CBT Cookies

No, not CBD! CBT, as in, cognitive behavioral therapy.

I fished this out of a fortune cookie last night:


Inspired, I’m thinking about ordering some custom cookies to hand out during sessions. The fortunes would take the form of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT):

  • What was the activating event (A)?
  • What was the emotional and/or behavioral consequence (C)?
  • What did you tell yourself (B) about A to cause C?
  • Is that belief (B) logical? Empirical? Pragmatic?

I somehow think that Albert Ellis, who made therapy playful and engaging, would approve. ✸


Postscript. How do I know that Ellis was playful and engaging? I’ve read published transcripts of his sessions, and they are masterpieces. During one session, he advised a client thus: “Every time a human being gets upset—except when she’s in physical pain—she has always told herself some bullshit the second before she gets upset” (p. 228). That not only got the client’s attention, I can guarantee the lesson stuck.

Acceptance Is the Answer

Linda Picone, the editor of Minnesota Medicine, tapped me for its “Joy of Medicine” feature. The extended interview appears in the September–October issue.

Minnesota Medicine

I’ll let Linda’s work speak for itself—it’s an absolute gem—but offer the following references for those who might want to go deeper: