Walter J. Matweychuk, Ph.D.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a problem-focused, solution-oriented therapy. You can find these solutions by doing REBT self-therapy or working with a professional REBT psychotherapist. When people elect to work with me, I believe I teach them skills and ideas for addressing their emotional and behavioral problems. I help people understand how they create and … Read more

Do you have regrets? If you are human, you have indeed done things you wished you had not or wished you had taken additional steps along with those you did take. Reflecting on how your life could be different and better if you had made other choices is inevitable and not necessarily a harmful activity. … Read more

People sometimes ask, what are the critical factors in achieving therapeutic change when using REBT? Do these apply if I am not working with a psychotherapist but using REBT as a method of self-therapy? Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a self-help type of therapy. The critical factors in achieving therapeutic change overlap whether one … Read more

In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), we encourage the daily practice of rational thinking. REBT theorizes that human nature has two competing instincts. One instinct is to think in rigid, dogmatic, and extreme ways, which leads to disturbed emotional reactions, self-defeating behavior, and ineffective interpersonal responses. The other instinct is to think in flexible, non-extreme, … Read more

In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, we speak a good deal about the importance of putting yourself first and other people a close second. We also talk about the value of long-term hedonism, where you maximize pleasure and minimize pain in the long run by delaying pleasure and bearing discomfort in the short run. It is … Read more

The art of living well and the art of dying well are one.  ― Epicurus Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a philosophically based cognitive behavior therapy that can assist humans facing all sorts of challenges. REBT’s healthy attitudes apply to athletic performance, executive leadership, as well as problems of daily living. The focus of today’s Intermittent … Read more

There are patterns to be observed in life. The best predictor of future human behavior is past behavior. We can come to “expect” some behaviors from “some” people “some” of the time. This way of thinking often applies to the events of life. What has happened before often will happen again. It makes good sense for … Read more

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a powerful philosophy of life and psychotherapy. Practicing REBT philosophy frees the individual from the self-imposed emotional upset humans create when facing life’s challenges. In REBT, we teach that it is healthy to experience negative emotions like sorrow, disappointment, annoyance, and concern but that despair, shame, anger, and anxiety are … Read more

Unconditional self-acceptance is a gift you can give yourself. In Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, I often discuss the value of working to develop unconditional self-acceptance and the healthy way of thinking that underpins it. However, today I will discuss a concept in REBT that will nicely compliment your effort to cultivate unconditional self-acceptance. That concept … Read more

In Rational Emotive Therapy (REBT), we suggest that you cultivate the capacity to put yourself first and others a close second. Then we encourage you to live and implement this stance in your relationships with others. In REBT, we refer to this as enlightened self-interest. Some people may be reluctant to embrace this position. The … Read more