Wessler makes the point that RET, constructivist in theory, becomes rationalistic in
practice. The therapist shows to patients an irrational belief then disputes the belief. The
disputing is saying that “I am right, you are wrong. Your version of reality is wrong because it
is based on an absolutistic must and must can not be correct. But RET answer to this critique
that RET actually holds that clients' absolutist musts are neither right nor wrong, because both
are personal views and feelings that are strongly held but are not "correct" or "incorrect."
Thus, "I want success very much" and "I therefore demand that I achieve it" are both
propositions that are "true" because they express peoples' actual feelings.
Wessler says that the RET client is challenged to prove scientifically that the must is
correct. No, clients are shown that they most probably have musts when they are emotionally
and behaviorally disturbed and that these are importantly related to their disturbances; and
they are also shown how they can experimentally check out this RET hypothesis to see if they
really have imperative musts and to see if changing them helps feel and act better.
Wessler is misleading on several points that RET almost always disputes clients
irrational beliefs in three ways: (1) empirically; (2) logically by showing clients that their
irrational beliefs don’t follow from strong preferences; (3) pragmatically. Most cognitive-
behavior therapies use one or two of these methods to dispute dysfunctional beliefs of the
client but RET uses all three.
Wessler states that "In RET, the therapist is always right about musts". No, the RET
hypothesis is that people make themselves anxious without use absolutist musts; and this
hypothesis had better be clinically and experimentally researched, along with the hypothesis
that when people change their musts they construct less anxious and happier life styles.
Wessler has raised these RET hypotheses to dogmatic musts, but his view of RET has little
relationship to its theory or practice. I could say that he must give up this mistaken view of
RET, but I will only say that that would be highly preferable.
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