ABSTRACT
Do not forget that before seeking therapeutic help your clients will have had quite a few experiences of personal change. In order to capitalize on these pre-therapy change experiences, you need to identify them. Ask your clients about times in their lives when they have changed an unhealthy attitude, a self-defeating behaviour or a disturbed emotion. Do this at the beginning of therapy or after you have actually disputed their irrational beliefs. Devote some time to understanding what it was that the clients did to bring about this change and, if this is broadly consistent with REBT theory, show them that they can use themselves as a role model for change on the problem you are discussing. Examples of how clients have effected change by their own efforts include: going for a long walk to think things through; talking to sensible members of the family and putting into practice their advice; thinking of how somebody they view as psychologically healthy would handle a situation and then using that person as a role model; writing out the pros and cons of a particular piece of behaviour, etc. Integrate these change processes with REBT methods. Such a combination can be quite powerful. However, guard against using clients’ successful self-change methods when these may prevent them from achieving elegant philosophical change (e.g. a client who overcomes her low self-esteem by putting down other people instead of refraining from putting herself down).
