The Effect of Mobile Application-Supported Rational Belief Education Program on Rational and Irrational Beliefs of University Students

Today, Rational Emotive-Behavior Therapy (REBT) continues to be a widely used and effective approach in psychological counseling and psychotherapy. The focus of REBT involves helping individuals reach healthy emotions and functional behaviors by changing their way of thinking through both individual...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fedai Kabadayı, Mehmet Güven
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2024-12-01
Series:Psikoloji Çalışmaları
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Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/F532048FC2354FDA9F2A936714AB607B
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Summary:Today, Rational Emotive-Behavior Therapy (REBT) continues to be a widely used and effective approach in psychological counseling and psychotherapy. The focus of REBT involves helping individuals reach healthy emotions and functional behaviors by changing their way of thinking through both individual and group psychological help and psychoeducation. Integrating technological advances into psychological counseling and psychotherapy practices has expanded the application areas of REBT. In particular, mobile application-based studies facilitate access to psychological counseling and psychotherapy and enable individuals to participate more actively in therapy processes. New mobile application-based approaches can increase individuals’ access to self-help tools and enable them to apply therapy processes more integrated into their daily lives. There are limited studies on the effectiveness of mobile applications based on REBT. Moreover, despite the increasing literature, research on rational beliefs has been neglected. This study examines the effect of a mobile application-supported rational belief education program (MARBEP) on university students’ and irrational beliefs. A quasi-experimental design was employed, incorporating both the intervention and control groups. This design featured pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements to assess the effects of the intervention over time. The study included a total of 32 university students, with sixteen participants allocated to the intervention group and another sixteen to the control group. The intervention group received an 8-session intervention program, whereas the control group received no intervention. Fourteen participants from each group completed all the measurements. The research findings demonstrated a significant decrease in irrational beliefs within the intervention group, alongside a significant increase in their rational beliefs. Furthermore, the 4-week follow-up measurements indicated that the observed changes were ongoing. In contrast, no significant changes were identified in the control group. The outcomes of this study were analyzed in conjunction with the literature, leading to the development of a series of recommendations informed by the findings.
ISSN:2602-2982