A reader recently commented on my you tube Cognitive-Therapy Video that Dr.Albert Ellis is considered the “grandfather” of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy and not Dr. Aaron Beck. Actually, Dr.Ellis is the founder of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) a similar approach with some important differences in both principles and practice. REBT tries to get people to change their fundamental “beliefs” rather just their negative self-talk. Also, in REBT the therapist is often more vigorous, forceful and confrontational is getting clients to change their way of thinking than is typically done through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.
There are two separate major training Centers for these approaches, the Albert Ellis Institute, based in New York and the Cognitive Therapy Center based in Philadelphia.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Back invented “Cognitive Therapy” and not “Cognitive Behaviour Therapy”. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is usually used to refer to a number of therapies that place cognitions and behaviours at the core of emotional disturbance and is not a therapy of itself. There are many forms of CBT including Cognitive Analytic Therapy and Dialiectal Behavioural Therapy. However REBT (invented in 1950′s) and CT (invented in the 60′s) are the first CBTs. As REBT was invented by Ellis before Beck invented CT it fair to say that Ellis was the father of CBT. Beck himself acknowledges that Ellis was practicing CBT before he was.