ABSTRACT
Following the lead of Albert Ellis, REBT therapists are in general quite careful not to reinforce their clients’ need for approval. As such, we tend to avoid forming overly warm attachments with our clients or giving them lavish praise. However, in our zeal to avoid reinforcing our clients’ need for approval, some of us fail to offer them sufficient encouragement to promote and maintain client change. Healthy encouragement for client change may take the form of saying to one of your clients ‘It was good that you achieved that’, or ‘I am pleased you were able to do that.’ With some of your clients, you may wish to add a humorous and ironic statement such as ‘But that does not make you a better person’ or ‘But that does not mean I like you more.’ If you give your clients ‘healthy encouragement’, then you will serve as a useful role model for them, so that they can learn to encourage themselves and praise their own actions, as well as doing the same for others. A good rule of thumb is: Make your praise commensurate with your clients’ level of effort.
