Albert Ellis R.I.P.

I never met Albert Ellis, but he was one of those people who had a tremendous impact but are not that well-known. Everyone's heard of Freud and Jung and their followers, but their kind of psycho-therapy has fallen from favor. Instead, most therapists today practice the kind of therapy that Albert Ellis pioneered. His books and speeches were controversial and raunchy. Back in college, we boys eagerly read them for tips on getting girls out of their clothes.

The reason his therapy has become so popular, is that it works, more or less, and it doesn't take a lot of time to perform, say 10 sessions instead of years on the couch. The two psychotherapists I have known socially both follow his school of thought. If Albert Ellis had been more well-behaved the whole media hero-worship thing would have made him a household name.