To develop rational thinking, Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, and Gillham (1995) advice children to use clues and to find the evidence for the negative and self-defeating belief using the following steps:
Step 1: Thought catching; that is, being aware of the irrational beliefs at the times the child feels worst.Step 2: Evaluating the thought by acknowledging that it is not necessarily true and accurate, and seeing the belief about herself and/or the world as a hypothesis that needs to be tested. Step 3: Generating a more accurate explanation about the negative event and using that explanation to challenge the irrational thought.
Step 4:
Decatastrophizing by redirecting the child’s energy away from feeling sorry, troubled, or angry about the event and toward solving the problem.
As Seligman et al. say, there is a difference between thinking that a bad event cannot be changed and it is going to last forever, and thinking that we can change at least part of the negative event or our feelings about the event. Rational-emotive thinking or RET helps children see stressful and troubling events as problems to be solved as opposed to personal threats.
Bernard and Joyce (1984, p. 195) recommend using the following prompts to help the student clarify the irrational ideas or beliefs (B) that trigger a particular emotion or behavior:
-What were you thinking when _____ happened?
-What sorts of things were you saying to yourself when…?
-What name did you call Ricky when…?
-Tell me the first thing that comes into your mind when you think about _____.
- Picture yourself back in the classroom; what did you think when…?
The Disputation Technique
In RET, the goal is not to change A (to make the negative event disappear), but to change the student’s reaction to the event, so that the child learns to accept what happened and tries to change only the parts that can be changed. Rather than spending time discussing A (the activating event), the RET teacher intervenes at the B level or beliefs. Zionts (1996) recommends asking the student, What if it is true? What is the worst thing that can happen? Alternatively, we can ask, Assume that you are never going to _____. Why is that so awful? The objective of this kind of disputation is to show the student that although the event is uncomfortable, it is probably not terrible, and the child can stand it. When using a RET approach, the teacher needs to be careful to allow the student to dispute his own errors in thinking (self-disputation) before the teacher does.
When disputing an irrational belief, the child identifies the way he is evaluating the event and the things he is saying to himself that are causing him to feel angry or upset. Zionts advises teachers not to ask, How this situation makes you feel? (external attribution) but to ask the child, How do you feel about this situation? The first question blames the event for the child’s feelings; the second question implies that the student is responsible for his feelings and reactions. In addition, you can ask, What was going through your mind that caused you to feel this way? Through disputation, the child answers primarily two kinds of questions: evidence-gathering questions (evidence supporting or against the belief) and alternative interpretation questions (what are other ways of seeing this problem). Disputing a negative or irrational belief means answering questions like:
-What evidence supports my belief? Alternatively, where is the evidence for my belief?
-In which way my belief is true or false.
-Do I base my belief on fact, opinion, or inference?
-How am I exaggerating this situation?
-Is this really terrible and awful, or only annoying?
Answering questions like these help the student in identifying the thoughts or irrational beliefs that are troubling him. The therapeutic teacher challenges the student to prove his belief; for instance, What can you do to test your belief? The two key questions to ask a student to dispute and challenge the child’s irrational belief are:
-What is the evidence that this belief is true? And,-What is another way to see this situation?
Another technique used in the disputation process is debating. Once the child identifies the ideas that led to emotional upset, the next step is to challenge the irrational thinking through a debate. The cognitive technique used to debate is called rational analysis of the belief, a forceful dialogue between the rational and irrational ideas to determine if the belief makes sense. The student answers a set of why questions similar to these ones:
-Why must she be the way you want?-Why must she agree with you?
-Why do you have to like what she did/said?
-Why must Jonathan be nice to you?Why cannot he be not nice?
-Why do you have to get even on him?
Disputing, and then debating between rational and irrational beliefs, aims at destroying, or at least minimize, the child’s irrational beliefs. An effective disputation procedure includes the following steps (Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, and Gillham, 1995):
Step 1: Evidence gathering, looking for both the evidence that supports the belief and the evidence that counts against the belief.Step 2: Generating alternatives or other ways to see the event.
Step 3: Perspective taking by thinking of how other people will see what happened; for example, an impartial observer, best friend, or parent.
Step 4: Decatastrophizing by accurately evaluating the implications and the what ifs of the experience. The authors advise children to find:
---4A: The worst possible thing that could happen: How likely is it? What the child can do to help stop it happen? What the child can do to improve the situation?
---4B: The best possible thing: What the child can do to help make it happen?
---4C: The most likely outcome.
Step 1: Evidence gathering: What is the evidence for my belief?
Step 2: Generating alternatives: What are other ways of seeing this problem?
Step 3: Perspective taking: How my best friend will see it? My father? Spiderman?
Step 5: Developing a plan for each:
---5A: Worst thing that could happen
---5B: Best thing that could happen
---5C: Most likely outcome
Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, and Gillham (1995) also offer a shorter version to dispute irrational thinking:
---1A: Evidence for
---1B: Evidence against
Step 2: Other ways to see the situation
Step 3: Worst thing that could happen: What could I do to stop it from happening? Step 4: Best thing that could happen: What could I do to help make it happen? Step 5: Most likely outcome: What is my plan of action if that happens?
Examples of rational self-statements that children can use to deal with troubled feelings and negative events are:
-This is really a bad grade. At least it is just one test. This grade does not mean that I cannot do better next time. If I study more and ask for extra help, I will do better next time.
-Sometimes, I think the task is too hard and I feel upset. However, I find that when I concentrate and ask for help, I can do the work.
-I do not need _____. It is only frustrating not to get it, and I can stand to live without it.
-It is (irrational or unhelpful) to think that Mr. Rivera is the only one that needs to change. I need to change too.
-When I think rationally, I control my emotions.
-When I think rationally, I control my behavior.
-Sometimes, I think that I make mistakes because I am (dumb or stupid). When I think that way, I feel like a loser and I want to quit. However, I find that when I (ask for help, try harder, use my strategies, or concentrate), I can fix my mistakes.
-Because I made an error this time does not mean that I am (stupid, rotten, bad, or terrible). A part of me can learn this (skill or behavior).-Is it really important that I was not invited to Nelly’s party?
-The only thing worse than losing the game is losing the game and then making myself miserable after it.
-This is not helpful thinking. I am going to change my thoughts.
-Just because I cannot do _____, does not mean the world is going to end or that I am a bad person. It would be more helpful to realize that I cannot do everything perfectly, and even if I mess up, it is not the end of the world.
-I am too hard on myself. I am okay just the way I am; I make mistakes, but I also do many things okay.-I am blowing this problem out of proportion. It is impossible for everyone to like me. Some kids like me; others do not. My friends think I am okay.
-I am being irrational. I have no proof that I am going to have this problem all my life. I have to wait until the future to find out.