Walter J. Matweychuk, Ph.D.

As a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapist, I teach the philosophy and therapy originated by Dr. Albert Ellis, a paragon of professional success as a psychologist (2001). He had a sixty-year career and achieved great professional success. He admits that he worked hard for it, toiling from dawn to dusk. REBT applies to more than the … Read more

People are fallible humans with agency. They will often do what they want, not what you want. In REBT, we encourage you to work on controlling your reaction to their behavior as your first step in healthily relating to them. This strategy of working on yourself first is practical because you have a far better … Read more

I haven’t sent an Intermittent Reinforcement email because I have been busy both professionally and personally, enjoying the summer. However, I hope you have been using REBT and relying on the ABC framework to understand and change your reactions when you notice yourself showing unhealthy, self-defeating emotional and behavioral responses. REBT is a skill, like … Read more

I have modified my REBT self-help worksheet to guide you along a numerical path to emotional well-being. Just watch the video and see how easy I have made it for you to help yourself when you are experiencing an unhealthy negative emotion and engaging in self-defeating behavior. To download the new worksheet click here: https://rebtdoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/32.-The-ABC-Step-by-Step-Self-Help-Worksheet-06.10.25.docx

Happy Birthday to me. I am 65 today! Writing about unconditional self-acceptance and unconditional life acceptance is particularly apt on my Birthday as I age and progress deeper into my sixties. (Click here to view the special video accompanying this blog.) Although no one is promised life tomorrow, as we age, the likelihood of illness … Read more

It is not the negative thought that stops you from doing what is best in the long run; it is the failure to counter it. In REBT, we teach people to take responsibility for countering self-defeating attitudes and thoughts. The first step in change is to acknowledge the nonsense you tell yourself without putting yourself … Read more

In REBT, we propose that you cultivate flexible and non-extreme attitudes as a way of establishing and maintaining healthy, that is, self-helping, reactions to adversity. This stance towards the most significant challenges of life is the basis for the unconditional self, other, and life acceptance, which are the foundation of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Daily … Read more

The secret to living well with others is not simply getting them to do what you wish—the secret lies in controlling your reaction to them when they disappoint you or treat you poorly so that you and the other person can resolve your impasse constructively. Disagreements between people are inevitable in life. Rather than end … Read more

REBT is a cohesive self-help theory for managing our emotions and behaviors, which was created and refined over Albert Ellis’s 60-year clinical career. At first glance, it seems like a straightforward approach, chock-full of practical ideas to implement. Although this is true, effective use of REBT requires an accurate understanding of its core ideas and … Read more

The theory of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) starts with the position that people have two biological tendencies. The “rational” or “self-helping” tendency expresses itself with flexible and non-extreme attitudes, allowing us to solve problems using logic and scientific reasoning. REBT therapy builds, strengthens, and looks to expand this side of us. Unfortunately, we also have … Read more