Albert Ellis, a profane figure who loomed large in the field of pschology/counseling, died yesterday at the age of 93. He was the father of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, an action-oriented therapy aimed at making emotional and behavioral change through challenging self-defeating thoughts. Ellis, I'm know had found great humor in the Bush Administration ("I don’t damn any person, including Stalin, Hitler, and President Bush") and probably the Democratic leadership. After all, he distained the irrational.
Ellis, who was known as a 'blunt instrument' to many counselors who prefer a client-centered, empathetic approach, noenetheless was a pioneer. Ellis once said, "I get people to truly accept themselves unconditionally, whether or not their therapist or anyone loves them."
He also said, "The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny. " He was right.
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