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A Guide to Rational Living (Paperback)
by Albert Ellis, Robert A. Harper, and Melvin Powers
| Category:
Cognitive therapy, self improvement, self help |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Take notes, underline, review, and practice, practice, practice. This classic on cognititive therapy will change your life, as it have to many others. |
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Author: Albert Ellis, Robert A. Harper, and Melvin Powers
Publisher: Wilshire Book Company; 3rd Rev edition
Pub. in: August, 1975
ISBN: 0879800429
Pages: 283
Measurements: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00479
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- Awards & Credential -
A bestselling book with more than 1.5 million copies sold world wide. |
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- MSL Picks -
The basic idea of the book is this: People have certain beliefs about things. For example you might have the belief that you must be liked by everybody. Beliefs like this cause you to become very upset when you realized that this belief is being broken and twisted by the world in which you are living. For example, if you believe that the world should be fair, then anytime the world treats you unfairly, you will very depressed. Or if you believe that you must be liked by people, then anytime somebody insluts you, you might become depressed.
To stop these "irrational beliefs" you have to put in place of them "rational beliefs" such as "I want people to like but if they don't it's ok and I should rather accept myself as I am." When you have rational beliefs then you will not feel depressed at all. The book talks about ways to refute your irrational beliefs and uses examples from case histories on how this can be done.
Albert Ellis is the grand-daddy of modern psychology, and this book is a real classic. While many psychologists and authors focus on one or several "pet techniques," Ellis and this book show you how to adapt an integrated set of rational (cognitive), emotive, and behavioral tools to your personal situations. And Ellis writes this and many of his other books for us non- psychologists, not just for professionals.
Target readers:
General readers
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From the Publisher:
A Guide to Rational Living is the first book the great psychologist Albert Ellis wrote on Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT - later known as "cognitive therapy"). REBT is built on th idea that our thoughts cause our emotions and influence our behaviors. Ellis believes (he is still alive ) that people can change their emotions as well as their behaviors by disputing their irrational thoughts with facts and reason. With interesting case studies and concise recommendations, it succinctly and en- grossingly presents Ellis' comprehensive therapeutic REBT approach.
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| View all 6 comments |
Micah Perkins (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
This is THE book on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and in April 2006 was voted as the best introductory book to REBT by the REBT-CBT Forum on Yahoo.
Now in its third edition (1997), this is one of the first books that Ellis wrote about REBT. Written for the general public, but frequently used by practitioners, it describes all aspects of Ellis' theory and how to apply the theory to specific problems.
This book includes chapters on:
How Far Can You Go With Self-therapy? (chapter 1)
Thinking Your Way Out of Emotional Disturbance (chapter 5)
Overcoming the Influences of the Past (chapter 7)
Tackling Your Dire Need for Approval (chapter 10)
Reducing Your Dire Fears of Failure (chapter 11)
Conquering Anxiety and Panic (chapter 15)
Research Evidence to Support the Principles and Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (chapter 22)
This book is a moderate read, and is written for the person who wants to learn more about REBT, and who is willing to invest some time and effort in learning. Therefore, this book would not be for the person who wants a quick, easy read. Also, when buying this book, make sure that you get the third edition. Ellis has continued to revise his theory since originally publishing this book in 1961, and has made subtle changes along the way.
Overall, I prefer Ellis' writing style to most other authors. He is clear, leaving few unanswered questions. He describes his theory in a way that makes sense. No REBTer, or practitioner's, library is complete without this book.
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Patrick Greenan (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
The revolution I refer to is the one that followed in the wake of the original publication of this book in 1961. Ellis formally introduced his REBT therapeutic model in 1955, but at the time, few knew and fewer cared. However, this book would change that forever. No longer would we have to settle for self-help pablum like The Power of Positive Thinking, because now we had a piercing book for the masses that explained both clearly and thoroughly three things that no popular work had ever told us before. First, we don't just "get" upset, we "do" upset. Or, in other words, we make ourselves emotionally disturbed. Second, the authors plainly explain how we make ourselves upset. We create our own emotional disturbances mainly through our irrational (aka, unhealthy, self- defeating) thinking. And third, Ellis and Harper give us many effective techniques to combat these thinking patterns. The techniques suggested are divided into cognitive, emotive and behavioral categories, although in fact there is significant overlap for the simple reason, as the authors point out, that we don't just think or feel or behave in a vacuum. Rather, we are thinking/feeling/behaving beings, and this interplay, luckily enough, offers us many ways to a "profound philosophic change", which is the goal of this work. Easily, the most influential self-help book ever written and rightfully so! |
Brad Torgersen (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
I read this book in about three days, on the recommendation of a therapist. Unlike the majority of other "self help" literature I had seen up to that point, this book didn't paint a dreary picture of spending year after year, wallowing in my own navel, forever progressing towards "health" without actually attaining it; as is often the case, especially in the 12 Step programs.
The Guide is a no-B.S. manual for approaching psychological and emotional disturbances and bad habits, hitting them "at the base of the flame" as it were, and providing the reader with a solid roadmap to navigating out of even extreme emotional and psychological problems.
Nothing replaces a solid therapist, but where many therapists try and sell you on the idea that you're going to have to spend a lifetime on the couch, the Guide emphasizes progress over all else, insisting that we are creators of our own thought processes and our own paradigms, instead of prisoners of the damage done to use by past harms, childhood, et al.
Now, if you're perfectly comfortable being addicted to "self help" and enjoy shelling out thousands every year just to sit in a therapist's office, traveling endlessly down past roads without actually moving a single inch into your future, then you won't want this book.
But if you are sick of yourself, or how you act, or how you think, or how you feel, and you want to know how to make some BIG changes and make them last, I think there has not been a better text written on the subject, both in terms of practical application and in terms of being time-tested and true. This is not a "fad" or a "cult" fix. This is bald, often brazen "slap you upside the head" wisdom which cuts through the touchy-feely jargon and endless murk, so that you can start feeling and acting better, right now, and make real changes in yourself, for now and for the future.
Want to know more? Read the damn book!!
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Richard Singer (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-08 00:00>
Albert Ellis is definitely an authority in helping people change their irrational thoughts and beliefs. This book introduces the reader to techniques and practical steps to begin making change in their lives by altering the beliefs that can destroy our beings. Belief is a powerful phenomena, thus we must take hold of this power and use it to transform who we are and what we become. This book is highly recommended for anyone with the desire to change, as well as any clinician working with clients who wish to change their life. |
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