Welcome to the Association for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (AREBT) Annual Conference 2025 programme.
Conference networking room opens at 09.30am and is open all day.
The AREBT AGM starts at 17.00pm.
NB All times in GMT (UK time).
Booking for Conference Day 1 – 2nd December 2025
Cost: AREBT Members Free (or voluntary donation). Non-Members: £50.
Booking: Eventbrite (Link coming soon)
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
09.50am to 10.00am Conference Welcome
10.00am Keynote 1 – Dr Martin J. Turner
Keynote: REBT as a Hero’s Journey
11.00am to 11.30am – Speaker Networking with Dr Martin Turner.
In this keynote, the alignment of the components of the Hero’s Journey and the components of REBT are presented in some detail. I will describe this approach as the rational emotive behavioural monomyth (REBM) and outline how it can be positioned and applied in practice
11.30am to 11.45am – Short tea break and Networking Session.
Session 2
11.45 to 12.30pm Invited Paper – Nick Edgerton
Invited paper: Improving sleep quality in SPACE: A RE-CBT Approach, with Nick Edgerton
12.30am to 13.00am – Speaker Networking with Nick Edgerton.
This paper will briefly look at sleep research and then describe how the SPACE model can be used to assist in improving sleep quality of clients, coachees and oneself. It is not just a problem for adults. In 2023, 37.8% of children aged 8 to 16 years had a problem with sleep 3 or more times over the previous 7 nights and 64.9% of young people aged 17 to 23 years had a problem with sleep 3 or more times over the previous 7 night (NHS).
(Link to original SPACE paper published in 2005: SPACE: A psychological model for use within cognitive behavioural coaching, therapy and stress management.)
Session 3
Lunchtime Networking, Meet the Sponsors & pre-recorded Keynote
13.00pm to 14.00pm Networking and meet the sponsors
Joint Keynote with Prof Stephen Palmer PhD and Dr Siobhain O’Riordan PhD
13.00pm to 14.00pm Keynote: Harnessing Relaxation to Enhance Wellbeing with Prof Stephen Palmer & Dr Siobhain O’Riordan
This pre-recorded keynote was first given at the International Relaxation Day conference on 15th August 2025 which the Association for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy supports as part of their public engagement strategy. In this keynote Prof Stephen Palmer & Dr Siobhain O’Riordan will provide an overview to relaxation. They will cover the Stress and Relaxation Responses, briefly focus on relaxation research, and will in more depth at relatively ‘simple’ relaxation techniques. They will invite attendees to have a go at one or more relaxation techniques and monitor their effectiveness (eg scaling, heart-rate and blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, Fitbit etc). Although this is an extended keynote, the recording will be available online for watching at and also after the AREBT conference.
Session 4
14.00pm – 14.45pm Keynote 1 – Prof Stephen Palmer PhD
Keynote: From health coaching to the development of an evidence based Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching approach
14.45pm to 15.15pm – Speaker Networking with Prof Stephen Palmer
Over the past 25 years health coaching has become well-established health intervention in many countries. Research has demonstrated that health coaching is effective for addressing a wide range of health-related issues. This keynote will provide an overview to health coaching. Key research will be discussed including the more recent published research into the development of Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching. On Day 2 of this conference Prof Stephen Palmer and Dr Siobhain O’Riordan will be running a workshop on this topic.
15.15pm to 15.30pm – Short tea break and Networking Session.
Conference Doctoral Research Session
Session 5
INVITED RESEARCH PAPER SESSION 15.30pm to 16.45pm
The AREBT Research Centre promotes the sharing of research and this is our PhD doctoral research session.
15.30pm (UK Time) Invited Paper Jo Hensel – Evaluating the Impact of Rational Emotive Behaviour Coaching on Psychological Wellbeing and Performance Anxiety in Conservatoire Musicians: Findings from a Randomised Controlled Trial
16.15pm to 16.45pm – Speaker Networking with Jo Hensel
Speaker: Jo Hensel
This paper presents findings from a randomised controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of a Rational Emotive Behaviour Coaching (REBC) intervention on the psychological wellbeing and performance anxiety of conservatoire music students. The presentation explores what changed, when changes occurred, and the mechanisms of change, offering insights into the application of REBC within high-performance educational settings.
AREBT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The AREBT AGM starts at 17.00pm for AREBT members only and invited guests. Please ensure that you have registered for the AGM when booking your conference place.