton University. He was ranked in the Journal of Clinical Psychology as one of the "Top Producers of Scholarly Publications in Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Programs," and has received distinguished professional and scientific contribution awards from the American Psychological Association. Albert Ellis, Ph.D. was President Emeritus of the Albert Ellis Institute at the time of his death in 2007. An originator of the cognitive revolutionary paradigm shift in psychotherapy and the father of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavior therapy, Ellis was one of the most influential psychotherapists of all time.