Skill training. Workshops and groups often teach important social skills. For example,
assertiveness training workshops can be helpful for those who are shy
and find it difficult to have their needs met by other people (Ellis, 1991b). Workshops
on communication skills, job-interviewing skills, and other social and
work-related skills can supplement individual REBT.
Although these techniques are divided into cognitive, emotive, and behavioral
techniques, in actual practice some techniques fall into two or three of those categories.
For example, Ellis (1987c) made frequent use of humor in his application of
a variety of methods and asks patients to learn songs he had written that challenge
irrational beliefs in a whimsical, nonthreatening way. Decisions as to which techniques
to employ come with experience in listening to clients discuss their irrational
beliefs. Often the techniques previously described follow disputational techniques.
As therapists evaluate how well clients handle various assignments and suggestions,
they then revise and reassign other techniques or methods. As therapy progresses,
clients often develop insight into their problems.