Trouble At The Albert Ellis Institute

Latest
To read all the latest news and to catch up on the history of the dispute between Dr. Ellis and the Albert Ellis Institute Click here.

Background
An  unfortunate situation that has arisen at the Albert Ellis Institute which endangers both the welfare of Dr. Albert Ellis and the future of REBT.  In short, the AEI institute is a public, non-profit agency, which is run by a Board of Directors or trustees.  Dr. Ellis has been the President of the Board for many years.  Within the past year Dr. Ellis has been persuaded to step down as director to the position of President Emeritus.  

The AEI board, which suggested that Dr. Ellis' healthcare costs are excessive, is itself a very costly entity -- unusual for a not for profit organization.  In addition, their expenses are defrayed which include hotel stays, travel, and meals. Despite this, the board has not performed any meaningful fundraising.  The prior executive director Michael Broder, who held the dual position of board member and head of AEI is expected to  be paid, for his part-time position, between $300,000 and $400,000 in 2005.

As you may know, Dr. Ellis has celebrated his 92nd birthday recently.  He is physically weak, with multiple medical conditions, requiring round the clock medical care.  HOWEVER, Dr. Ellis is lucid as ever, still very much productive in his writings, and very much able to conduct individual and group therapy, as well as his traditional Friday Night workshops.

Disagreements have arisen between Dr. Ellis and the Board’s new president and several members of the board.  Dr. Ellis has found that the executive director that presided over Dr. Ellis' removal, Dr. Michael Broder, is not interested in promoting REBT, but rather a more generic CBT-like method of treatment.  This and some personal issues which ought to have no place in the running of an Institute have led to Dr. Broder and the Board to restricting Dr. Ellis’s activities at the Institute, and finally, on September 16, to vote him off the Board.

Dr. Ellis, the founder of REBT, the man whose name the AEI Institute bears, has worked tirelessly all of his life to promote this very effective form of therapy; has worked with thousands of grateful clients; has led innumerable groups ad workshops; and has taught hundreds of interns how to help themselves and others overcome emotional difficulties. Read the full story.