9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shameless Autobiography, August 18, 2010
This review is from: All Out!: An Autobiography (Hardcover)
I first met Albert Ellis in 1986 when I came to see him for personal psychotherapy. At the time I was a Master's level counselor and a practitioner of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). My relationship evolved with Ellis through the years. He was my supervisor, then a colleague when we debated in print and at workshops, and I always considered him my friend. Although I moved away from REBT and adopted a solution-focused approach starting in the 1990s after I received by Ph.D., I always had a soft spot for REBT. In fact, I consider myself a recovering REBT therapist because I still have occasional relapses when I sneak in Ellis's techniques. So, I looked forward to reading "All Out," Ellis's long-awaited autobiography.
I strongly recommend "All Out" for experienced REBT therapists, clinicians who are new to the model, and general consumers. Ellis uses his own techniques to shamelessly disclose some of his own immoral behaviors, including teenage frotteurism and fathering three illegitimate children. The book includes many photos from Ellis's life that have never before been published. In addition, readers will gain a unique understanding of the theory and practice of REBT through Ellis's personal narrative.
I must admit that I was surprised to read and learn about some of Ellis's behavior, especially how he fathered three illegitimate children with a married woman while the woman's husband had no clue. I prefer not to explicate the details because they are quite involved and, anyway, I prefer to leave it a mystery for you. After reading the book, I felt more than disappointed in Ellis, who was my first mentor. But I quickly used the REBT on myself to dispute the irrational belief that Ellis should not have done such acts and that he was a bad person for doing them. I also gave up the idea that people, especially people whom I admire and respect, absolutely must live up to my expectations. Too bad! That's not the way the world is. I then felt sorry and disappointed in some of Ellis's behavior, but not him as a total human being. I could almost hear the late, great Albert Ellis say to me, "That's rational!"
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Humanist!, August 23, 2011
This review is from: All Out!: An Autobiography (Hardcover)
I have a habit of giving books away if someone thinks they can benefit by reading them. This is probably what happened to some of my books written by Albert Ellis. Since I am trying to effectively deal with a problem at this time, I thought I would benefit by reading some of his books again. When I started to order some of his books from Amazon, I saw that he wrote an autobiography. I thought it would be an interesting book to read.
I wondered if he practiced Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) himself. In short, did he live a life facilitated by the principles of REBT? After reading this book, I would say he did, albeit imperfectly. Of course, who does anything perfectly at all times? A large part of the book deals with his sex life. To be honest, I found the book a bit long because of the seemingly endless stories about his sex life. Hence, the three star review. In any event, he does analyze them as only a trained psychologist can. He had a high degree of self-awareness, which is not surprising. It is hard to imagine that he left anything out with respect to his sex life. From frotteurism to fathering three children with his ex-wife Karyl, while she was married to a man named Tony, it is all there in highly-analyzed fashion.
The chapter concerning his three "illegitimate" children is an interesting read, simply because he lays it out and then proceeds to analyze his behavior. He asks the tough questions of himself and comes to the conclusion that his low frustration tolerance (LFT) was a significant contributing factor as to why he did what he did. Similarly, he came to the conclusion that he could still practice unconditional self-acceptance (USA).
Another concept in the REBT scheme of things is unconditional other-acceptance (UOA). I often wondered what he thought of Wayne W. Dyer. Dyer's highly successful book, "Your Erroneous Zones", is largely an REBT book. Yet, Dyer only mentions Ellis once in it. I wondered from time to time if Ellis felt resentment toward Dyer. After all, that book launched Dyer on a successful career. Would Ellis resent his success? Would it be enough for Ellis to know that his system was reaching and helping others, even though that system was not properly acknowledged in Dyer's book? Well, I got the answers to those questions. His letter to Dyer, which addresses this failure to credit REBT, is a model in the art of being frank without being hateful. It exhibits UOA.
I was very impressed with how Albert Ellis dealt with all of his physical problems as he grew older. He really was committed to facilitating workshops and group therapy, as well as spreading the Gospel of Saint Albert, as he would say from time to time. His writings in the field of psychotherapy were truly groundbreaking. I have received much help from the insights of REBT and its application in my life. He was truly one of the great psychologists, and one of the great humanists, of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He helped people to think rationally, and thereby have a better quality of life.
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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review of "All out" An Autobiography of Dr Albert Ellis, June 15, 2010
This review is from: All Out!: An Autobiography (Hardcover)
REVIEW OF "ALL OUT"! AN AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF Dr Albert Ellis
WITH DEBBIE JOFFE-ELLIS
BY ROBIN W. THORBURN
[...]
Drs Albert Ellis and Debbie Joffe-Ellis
I have the pleasure of reviewing this 668 page book published by Prometheus Books, New York.
Release date 22nd June 2010.
This informative, revealing, wittily and candidly written memoir (a work in progress for many years, to which he was still adding at the age of 92 whilst contending with a range of significant physical problems) is dedicated to Dr Ellis' wife Debbie who he describes as "The Greatest love of my whole life, my whole life".
Given the Albert Ellis PhD detractors, and there have been many in a career that started in June 1943 and which came to prominence in 1955 with the advent of what is now called Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, it is relevant to note that this book starts with this emotional statement.
He endured barbed comments from Fritz Perls, originator of Gestalt Therapy saying that REBT was "too rational". In fact the book reveals an emotional intensity unrivalled. In the context of love, sex, lust, philosophy, therapy, inner awareness and relationships it makes "Gone with the Wind" look uneventful!
"I give a unique picture of myself that is more multi-sided than memoirs that mainly stress adventure, business, sex or relationships. Not that I'll omit those things, but rather I'll add to them".
Albert Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on September the 27th 1913 and achieved great, great things; a fellow of 12 Divisions of The American Psychological Association, author of 80 books, 800 Academic Papers and creator of REBT (a more philosophical form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), one of the most popular psychotherapies in the world. Indeed, the Ellis approach, the original and pioneering cognitive approach, came 10 years before that of Aaron Beck's Cognitive Therapy. Towards the end of the book, letters between Dr Albert Ellis and Dr Aaron "Tim" Beck are published, giving the reader a sense of the closeness between the men and their psychotherapeutic differences.
Dr Ellis shares his insights and probabilistic assumptions about people, himself, his parents, his physical ailments, death, important influences, love for music, composing, and the "Bogus Albert Ellis Institute". From the outset Ellis goes `all out' to unconditionally accept himself with his inherent human fallibility and to unconditionally accept others with theirs.
Ellis intertwines his relationship with his early childhood sweetheart Ruthie, his family constellation, and formative years, cogently assessing and enlightening the reader with passionate in-depth observations, whilst disputing and showing the limitations of Freudian Psychoanalysis and Behaviourism. While interned in hospital at age 6, he set out the format for his much later famous shame attacking exercises, which included a workshop attendee choosing to walk down Madison Avenue with a banana on a red lead!
Ellis discusses his use of prayer and religion and conclusions he came to about his use and practice of them. Low frustration tolerance (LFT) is given special mention throughout, with emphasis that it may be biologically part of the human condition. Ellis shows us how to manage it and work against it, even if some humans may be genetically pre-disposed to anxiety, anger and depression.
Stand aside Freudians and Jungians, Ellis really delves into childhood issues-his own! He shows how these two pioneering psychotherapies downplayed "the importance of cognition and ignored its crucial role in the more dramatic and emotional aspects of therapy". The emotional closeness of the words and the author to the reader make the reader feel that he/she is part of Dr Ellis. Like honey to a bee.
He demonstrates his psychotherapeutic interventions with clients, asking them to de-potentiate another troublesome person's impact on themselves "I say to my clients no matter how old they are: never take screwballs seriously".
Controversy is rich throughout; readers will be most surprised, some quite stunned, to read of certain revelations that Dr Ellis never made public before now. Some readers may find some of the sexologist's revelations hard to bear as he goes into frank details and reasoning, conjoining his therapeutic approaches.
He lays bare his thoughts on his colleagues (that he trained) taking over and banning him from teaching in and involvement in running his Institute, describing them "as pirates taking over a ship". Further incisive comments follow about the people who have wronged him, but in true REBT style, he concludes that their actions are "bad, but not horrible".
His wife Debbie contributes a chapter describing the care her husband received whilst in hospital and his resilience to dealing with adversities, whilst overlooking her own selfless contribution to him. It becomes even clearer than ever before, the true love, admiration and incredible compatibility the two of them shared. "Debbie has had the most profound and positive influence on my life"
Towards the end of the book Debbie describes the last few moments of her husbands life. The words she writes are laced with love, strength and sadness, re-creating the most moving scene imaginable!
Dr Albert Ellis passed away on July the 24th 2007 with an important wish:
"...my wife and partner, Debbie Joffe Ellis and our supporters can preserve the original and modified theory of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, to see that its philosophy is practiced by its teaching professionals and students and that its integrity as a theory is backed by empirically orientated research".
Throughout the book, this pioneering and brave psychotherapist invokes within me laughter, empathy, and intrigue, astonishment, joy and deep sadness but effervescing through and emerging from these powerful emotions is a burning sense of hope and much greater clarity on how to achieve peace with self and others.
Dr Ellis conveys a rich tapestry of therapeutic presentation, then refreshingly crystallizes them with relevant up to date poignancy.
Anyone with an interest in people should read this book; it is passionately written with immense knowledge, therefore making it a potent combination.
I predict it will become one of the best sellers of all time and will end up on the silver screen. In short it is a startling, revealing insight of a man who successfully re-designed psychotherapy in an essentially brilliant, profound and truly effective manner then ultimately achieved recognition from prominent figures and leaders including the Dalai Lama, The Mayor of the City of New York, Presidents Clinton and Bush.
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