ABSTRACT
The terms 'behaviour modification' and 'behaviour therapy' can be used almost interchangeably, although by and large it is the techniques used to dispel anxiety by Wolpe and the Eysenckian school that are called therapy, and the methods used by Skinnerians to try and build up new behaviours in retarded children or psychotic patients which are called modification. Those who want to include cognitions in behaviour therapy say that although that may be theoretically very interesting and difficult, from a practical point of view it is foolish to ignore the commonsense idea that a person's conscious thoughts and beliefs are among the most important determinants of their actions and behaviours. Albert Ellis is a New York psychiatrist who, like Wolpe, started off as a Freudian but became disillusioned by the lack of practical effects of Freudian analysis on his patients. The 'rationality' should not be taken too literally.
