ABSTRACT
Rational emotive behavioural coaching (REBC) theory holds that psychological health and development are underpinned by a set of flexible and non-extreme attitudes. This chapter discusses how to help coachees develop a non-awfulising perspective and argues that the coach has helped the coachee to develop this attitudinal flexibility. For coachees to develop and maintain a non-awfulising attitude, it is important for them to learn to keep their evaluation of badness non-extreme by keeping their perspective free from awfulising. A non-awfulising attitude consists of two components, namely: 'asserted badness' and 'anti-awfulising'. The 'anti-awfulising' component acknowledges that although it is bad if coachees do not have their preference met, it is not terrible, awful or the end of the world. The development of a non-awfulising perspective depends on repeated action in the face of adversity. In REBC, the coachee is usually helped to develop attitudinal flexibility before being helped to develop a non-awfulising perspective, but this order can be reversed.
