"FINALLY a HELPFUL self help book --!!" by Patricia Bergin
Three Minute Therapy is based on the tenets of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy and work by other authors, most notably Dr. Albert Ellis. Having read many other books about CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and REBT I can say with authority that Dr. Edelstein/Dr. Steele's book offers something new to those of us who haven't quite "gotten it" until now.
Of course one has to be skeptical! Can I help myself with MY insurmountable problems in three minute increments? Well, after only a few days with his book I am buoyed and optimistic, and with good reason! Prior to ordering this book I was well on my way to becoming a recluse! After reading the book and doing only 4 three minute exercises I see my perceived "horrors" are being replaced with garden variety frustrations and strong preferences. I am working through my aforementioned "insurmountable" problems and realizing they are not insurmountable at all! Unbelievable that I am getting this much ACTUAL help from a book! What Dr. Edelstein offers that has not been offered before is the stunning news that therapy can indeed be "brief" (three minutes!!???) but totally effective! Three Minute Therapy dispells cultural myths related to therapy, myths that hold many of us back and keep the psychologist's offices cash registers clanging! If all this wasn't enough, I emailed Dr. Edelstein to thank him for writing his book. and he emailed me right back! I had included a bit of personal information about myself and he actually provided a few more specific helpful ideas for me personally! Talk about a guy who loves his work! Here is an author who is 110% committed to providing people with valuable tools for dismantling our self defeating and seemingly destructive ways. Imagine! we can make room for other things in our lives besides a steady stream of "analysis". If you are confused and don't know what to do --BUY THIS BOOK.
"Strongly Recommended" by John Pugsley (Carlsbad, CA United States)
As an author in the field of economics (a behavioral science), a lifelong student of human behavior, and after observing many friends and relatives go through months and years of psychotherapy without alleviating their psychological problems, I long ago concluded that traditional psychotherapy was an ineffective pseudoscience.
Traditional psychotherapy, popularized by Freud, is rooted in the hypothesis that psychological problems stem from early experiences. Yet months or often years of lying on a couch and dredging up the traumas and anxieties of childhood does little more than satisfy our need be heard...to have someone listen. Nor have the majority of other branches of psychotherapy been more successful. From behaviorists like Watson and Skinner to psychoanalysts like Freud, Jung, Adler and Horney, millions of hours have been invested by patients with scant evidence (at least evidence that satisfies me) that the relief of any emotional symptoms is not just a placebo effect.
Several years ago a psychologist friend introduced me to the work of Albert Ellis, the originator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). As a cognitive-behavioral approach, REBT focuses on the here-and-now cause of your problems: your irrational thinking. Numerous studies support the efficacy of this approach for a wide range of problems: anxiety, depression, procrastination, relationship problems, and addictions.
Thanks to its clear effectiveness, cognitive-behavioral therapy is rapidly gaining favor in the field of psychology. Dr. Helen Mayberg, a senior scientist at The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest and the Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry at the University of Toronto noted: "Anti-depressant drugs change the chemical balance in the brain through effects at very specific target sites. Cognitive behavioral therapy also changes brain activity, it's just tapping into a different component of the same depression circuit board." With CBT, patients learn to evaluate emotional provocation in their environment in a new way. They are taught cognitive strategies for reducing automatic reactivity to negative thoughts.
The Milton H. Erickson Foundation every five years since 1980 has sponsored a major conference to explore modern psychological treatments. The last one in December brought together some 9,000 psychologists along with many of the world's most celebrated living therapists. Among them, the two men who developed cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. Albert Ellis, a psychologist in New York, and Dr. Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania. Both speakers brought crowds to their feet.
Dr. Ellis has written a number of books on REBT, most of which I've read, but the most readable and actionable of all books on the subject is Dr. Michael Edelstein's Three-Minute Therapy: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.
A student of Dr. Ellis, and a licensed clinical psychologist with over 25 years experience, Dr. Edelstein's book is a step-by-step guide offering the reader the practical and effective techniques of REBT for overcoming the major psychological problems of our age: addiction, depression, anxiety, anger, procrastination, and panic attacks.
As Dr. Edelstein points out on his website (www.threeminutetherapy.com), it takes significantly longer than three minutes to dislodge the many dysfunctional aspects of a troubled personality. But these clear and simple exercises will gradually eliminate psychological distress from your life.
As Dr. Ellis himself says, "Of all the books that explain REBT in simple, clear, and highly usable form, Three Minute Therapy is one of the very best." I think it is the best. If you or someone you care about is struggling with psychological distress, I strongly recommend you read one book, Three-Minute Therapy. Read it, and practice the simple, three-minute exercises. It will change your life.
John Pugsley
Founder, The Bio-Rational Institute; Chairman, The Sovereign Society.
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