ABC Model (A 5 point guide)

The present blogspot will focus on the question “what is abc model”? We will discuss the various attributes, characteristics and uses of the abc model. We will also learn the importance of the abc model in psychotherapy and counseling.

What is the abc model?

The Abc model was developed by Albert Ellis. This model is used in cognitive behavior therapy. The aim of this model is to facilitate individuals coming to therapy to get rid from negative feelings, negative attitudes and negative thoughts.

Like the main focus of cognitive behavior therapy, the centre idea behind abc model is to restructure the distorted and errorful thinking patterns, identify the underlying cognitive biases and inculcate a deeper insight about the vicious cycle and the effects of triggering situations on the vicious cycle.

Albert Ellis first used the ABC model in order to facilitate people to get rid of their negative thoughts that in turn lead to negative behavior and unpleasant feelings. Thus the ABC model was used for helping people to get rid of pessimistic attitudes in life that further helps their adaptive functioning.

The ABC model believes that the way individuals believe and react to various situations in life have an effect on their current life, future life and their psychological well-being. The irrational, distorted and negative thoughts are dealt with professionally by using the ABC model and helping the client form new, alternate and rational thoughts.

The ABC model explains human behavior, feelings and emotions in terms of the human perception of the events and their beliefs that make them form irrational and rigid thoughts related to the situations. 

The ABC model suggests that it is  not the accumulation of events that lead to certain behaviors or emotions among individuals rather the irrational and distorted thinking patterns that enable individuals to evaluate the situations in a negative way and in turn strengthen their vicious cycles.

IN ABC model, the A, B and C stand for following acronyms:

• A  is activating event
• B is Belief
• C is consequence

The “A” in ABC model is any situation or event that triggers the thought or feeling in the individual.  It is called an activating event as it activates the irrational thoughts and the pessimistic perception of the events begins after the occurrence of that event. 

The “B” in the ABC model is the underlying belief of the individual. The belief is based on the cognitive schemas and the cognitive patterns that push an individual to think in a certain way about the activating event that triggers their underlying beliefs based on irrational thoughts.

The “C” in the ABC model is the consequence. In other words, the “C” in the ABC model is the result or outcome of the activating event and the belief. The consequence can be a behavioral reaction or an emotional component. 

The Components of ABC model

Following are the three components of the ABC model :

• Activating Event (Antecedent)
• Belief
• Consequence

The first component of the ABC model is the activating event or antecedent. It is based on the following questions:

• What was the situation?
• Where did the situation happen?
• Who was involved in the situation?
• What did other people do?
• What was your role in the situation?
• What thoughts and emotions were involved?

The second component of the ABC model is the Belief. It is based on the following questions: 

• What thoughts initiated in mind as the situation occurred?
• How did my thoughts be related to the underlying beliefs I have?

The third component of the ABC model is consequence. It is related to the following questions:

• As a result of the activating event and the triggered beliefs, what type of emotions rushed through my mind?
• What type of negative behavior emerged as a result of the triggering event?
• How did the activating event leave an impact on the behavior?

Example of ABC model 

The example of ABC model is as follows :

John was shifted to a new school from the previous school system so that he can better concentrate on his studies. In previous school, John had the impression of a lazy and dull student as his Language teacher always complained about him to the parents and the counselor. 

As a result jhon developed negative feelings about the teacher and started to dislike the language class. He started to look for reasons to miss his Language class. Thus he was unable to take the final exams of the grade due to lack of attendance. 

The school management and the parents decided to shift Jhon to a different branch of school. In Order to manage John’s unpleasant feelings and the irrational thoughts related to the Language class that hindered his academic performance. 

In the new school branch, John again had difficulty in concentrating on the Language subject. He had preset beliefs about the language subject and the language teacher. Though the new language teacher was very interactive, unbiased and focused on the subject , John was not able to study and grasp the concept that was taught in the class. 

The whole scenario was discussed by the parents with the school management and the school counselor. The counselor decided to facilitate John for behavioral change and help him deal with the underlying cognitive biases. 

John was attended well by the counselor and was provided psychoeducation about cognitive behavior therapy. The counselor was successful in developing an insight in John’s mind about the impact of our negative thoughts and perceptions on our feelings and behaviors. 

John shared with the counselor that he believes that the language teacher is biased just like the previous teacher. Though he never experiences any unpleasant emotion or negative criticism, but he believes just like the previous school teacher of language subject, this teacher will also evaluate him negatively.

The counselor successfully related John’s current negative beliefs and emotions related to the new language teacher and the language subject to the previous experiences. 

Thus John learnt that the way he was perceiving the language teacher and the language class was based on the irrational thoughts and unpleasant experiences with the last Language teacher. 

In this case example, John’s activating event  was :

• The Language class and the Language teacher 

Jhon’s Belief in result to the activating event was:

• The new Language teacher is biased as the previous school language teacher
• The new language teacher will evaluate John negatively just as the previous school language teacher.

The activating event and the beliefs associated to the activating event, left following consequences on John’s behavior :

• Unpleasant feelings related to Language teacher
• Unpleasant thoughts related to Language teacher
• Aversive reaction to Language class
• Lack of interest in Language class.

In the ABC model, the B is believed to link A and C. B being the beliefs and the set of underlying cognitions has an impact on the consequences. Thus the cognitive behavior therapists work on the B component of the person to produce more positive outcomes, the C component that in turn fosters the individual’s psychological well-being.

Hence while working in psychotherapy with individuals on their cognitive distortions, the psychotherapists use ABC model to facilitate the client to understand their beliefs and the resulting emotional and behavioral responses. The individual thus understands that the various events  that trigger certain emotional and behavioral responses are actually neutral events that turn negative due to the underlying cognitive biases.

The Characteristics of ABC model 

Following are the basic characteristics of the ABC model : 

• The ABC model is a basic technique that is utilized in therapy and counseling in order to  work on cognitive functioning.
• The ABC model is based on the core concept of cognitive behavior therapy.
• The ABC model is focused on the fact that an individual’s belief regarding a certain event determines the individual’s perception of the event and the related feelings to the event along the behavior of the individual.
• The ABC model is effective in identifying the cognitive patterns of individuals.
• The ABC model is utilized in restructuring the cognitive distortions of the individuals.
• The ABC model is a clinical intervention that is used by counselors and psychotherapists to challenge the irrational beliefs of individuals.
• The ABC model helps the therapists to provide the individuals psychoeducation related to cognitive distortions.
• The ABC model is an efficient tool for cognitive restructuring among the clients.
• The ABC model helps the individuals to identify the contingencies of the behavior with the facilitation of their counselor.
• The ABCmodel helps the individuals and clients to understand what happens in the environment and the individual before the triggering event and the resulting behavior.

The Significance of ABC model

The ABC model is significant in ways that it aids in cognitive restructuring and managing the cognitive biases based on thinking distortions. The ABC model has the following important uses :

• The ABC model helps the individuals understand that the emotional and behavioral reactions of human beings are not predicted by the event or situation. Rather the emotional and behavioral responses are based on the way humans perceive the events, evaluate the nature of events and internalize the events. 
• The ABC model helps the individuals to form more rational thoughts in place of the irrational thoughts.
• The ABC model helps to dispute irrational beliefs.
• The ABC model aids in changing the subsequent emotional and behavioral responses based on irrational beliefs. 
• The ABC model helps in restructuring the underlying cognitive biases and their impact on behavior and emotions that is at the core of patients suffering from Personality disorders, anxiety, depression, eating disorder, schizophrenia, panic attack, conversion, stress and social anxiety.
• The ABC model helps individuals to understand the link between their thoughts, emotions and behaviour.
• The ABC model instills among the individuals a motivation to change their underlying beliefs in order to live a functional life.
• The ABC model can be used to help overcome the post traumatic symptoms among humans.
• The ABC model can help individuals to manage life well after loss of a loved one.
• The ABC model can help individuals to manage aggressive and hyper reactive responses to various situations.
• The ABC model can help in resolving conflicts
• The ABC model helps individuals to understand that they are the sole owners of their mind and thoughts and they can hence reshape their thoughts.

Research studies have also highlighted the effectiveness of the ABC model in treating the underlying cognitive biases that lead to various mental disorders and associated features. Saelid & Nordahl ( 2017) stated that the ABC model efficiently works with the clients of depression and anxiety. Through cognitive reframing using the ABC model, the symptoms of low self esteem, negative self evaluation and hopelessness get reduced significantly.

Similarly Ziegler and Smith (2004) highlighted the importance of the ABC model in overcoming the state of emotional reactions among individuals. They stated that the ABC model reduces the instances of negative and unpleasant emotional states among the individuals by working on the underlying irrational beliefs and the triggers that give rise to those beliefs.

Conclusion

The current blogspot focused on the ABC model. We learned the various aspects of the ABC model and discussed the ABC model through a case study. We also elaborated the various facts and aspects of ABC that make it a successful intervention to be used as a strategy for cognitive restructuring and framing rational thoughts.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) : ABC model

Citations

https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/topics/ellis-abc-model

resource

https://www.toolshero.com/psychology/abc-model-albert-ellis/

https://positivepsychology.com/albert-ellis-abc-model-rebt-cbt/

Saelid, G.A., Nordahl, H.M. (2017). Rational emotive behavior therapy in high schools to educate in mental health and empower youth health. A randomized controlled study of a brief intervention. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 46(3), 196-210.

Ziegler, D.J., Smith, P.N. (2004). Anger and the ABC model underlying Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy. Psychological Reports, 94(3), 1009-1014.