by Deniz Sidali, M.A.
In my personal opinion, without a doubt I think that Albert Ellis made significant contributions to the field of psychology. I also believe his contributions are often overlooked and/or not fully recognized. This is oftentimes the case with genius. Even Mozart’s classical music compositions were overlooked and recognized posthumously decades later. It takes a while for others to recognize and credit visionary individuals. Maybe because we cannot fully comprehend the significance of their body of work at a particular moment in time. We may need time to process their work, realize its relevance in the present, and wait for society to catch up to the advanced concepts which were introduced. It’s truly remarkable how Ellis was able to inspire so many individuals, clients, and practitioners alike. His proponents can be very adamant about what Al would intend. Sometimes during conferences, trainings, and on our blogs at AEI, admirers are quick to state, “I don’t think Albert Ellis would agree with you?” And then they would be quick to state word for word what Ellis would have said or done instead.
The other day I was speaking with someone and they asked me to describe what we work on during our general group therapy sessions at the Ellis Institute. I explained (without divulging client details) that for social anxiety we work on mindfulness techniques to help be present in the moment, focus on the details of the setting and interaction, and enjoy the moment to replace high self-monitoring/evaluation of themselves leading to unhealthy anxiety in social situations/interactions . We also instruct the client to acknowledge having intrusive or irrational beliefs. So the listener asked, “Well, isn’t that contrary to REBT and what Ellis would recommend?” I responded that it’s really not contrary to what Ellis would recommend. Mindfulness can facilitate or segue into REBT. Using and teaching mindfulness doesn’t contradict REBT or dispel irrational beliefs or negative thinking. Dismissing irrational beliefs would be thought stopping which is harder for people to do and might increase the frequency of having negative thoughts or irrational beliefs. It’s like instructing people, “Whatever you do, do not think about or imagine a pink elephant?” People will think about or imagine the pink elephant even more because of this contingency. Whereas acknowledging that you have an irrational belief and putting it to the side, does not compete with or contradict REBT. In fact, challenging or disputing these irrational beliefs or negative thinking may actually be easier. And I added that Albert Ellis culled inspiration from various sources both within and outside of psychology such as spirituality, analogies, story telling, philosophy, history, Buddhism, Judaism, and the arts. The simple fact of the matter is, mindfulness is in demand and the zeitgeist.
Although I cannot speak for Ellis, I think he would probably agree. But, it’s also important to be mindful of the fact that if a particular theory or model such as REBT remains stagnant and its current practitioners do not help it to evolve to meet the demands of its client base, societal changes, and zeitgeist, the model and theory as we know it may be at risk to flounder and demise.
