Albert Ellis, Pioneer in Modern Psychology Dies at 93

Many years ago as I was going through a particularly stressful time in my life, I sought the help of a psychologist. Having read some of Freud as well as Jung in college, I decided I needed someone who took a more practical approach to counseling. I found a doctor who used what was then called RET or Rational Emotive Therapy. Today it has an extra letter and is called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Whatever you call it, it works!

The man who developed this therapy died yesterday at 93. Albert Ellis, sometimes called the Lenny Bruce of Psychotherapy, was amusing, provocative and dynamic. I heard him speak once and was fascinated at the difference in his theories and the plodding "let's go back to your childhood" techniques used by some doctors. Ellis liked people to back up their recovery with action. That was the brilliance of his techniques, they involved active effort on the part of the patient to get better.

In later life I become a member of a 12 step group, and guess what? A similar technique that has worked for millions of addicts over half a century. Ellis was a pioneer, and much of what is discussed today in psychotherapy stems from his work. What he discovered had much in common with other psychologists, but he managed to present it with a style that was easy to comprehend and techniques that work, if you work it. (Apologies to Bill W.)