ABSTRACT
Following the lead of Albert Ellis, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) therapists are in general quite careful not to reinforce their clients' need for approval. As such, we as therapists, 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. 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. Even when your clients do not initiate change by consistently failing to do their homework assignments, you can still encourage them to do so by stressing their potential to change.
