PROFESSIONAL PROFILE – ALBERT ELLIS INSTITUTE: 1965-2013

I. TRAINING/EDUCATION

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the original mode of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). For more than fifty years, the Albert Ellis Institute (AEI) – the original home of REBT/CBT – has offered training in REBT/CBT to a substantial number of mental health professionals (i.e., psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers). In addition, its affiliated training centers – 26 affiliated centers worldwide – also have offered REBT/CBT training for mental health professionals. Only those mental health professionals who met the stringent quality criteria and passed examinations have been awarded REBT certificates. As a result, REBT has become one of the most wide-spread and practiced forms of CBT globally among mental health professionals.

• Primary Certificate in REBT – more the 13,000 mental health professionals awarded;

• Advanced Certificate in REBT – more than 5,000 mental health professionals awarded;

• Associate Fellowship Certificate in REBT – more than 650 mental health professionals (this is a one or two year extramural training) awarded;

• Fellowship Certificate in REBT – more than 350 mental health professionals (this is a two year intramural training at the AEI) awarded;

• Supervisory Certificate in REBT – more than 460 mental health professionals awarded.

Note: These numbers do not take into account the certificates issued by AEI’s affiliated training centers worldwide, who have received permission to issue certificates independently of the AEI (although they must comply with the curricula approved by the International Training Standards and Policy Review Committee in REBT and must report annually to the AEI). Additionally, these numbers do not include professionals trained in REBT by academic/university curricula (e.g., in USA, United Kingdom, Romania, etc.) and numerous paraprofessionals (e.g., parents in REBT/CBT parenting programs) who are not eligible for certification.

II. THERAPY

Since the mid 1980s’, the Albert Ellis Institute (AEI) has offered psychotherapy services in the form of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavior therapy (REBT/CBT) to more than 60, 000 clients (i.e., children/adolescents, adults), in the form of individual, couples, family, and group therapy, covering a large spectrum of clinical problems (for details about the clinical problems treated at AEI please check http://www.albertellis/.org). This number is even higher as the AEI started to offer clinical services in the mid 1960s’. In addition, since 1965, AEI therapists have offered low-cost demonstration therapy sessions for the lay public each week, in the famous Friday Night Workshop (now called Friday Night Live!). This makes REBT one of the most widely practiced forms of psychotherapy in the New York area. Albert Ellis alone saw over 20,000 clients, and performed more than 350,000 psychotherapy sessions, making him one of the most prolific psychotherapists in history.

III. RESEARCH

As the original home of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), the Albert Ellis Institute (AEI) has conducted intramural research and encourages REBT research worldwide (including at its affiliated centers). Albert Ellis became the most cited author between the years of 1957-1982 in major counseling journals. Moreover, a 1982 survey of approximately 800 American clinical and counseling psychologists considered Albert Ellis even more influential in the field than Sigmund Freud.
In 1985 Albert Ellis’ fundamental role in the ignition and development of cognitive revolution in psychology was acknowledged explicitly by the American Psychological Association, by awarding him the Distinguished Contribution to Knowledge:

“… Dr. Albert Ellis’s theoretical contribution has had a profound effect on the professional practice of psychology. His theories on the primacy of cognitions in psychopathology are at the forefront of practice and research in Clinical psychology…Dr Ellis expanded his clinical work in marital and sex therapy into a comprehensive theory of psychopathological treatment, Rational-Emotive Therapy. His theories have provided a starting point for many who investigate the nature of human emotional disturbance and its treatment …” (text selection from the APA Award).

The results of REBT research have been summarized in important quantitative meta-analyses; some of them published in high impact factor journals. The results support REBT’s efficacy and effectiveness and critically proposed new lines of investigation and progress. Please see the following literature reviews for the details:

• Engels, G. I., Garnefski, N., & Diekstra, R.F.W. (1993). Efficacy of Rational-Emotive Therapy: A quantitative analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 61 (6), 1083-1090.

• Gonzalez, J. E., Nelson, J. R., Gutkin, T.B. et al. (2004). Rational Emotive Therapy with children and adolescents: A meta-Analysis. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 12 (4), 222-235.

• Lyons, L. C., & Woods, P. J. (1991). The Efficacy of Rational-Emotive Therapy: A quantitative review of the outcome research. Clinical Psychology Review 11 (4), 357-369.

For more information about REBT research, please see the Research section at https://albertellis.org