Which type of therapy focuses on changing irrational beliefs to lessen emotional disturbance?

Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), developed by Albert Ellis, is designed specifically to help individuals identify and change irrational beliefs that lead to emotional distress. The fundamental principle behind this therapy is that it is not the events that upset people, but rather the beliefs they hold about those events. By challenging and disputing these irrational beliefs, clients can learn to replace them with more rational, adaptive ways of thinking, which can lead to a significant reduction in emotional disturbances and improve overall mental health.

In contrast to cognitive behavioral therapy, which integrates the cognitive restructuring approach but also includes behavioral components to reinforce change, Rational Emotive Therapy focuses primarily on the cognitive aspect itself and the role of beliefs in emotional wellbeing. While behavioral therapy emphasizes modifying behaviors to bring about change, it does not specifically target the underlying irrational beliefs. Dialectical behavior therapy, on the other hand, is primarily used for emotional regulation and developing coping strategies, particularly in borderline personality disorder, and does not directly focus on changing irrational beliefs as its main goal.

Thus, the defining feature of Rational Emotive Therapy is its systematic approach to identifying and altering irrational beliefs, making it the correct answer for the question regarding the type of therapy that focuses on this specific objective.