Deliberate practice exercises provide trainees and students an opportunity to build competence essential rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) skills while developing their own personal therapeutic style. These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels-beginner, intermediate, and advanced-that reflect common client questions and concerns. Each of the first 12 exercises focuses on a single skill, such as psychoeducation, assessing and disputing irrational beliefs, helping clients differentiate maladaptive vs. adaptive behaviors and emotions, teaching clients the ABC model, and developing homework assignments. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single REBT session. Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.
Mark Terjesen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at St. John's University and a core member of the school psychology programs, previously serving as director. He was the Child and Family Service Coordinator for the Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in Manhattan and was President of the School Division of the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA) and of APA's Division 52 (International Psychology). Dr. Terjesen has studied and published on diverse topics, including rational emotive behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, the assessment and treatment of ADHD and anger in children, school psychology, and international psychology. Kristene A. Doyle, PhD, ScD, is the Director of the Albert Ellis Institute (AEI) and Director of Clinical Services and a licensed staff psychologist at AEI. Her clinical and research interests include eating disorder treatment, ADHD, and treating children and adolescents. Dr. Doyle is coauthor of The Practitioner's Guide to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, 3rd Edition, coeditor of The Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, and has published in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality. She is also the external examiner for the MSc in rational emotive behavior therapy at Goldsmiths, University of London. Raymond A. DiGiuseppe, PhD, ABPP, is Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Institutional Review Board at St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has promoted the recognition of anger as a form of psychopathology and studies the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of anger problems. Dr. DiGiuseppe has published two psychological tests assessing dysfunctional anger: the anger disorders scale (ADS) for adults and the anger regulation and expression scale (ARES) for children and adolescents. He works on the development of the theory, practice, and empirical research support of rational emotive behavior therapy and cognitive behavior therapies. Alexandre Vaz, PhD, is cofounder and Chief Academic Officer of Sentio Institute. He provides deliberate practice workshops and clinical training and supervision around the world. Dr. Vaz is the author/coeditor of four books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and two book series: The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books) and Advanced Therapeutics, Clinical and Interpersonal Skills (Elsevier). He has held multiple committee roles for the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). Dr. Vaz is founder and host of "Psychotherapy Expert Talks," an acclaimed interview series with distinguished psychotherapists and researchers. Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is cofounder and Program Director of Sentio Institute. He provides workshops, webinars, and clinical training and supervision around the world. He is the author/coeditor of six books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and two book series: The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books) and Advanced Therapeutics, Clinical and Interpersonal Skills (Elsevier). In 2017, he published the widely cited article in The Atlantic Monthly, "What Your Therapist Doesn't Know." Dr. Rousmaniere supports the open-data movement and publishes clinical outcome data at https: //drtonyr.com/. He was awarded the Early Career Award by the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.
Series Preface Tony Rousmaniere and Alexandre Vaz Acknowledgments Part I: Overview and Instructions Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of Deliberate Practice and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Chapter 2: Instructions for the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Deliberate Practice Exercises Part II: Deliberate Practice Exercises for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Skills Exercises for Beginner Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Skills Exercise 1: Psychoeducation About Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy's ABC Model Exercise 2: Psychoeducation: Distinguishing Between Dysfunctional Negative Emotions and Maladaptive Behaviors and Healthy Negative Emotions and Functional Behaviors Exercise 3: Agreement of the Session Goals Exercise 4: Clarifying Inferences From Irrational Beliefs Exercises for Intermediate Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Skills Exercise 5: Assessing the Irrational Beliefs About the Activating Event Exercise 6: Prioritizing Which Irrational Beliefs to Target for Change Exercise 7: Teaching the Belief-Consequence Connection Exercise 8: Functional Disputation of Irrational Beliefs Exercises for Advanced Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Skills Exercise 9: Empirical Disputation of Irrational Beliefs Exercise 10: Semantic Disputation of Irrational Belief Exercise 11: Construction of a Full Rational, Alternatives Belief to Replace the Irrational Beliefs Exercise 12: Collaborative Homework Development Comprehensive Exercises Exercise 13: Annotated Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Practice Session Transcript Exercise 14: Mock Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Sessions Part III: Strategies for Enhancing the Deliberate Practice Exercises Chapter 3: Additional Guidance for Trainers and Trainees: How to Get the Most Out of Deliberate Practice Appendix A: Difficulty Assessments and Adjustments Appendix B: Deliberate Practice Diary Form Appendix C: Sample Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Syllabus With Embedded Deliberate Practice Exercises References Index About the Authors
