Including Religion in Rational-Emotive Behavior Counseling

Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) have been disseminated worldwide. This therapeutic approach is being considered some of the best empirically supported treatments for a large variety of psychological disorders. The core tenet of CBT is to restore mental health and promote psychological well-being by focusing on cognitive dysfunctional patterns that cause emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors. First, a general view of the basic principles and origins of cognitive-behavior therapies constitute the basis on which the chapter is built. Thereafter, a more in-depth discussion on specific forms of CBT, namely cognitive therapy (CT) and rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) provides further support for the integration of religion and psychological intervention. Next, a thorough analysis of the theoretical premises of this integration and the ways in which religious beliefs and psychological mechanisms merge in practice is provided. Finally, the REBT conceptualization, techniques, and strategies are illustrated in a practical situation; here, the relationship between religious beliefs and practices on the one hand, and irrational beliefs, dysfunctional emotions, and maladaptive behaviors, on the other hand, is easy to observe. The example provided aptly illustrates the many ways in which REBT can incorporate religious principles, beliefs, and practices; all of them, advocating for the harmonious relationship between Christian values and REBT

Psychometric Properties of the 25-Item Connor-Davison Resilience Scale: Preliminary Data for a Romanian Military Population

The following study is aimed at investigating the construct validity of the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25) on a Romanian military population. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 434 male military participants, aged between 24 and 50 years (M = 34.83, S.D. = 6.14) and the confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on a sample of 679 military participants, of 605 men and 74 women, aged between 18 and 59 years (M = 38.37, S.D. = 9.07). Factor analysis of the scale showed it to be a bidimensional, rather than a multidimensional instrument, as the original five-factor structure was not replicated in this military Romanian sample. Moreover, EFAs suggested that a 14-item bidimensional model should be retained and CFA confirmed that this model fit the data best

Investigación empírica del modelo binario de Albert Ellis sobre malestar emocional

En la literatura actual, el malestar emocional suele describirse mediante un modelo unitario: los niveles altos de malestar emocional se conceptualizan como niveles altos de afecto, mientras que los niveles bajos de malestar emocional suelen conceptualizarse como niveles bajos de afecto. Sin embargo, recientemente, Albert Ellis (1994) y algunos de sus colegas que trabajan con terapias racionalemotivas y cognitivoconductuales han descrito el malestar emocional como un constructo binario compuesto por dos componentes distintos: sentimientos negativos funcionales (p. ej. tristeza) y sentimientos negativos disfuncionales (p. ej. sentirse inútil). En dos estudios con 55 pacientes estadounidenses con cáncer de mama y 45 pacientes rumanas con cáncer de mama, respectivamente, hemos comparado las hipótesis derivadas de los modelos de malestar emocional unitario y binario. Los resultados han revelado que en una situación de estrés (p. ej. inminente cirugía mamaria) los niveles elevados de pensamientos irracionales se asociaban con un mayor nivel de sentimientos negativos tanto funcionales como disfuncionales, mientras que los niveles bajos de pensamientos irracionales se asociaban con bajos niveles de sentimientos negativos funcionales pero con niveles altos de sentimientos negativos disfuncionales. Este aspecto que pudo observarse tanto en la muestra estadounidense como en la rumana y que apoya la teoría del modelo binario del malestar emocional, sugiere que los resultados obtenidos son sólidos y generalizables. En este estudio analizaremos las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de esto