Ellis’s ABC Model: What Is It And How Does It Describe Thoughts?
Everyone has some opinion of themselves or the world around them that, in one way or another, is nothing more than an exaggeration.
Sometimes, people are into drama and we tend to overestimate the weight of certain threats that, when you think about it, are nothing more than small inconveniences that we ourselves have contributed to making them look like something truly terrifying.
These irrational beliefs are a fundamental component when understanding Ellis’s ABC model which tries to explain how people, faced with the same event, can interpret it in such a diverse way based on our own cognitions.
Although beliefs of this type are not necessarily pathological, it is true that, taken to the extreme, they can involve disorders. To learn more about what we are referring to, let’s look at this model, its components and therapeutic application below.
The ABC model is a theory proposed by the cognitive psychotherapist Albert Ellis (1913-2007), which tries to explain why people, despite experiencing the same event, can develop different responses based on your own beliefs. These beliefs are a fundamental pillar when it comes to understanding how a person sees the world and how they decide to cope with the demands of daily life.
The idea behind the model is inspired by a quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “people are not upset by facts, but by what they think about facts.” That is, it is not the event itself that affects a person positively or negatively, but the way the individual sees and treats it
Components of this model
Ellis’ ABC model proposes three components when it comes to explaining and understanding the way an individual behaves and their degree of psychosocial adjustment.
Within the model, an activating event (in English, ‘activating event’) is understood to be that phenomenon that occurs to an individual or that he himself has caused to occur. triggers a series of problematic thoughts and behaviors
This can be a situation external to the individual, such as an accident, a family member’s illness, an argument with another person, or something internal to the person, such as a thought, fantasy, behavior or emotion unique to the person.
It must be understood that within the model the idea is contemplated that the same event can be perceived very differently by two people and that the degree to which it involves some type of dysfunctional behavior is highly variable from individual to individual.
2. Belief system
The belief system is understood as the entire series of cognitions that make up a person’s way of being and seeing the world.
Actually, this component includes thoughts, memories, assumptions, inferences, images, norms, values, attitudes, schemas and other aspects that shape the way we perceive both threats and opportunities. These thoughts are usually automatic crossing through the mind as if it were a lightning bolt and without having conscious control over them.
Beliefs can be either rational or, on the contrary, irrational. The former, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, contribute to feeling satisfied with oneself.
Instead, In the case of irrational beliefs, these are usually based on illogical things or exaggerations what the individual makes of an aspect of his personality or his abilities. They tend to be false thoughts, which come from overly demanding inferences, which are formulated in terms of ‘should’ or ‘should’.
They usually involve very negative views of oneself, or very unrealistic self-demands, which can contribute to the person perceiving themselves as useless or not worth it.
This has, as a result, the feel deep negative emotions associated with depression and anxiety in addition to promoting harmful behaviors such as addictions, aggression and suicide.
As the last link in the ABC chain we have C for consequences, both emotional and behavioral (‘Consequences’). These are the response that the individual gives to a certain activating event modulated by your own belief system
As each person has their own cognitions, the consequences of a certain activating event vary from individual to individual, being positive for some and negative for others.
How are disorders formed according to this model?
Based on the components previously explained, this model considers that psychological disorders would develop from an inappropriate and dysfunctional thinking style in the face of facts that, objectively, are not threatening.
Having irrational thoughts is relatively normal and common. We all have a somewhat negative view of some aspect of ourselves. The problem comes when this significantly delimits our way of being and deprives us of well-being
In most cases, irrational beliefs taken to the extreme contribute to the appearance of mood disorders, such as depression, and anxiety problems. In turn, these disorders are maintained because of the person’s own way of thinking.
Within the theoretical framework of the rational emotive theory, which is inspired by Ellis’s ABC model and the psychotherapist himself contributed to its theoretical definition, it is maintained that There are certain types of ideas or insights behind the maintenance of pathological irrational thoughts
In turn, these disorders are maintained because of the person’s own way of thinking. The person usually thinks that it is an event that causes them to suffer, when really it is their way of thinking and perceiving the event itself. Furthermore, since his irrational beliefs are rigid and extreme, they are very little susceptible to change.
To make matters worse, those whose minds are clouded with this type of cognitions They tend to obsess over the past, instead of working on the present and the future which is what guarantees recovery.
Relationship and application with Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis’s ABC model is widely applied within rational emotive therapy which, although it has been reformulated over the decades, continues to be strongly based on the thought of Albert Ellis.
With the model, it is possible to understand why a person behaves in a dysfunctional way when faced with an event and, thus, once their way of thinking is understood, work on it to modify it in such a way that a better adaptation is achieved.
This is where debate is used in a therapeutic sense. The objective of this is to overcome the problems that the person manifests due to their irrational beliefs when interpreting one or more activating events, which has led to a situation in which self-destructive behaviors and dysfunctional emotions are manifested.
What the therapist must achieve, before starting to discuss the patient’s dysfunctional cognitions, is to make him see and be aware of what they are. Once identified, something that is not at all simple, It will be possible to see them holistically and be able to discuss which aspects are real and which are not
One way to do this is to, when faced with an event that has caused discomfort to the patient, make him try to go back to the exact moment in which the activating event appeared. Thus, he is made to see what feelings considered inappropriate he began to express, based on what and if the way he sees the world explains more his way of seeing the event or is totally and absolutely the fault of the activating event.
Once irrational beliefs are detected, a series of questions can be raised in the therapeutic context Examples:
With these questions It encourages doubting the veracity of irrational beliefs Once discussed, it is easier to overturn them and make the patient begin to adopt a more adjusted style of thinking.
