If your teenage son is battling a substance use disorder, it’s essential for him to understand the root cause of the condition, and that means participating in therapy. An effective therapy option that can help your child address behavioral issues is rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). But what is rational emotive behavior therapy?
At Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®, we provide assistance for teenage boys who have substance use disorders, offering evidence-based therapies like REBT. Contact us by calling 828.519.5047 to learn more about our treatment options today.
What Is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy?
A common question the parents of our clients ask is, “What is REBT?” REBT is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy that has an action-oriented approach. Because emotions, cognition, and behavior are connected, REBT focuses on helping people manage irrational beliefs and control their emotions.
This type of therapy operates on the understanding that an event triggers a person’s irrational beliefs or thoughts. Those lead to negative emotions and destructive behaviors, like substance use disorders. REBT techniques help to challenge the person’s negative beliefs or thoughts before they can cause adverse effects.
Crucially, it helps someone understand that the triggering event doesn’t cause the adverse result but that the way they think of the triggering event does.
Understanding REBT Techniques
To achieve results, REBT therapists use a number of techniques, but the central technique is called “disputing.” Disputing can challenge a person’s thinking process, whether the facts around the thought process are correct, and even whether it’s possible for anything pleasurable to occur despite the negative event.
Besides disputing, other techniques include:
- Encounter exercises
- Unconditional acceptance from the therapist
- Humor
- Looking at the issue from another viewpoint
Another important REBT technique is modeling. This technique involves encouraging the adolescent to copy the positive way that someone else might react to the same event.
Benefits of REBT
So what is REBT’s most notable benefit? That depends on the individual, as the therapy can come with a number of key advantages, from increased self-acceptance to shorter therapy time.
Encourages a Proactive Approach to Therapy
With REBT, your child can feel that he’s an active participant in his therapy. Teen boys can actually do something to change the way they think and react through this therapy.
Having an action-oriented approach to therapy encourages teens because it’s not a passive activity like sitting and listening to a therapist or just speaking about their experiences.
Offers Self-Acceptance
A big part of REBT is helping teenage boys understand how they think and react to certain situations. That understanding can then allow them to make positive changes. By understanding themselves, teens can be more willing to accept how they are while still actively making strides to improve.
Provides Self-Empowerment
One of the most important benefits of REBT is that once your child learns the various strategies to make positive changes, they don’t need a therapist. They can do the work themselves by challenging their erroneous beliefs and thoughts. The knowledge that they have all of the tools they need can be hugely empowering.
Shortens Therapy Time
Because your teenage boy will learn how to self-regulate and make changes to the way they think, the therapy process can be much shorter than with other techniques.
Reach Out to the Recovery Team at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®
Seeing your child suffering from a substance use disorder can be harrowing. One of the most important parts of helping them recover is to encourage them to understand what the cause of the problem is. Rational emotive behavior therapy is an excellent way to help them achieve this.
At Foothills at Red Oak Recovery®, we offer both individual and group therapy sessions that can help teenage boys address the reason they began relying on drugs or alcohol. With a variety of therapies, our experienced team can help your child achieve long-term sobriety. Use our online contact form or speak with an expert at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery® by calling 828.519.5047.