9 EXPERTS DESCRIBE THE ESSENCE OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE THERAPY WHILE STANDING ON ONE FOOT

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of agreement amo ng a panel of rational-emotive therapy (RET) experts about the essence of RET. The panel of experts consisted of the 9 members of The Intern ational Training Standards and Review Committee of the Institute for R ational-Emotive Therapy in New York. The question that the experts wer e asked was an adaptation of a Talmudic story known in Jewish lore as ''While Standing on One Foot.'' Responses were assigned to either of 2 categories: general cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) or RET-specific. There seems to be a range of responses that capture the essence of RE T. A strong case carl be made for subsuming many aspects of CBT under RET because much of what is associated with CBT has its origins in RET : The confusion about where RET ends and general CBT begins goes to th e very heart of RET's status today.