An Abortive Approach to Self-Disturbance

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When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) – a form of self-help regarding mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”) – I find it useful to discuss the two main techniques of this psychotherapeutic modality.

The primary REBT technique relates to the ABC model which illustrates that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence.

As an example, suppose that you don’t obey the advisement of a posted yield sign and another vehicle strikes your car as you travel through an intersection (Action). Does this sudden impact cause you to become upset? No.

From a psychological standpoint, people upset themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

Form an A-C perspective, the sudden impact of another vehicle striking your car (Action) can cause some degree of damage to your automobile (Consequence). However, that’s a physical world matter of causation, not one pertaining to your psychological process.

Thus, when you fail to yield and another vehicle crashes into your car (Action) while you Believe, “This shouldn’t happen, and it’s awful that it has,” then it’s your unhelpful perspective that causes anger (Consequence). Ergo, you upset yourself with a B-C connection.

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

The process of challenging unhelpful self-narratives can take longer than I care to demonstrate herein. Thus, in the interest of time, imagine that after a period of rigorous Disputation you eventually use the following Effective new belief:

Although I’d prefer not to have been involved in a traffic accident, it isn’t as though I absolutely mustn’t ever be involved in one. As well, sustaining damage to my car is unpleasant, though it isn’t awful. As such, the wreck is bad enough. I don’t need to make it any worse with my beliefs.

The secondary technique of REBT is unconditional acceptance (UA) which aims to relieve self-induced suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acceptance (UOA), and unconditional life-acceptance (ULA).

Whereas the ABC model is a scientific approach to wellness, UA serves as a philosophical method for un-disturbing yourself. I view the former as an abortive approach to disturbance and the latter as a preventative method. At this point, it may be helpful to briefly define key terms.

To “abort” is to terminate something. Thus, an “abortive” approach is one that tends to cut short a process. As an example, if you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) when failing to yield at a posted yield sign, then you didn’t abort forward momentum of your vehicle.

To “prevent” is to keep from happening or existing. Thus, a “preventative” approach is one devoted to or concerned with stopping or hindering something from happening. For instance, when yielding at a posted yield sign, you may prevent the occurrence of an MVA.

In simple terms, as they relate to mental health, to abort the unpleasant process of self-disturbance is to stop something that is already in progress. To prevent an unhelpful self-upsetting experience is to stop something from progressing before it even occurs.

With my approach to REBT, I incorporate author Stephen Covey’s concepts regarding the circles of control, influence, and concern, as well as an area of no concern. UA maps onto the circle of control (USA), circle of influence (UOA), and circle of concern and area of no concern (ULA).

The circle of control encompasses only oneself, the circle of influence encapsulates elements which may be subject to one’s sway, the circle of concern engrosses most matters one can imagine, and the area of no concern relates to all content which isn’t yet imagined.

In my personal life, I use various resources (e.g., social media and other media sources) to practice abortive strategies using disputation (ABC model). For instance, I challenge my own unproductive beliefs based on illogical and unreasonable (collectively “irrational”) premises.

Likewise, I practice on real and imagined scenarios for which preventative strategies may be used (UA). As an example, I remind myself that the only thing I can control regarding most matters in life is my reaction (USA).

As well, I acknowledge that while I may be able to influence other people, places, and things, it isn’t as though I have any actual power of these elements of existence (UOA). Also, I recognize that life itself is imperfect, so self-disturbing about imperfection is a waste of time (ULA).

When providing psychoeducational lessons on the ABC model and UA, I invite people to consider that understanding of, belief in, and practice of these self-help techniques is necessary in order to increase one’s own competency and proficiency. By this, I mean daily practice!

Provided that you understand and believe that REBT may serve your mental health interests and goals, are you ready to begin daily practice of the ABC model (abortive) and UA (preventative) tools as a method of rational living? If you’d like to know more about REBT, then let me know.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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