Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) can, on first impressions, appear to be simple to practice. Its model of emotional disturbance and change, ABCDE, describes a clear and uncluttered approach to therapy. However, the easy progression implied by the model belies the often extremely difficult tasks that the therapist has to execute in each component of the model in order to facilitate this progression. For example, if a client's presenting problem is "my hole life", the therapist has to help the client translate this amorphous problem into a specific one and then link it to goals that are behavioural, measurable and observable.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate the complexities of REBT in order to do justice to a system of psychotherapy that is both sophisticated and efficient in tackling emotional disturbance.

Michael Neenan is Associate Director of the Centre for Coaching and Centre for Stress Management, Blackheath, London. Windy Dryden is the author of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy: Advances in Theory and Practice, published by Wiley.