Who founded rational-emotive therapy?

• A. Beck
• B. Meichenbaum
• C. Ellis
• D. Bandura

Answer: (C)

Rational-Emotive Therapy targets the idea that emotional distress arises from irrational beliefs we hold about events, and therapy aims to identify and actively dispute those beliefs to replace them with more rational, flexible ones. The founder is Albert Ellis, who developed RET in the 1950s and later renamed it rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT). A central framework is the ABC model: Activating event, Beliefs about it, and the Consequences in emotions and behavior. By challenging absolutist rules like “must” or “should,” clients learn to alter their emotional responses. This distinguishes RED/REBT from other cognitive approaches, such as Beck’s cognitive therapy, which emphasizes cognitive restructuring after identifying distortions; Meichenbaum’s cognitive-behavior modification and stress inoculation; and Bandura’s social cognitive theory centered on modeling and self-efficacy. In short, Albert Ellis is the founder of rational-emotive therapy.