‘REBT can help with a whole host of emotional and behavioural problems’

A new book by Bristol-based psychotherapist, Daniel Fryer, aims to help people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. In The Four Thoughts That F*ck You Up… and How to Fix Them, Fryer calls on his considerable experience of using the REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy) model, an early type of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, to offer readers a potential way out of their problems.

Fryer, a former journalist, explains more about the origin of the book and with what kind of problems REBT may be able to help.

Why did you decide to move away from journalism to studying and then practising psychotherapy?

Bit of a long story. One of the titles I was working on was a health magazine. They were doing a big feature on stopping smoking. We were going to gather a bunch of people who wanted to quit via different methods (patches, gums, sprays, Alan Carr, hypnotherapy, acupuncture and so on).

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The feature was to interview people at start, then follow up every three months for a year to see who stayed the course and who fell by the wayside. I liked the idea of hypnotherapy and put myself forward for that. It certainly worked as I haven’t smoked for over 15 years. I really enjoyed the experience and the hypnotherapist even taught me self-hypnosis.

Shortly after that I became friendly with a guy down the gym, we’d train together. He was director of development at a hypnotherapy college. He noted my enthusiasm and got me on an introductory course. After that I studied for a diploma in hypnotherapy, then a diploma in cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy and, a little while after that, an MSc in rational-emotive and cognitive behaviour therapy.

I never meant to drop the journalism but, somewhere along the way, it fell by the wayside.

Daniel Fryer is an very experienced, Bristol-based psychotherapist. Credit: penguin.co.uk

What was the main reason for writing the book?

I wanted to write a book about REBT that was written in my style. Having a writing and journalism background made me think I could write something a little different from what was already out there.  Plus, humour is very important to me. I wrote my MSc thesis on the use of humour in psychotherapy (but, being a thesis it was dry and academic) and I wanted to be able to suggest a book to my clients that was written by me and was entertaining, educational and informative.

You say in the book that REBT is “very successful” and that you “would hate to see it go the way of the dodo”.  Why do you think it is not that well-known, particularly in comparison with CBT?

It’s difficult to say. In the book I make a comparison to the battle between Blu Ray and HDDVD and, before that, between VHS videotape and Betamax. CBT was a little quicker than REBT to recognise the value of empirical research, which is possibly a factor. But, both are now equally well researched and equally efficacious. I’d like my book to raise REBT’s profile so that people know it is there and that it is available and that they can access it.

In the introduction you suggest to readers that the book will help with “mildly to moderately disturbing” emotional problems. What kind of problems do you have in mind?

REBT can help with a whole host of emotional and behavioural problems, ranging from mild to severe. But, with a book, you have to be ethical and pragmatic. So, by mild to moderate, I mean presentations such as specific anxiety (such as performance anxiety or social anxiety) an anger management issue (such as losing your temper regularly with someone or over something) and depression (as a specific reaction to something such as the loss of a relationship or the loss of a job). It’s also helpful if you are jealous in your relationship, or feel guilty or ashamed about something, or have confidence issues. If you have several issues, or a more complex diagnosis such as generalised anxiety disorder, or clinical depression, or are dealing with grief or trauma, you can still read the book, but I would also suggest seeking out the services of a professional.

What are the most positive things about Bristol in terms of improving one’s mental health?

That would be the greenery and the water. Studies have shown that living near both and interacting with both are very good for mental health and wellbeing. In fact, emotional and behavioural problems can be alleviated with something as simple as a daily visit to the park. Bristol contains several beautiful parks, plus we have the harbour. On top of that, so much amazing scenery is available to you just a short car or train ride away when you live in Bristol. Nature is both a great anti-depressant and a great antidote to anxiety.

The Four Thoughts That F*ck You Up … and How to Fix Them by Daniel Fryer is out now. For more information, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/1084664/daniel-fryer.html

Read more: Nathan Filer on his latest book, Heartland

Main photo credit: Gideon Knight Photography