Albert Ellis, PhD, was born in Pittsburgh on September 27, 1913, and raised in New York City. He received his MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University in New York City.
Dr. Ellis held many important psychological positions, including chief psychologist of the state of New Jersey and adjunct professorships at Rutgers and other universities. He practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling, and sex therapy for more than 65 years. He was the founder of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), the first of the cognitive behavior therapies. In 1959, he founded the Albert Ellis Institute, and he was dedicated to its work and growth. However, in his final years he felt that the directors of the institute were not fulfilling his vision for its role.
Dr. Ellis served as president of the Division of Consulting Psychology of the American Psychological Association and of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. He also served as officer of several professional societies, including the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy; the American Academy of Psychotherapists; and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. He was a diplomate in clinical psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology and several other professional boards.
Professional societies that have given Dr. Ellis their highest professional and clinical awards include APA, the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, the American Counseling Association, and the American Psychopathological Association. He was ranked as one of the Most Influential Psychologists by both American and Canadian psychologists and counselors. He has served as consulting or associate editor of many scientific journals and has published more than 80 books and monographs, including a number of best-selling popular and professional volumes.
Some of his best known books include
- How to Live With a Neurotic
- The Art and Science of Love
- A Guide to Rational Living
- Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy
- How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything—Yes, Anything
- Overcoming Procrastination
- Overcoming Resistance
- The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
- How to Make Yourself Happy and Remarkably Less Disturbable
- Feeling Better, Getting Better, Staying Better
- Overcoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and Behaviors
- Anger: How to Live With and Without It
- Ask Albert Ellis
- Sex Without Guilt in the Twenty-First Century
- Making Intimate Connections
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: It Works for Me, It Can Work for You
- The Road to Tolerance
- The Myth of Self-Esteem
His autobiography, All Out, was released in 2010, to be followed by other books he wrote and coauthored with his wife, Dr. Debbie Joffe Ellis.
Albert Ellis died on July 24, 2007.
Debbie Joffe Ellis, born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, is a licensed psychologist (Australia) and a licensed mental health counselor (New York). She is affiliated with several major psychological associations, including APA, the American Group Therapy Association, and the Australian Psychological Society.
She has a doctorate in alternative medicine from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines in affiliation with the World Health Organization, from which she has also received a gold medal (1993) in recognition of her service to the field of alternative medicine.
In Australia, she worked in her busy private practice; taught college courses on rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), counseling, and personal development; and gave public and professional workshops and presentations. In the United States, she worked with her husband, Albert Ellis, giving public presentations and professional trainings on REBT and collaborating on writing and research projects until his death in 2007.
Dedicated to her husband, she continues to present, practice, and write about his brilliant, groundbreaking approach. She currently has a private practice in New York City, and she delivers lectures, workshops, and seminars throughout the United States and across the globe. Visit her website.
;){kind=link}