Albert Ellis was a clinical psychologist and a marriage counselor. He was born on September 27, 1913 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ellis originated the rational-emotive therapy movement, which ignores Freudian theories and advocates the belief that emotions come from conscious thought "as well as internalized ideas of which the individual may be unaware." At first, Ellis' books on marital romance and sexuality were criticized by some as being radical and sensational; however, few realized that Ellis was merely laying the groundwork for modern sex education. Ellis was educated at the City College of New York Downtown and at Columbia University, where he received a Ph.D. in psychology in 1943.… He taught for a number of years at Rutgers University, New Jersey, and the Union Graduate School. He was executive director of the Institute for Rational Living, Inc., in New York City. Ellis was the author of Sex and the Liberated Man, Sex Without Guilt, and Sex Without Guilt in the Twenty-First Century. Despite his health issues, Ellis never stopped working with the assistance of his wife, Australian psychologist Debbie Joffe Ellis. In April 2006, Ellis was hospitalized with pneumonia, and had to stay in either the hospital or the rehabilitation facility. He eventually returned to his home --- the top floor of the Albert Ellis Institute. He died there on July 24, 2007 in his wife's arms. Ellis had authored and co-authored more than 80 books and 1200 articles during his lifetime. He was 93 when he died.
Mike Abrams, Ph.D., has been a practicing clinician in New Jersey for more than 20 years. He is also on the graduate counseling faculty of William Paterson University and is a fellow and supervisor of the Albert Ellis Institute. Dr. Abrams studied and worked closely with Dr. Ellis, with whom he published several books, chapters, and articles. Dr. Abrams has received commendations from the New Jersey governor, the Hudson County executive, and the Jersey City mayor for his volunteer efforts. His commitment to pro-bono work includes his being among the first psychologists to counsel people with AIDS at the Gay Men's Health Crisis in the early 1980s. Dr. Abrams has degrees from Queens College,… Brooklyn College, the Graduate Center of City University of New York, and New York University. He also did postdoctoral study at Columbia University and the Albert Ellis Institute. Prior to becoming a psychologist, he earned an MBA and worked in organizations such as the New York Stock Exchange, Merrill Lynch, and Citicorp.
Lidia Dengelegi Abrams, Ph.D., is the executive director of Resolve Community Counseling Center, Inc., a private, nonprofit mental health agency. She also maintains a private clinical psychology practice and consults for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, the New Jersey Office of Parental Representation, and the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Dr. Abrams has co-authored one other book with Dr. Ellis and has published research in the areas of AIDS education and prevention, eating disorders, and comparative psychotherapy efficacy. For several years, she conducted research on health care utilization at Rutgers University s Institute for Health, Health Care… Policy, and Aging Research. She has a master s degree in psychology from New York University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Temple University. She is a fellow and supervisor of the Albert Ellis Institute. Dr. Abrams has taught at New Jersey City University.