Deliberate Practice in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

Deliberate practice exercises provide trainees and students an opportunity to buildcompetence in essentialrational emotive behavior therapy(REBT) skills while developing their own personal therapeutic style. These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees actas a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responsesto client statements organized into three difficulty levels-beginner, intermediate, and advanced-that reflect common client questions and concerns. Each of the first 2 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 instructionsguide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, andexplain how to monitorand adjust difficulty. Guidelines to helptrainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.