DR. ALBERT ELLIS, 93, CREATOR OF PSYCHOLOGY'S COGNITIVE REVOLUTION

Dies July 24, 2007

Dr. Albert Ellis, the controversial psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died at home on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe was with him. He was 93. He had been seriously ill for more than a year.

Dr. Ellis was born in Pittsburgh on September 27, 1913, and was raised in New York City. He received his M.A. (1943) and Ph.D. (1947) degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University. He practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling and sex therapy for over sixty years. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Therapy, the first of the now-popular cognitive therapies. In later years, he called his creation Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT.

I had the privilege of being guided by him for my Associate Fellowship Practicum in New York in 1995. I was nervous as hell when I met him for the first time. Carrying a gift from his friend Kishor Phadke, I met him at his chambers where upon seeing the parcel in my hand he joked, “Have you carried a bomb from India!” (The Bombay blasts had taken place a few months prior to my visit!) His sense of humor laid to rest my tension and from then on, I had a wonderful five days of rich learning experience under his guidance.

Believing that I needed to learn from the horses mouth I also chose him as my supervisor who would grade me on the therapy tapes that had to be evaluated post the supervisory practicum. Each tape would be recorded and a brief about the client typed up and sent to Dr. Ellis. I have never seen a more efficient man. In the age of snail mail I would have my reviewed tapes back with me, with clear and encouraging comments of where I was going wrong, how I could improve and areas where my inputs were good. All this within a fortnight. Before I knew it, ten sessions of forty-five minutes duration each were thoroughly evaluated by the man himself – showing that he lived his philosophy of work and effort.

At my Supervisory Practicum in 2003 unfortunately Dr. Ellis was ill and admitted at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Visiting him in the hospital after his colostomy operation amazed me even more. Here was a man who had come out of a serious condition and pray what was he doing? Busy writing up his new book in the hospital bed all propped up against pillows and all. No time for self-pity and feeling sorry for himself! As a mark of respect to Dr. Ellis you will find a small write up by me on Personal Reflections in REBT on www.rebtnetwork.org