Research On The Role Of Rational Emotive Therapy In Regulating Mood Of Middle School Students

Emotional instability is one of the factors that affect students’ psychological health. In this study, the number of middle school students surveyed with emotional instability is up to 14.1%, with the basic emotional stability 74.1%, while the number of emotional stability is only 11.8%. The middle school students with emotional instability often have some irrational beliefs. Misperceptions ways make middle school students self-esteem, negative, interpersonal passive, withdrawn, hostile to others. These negative emotions seriously affect the mental health of middle school students.Rational emotive therapy and group activities were used to change middle school students’ cognitive style, which makes their depression, anxiety, hostility, terror, maladjustment, emotional imbalance, psychological imbalance significantly reduced. The negative emotions of middle school students were relieved and the mental health level was significantly improved.This research suggests that combination of rational emotive therapy and group counseling can regulate the students’ mood and help middle school students accept themselves, not demanding others, improve their interpersonal skills, and thus better adapt to the environment.This research is divided into two parts: one is the combination of rational emotive therapy and group counseling, and the other is the empirical study of the effectiveness of the program.In the design of the program, the research results of cognitive therapy theory and rational emotive therapy are the theoretical basis. And the counseling program is divided into six design units, and the group counseling target and content of the six units are expounded. To design or select the appropriate activity plan and make the target of group activities realistic, workable and attainable, and finally form the specific activities steps.In the empirical research part, before the group counseling, psychological measurement was done to all the subjects. The students of equal conditions were divided into experimental group and control group. Rational emotive therapy group counseling program for group psychological intervention was conducted in the experimental group in accordance with the study of the preparation once a week, which lasted for 6 weeks. After the end of the activity, the experimental group and the control group were measured, comparison data before and after the test and the students’ feelings, to evaluate counseling effect. This research also had carried out on the special tutoring individual students in need. Immediate effect could be seen through individual test and the reaction of the people around them. The assessment tools including emotional stability self-test scale and middle school student mental health scale and SCL – 90 were used before and after the intervention.The results of the study before and after rational emotive therapy group counseling were shown in the study: the emotional stability of the experimental group and the control group were basically the same before counseling, after counseling emotional stability of students in the experimental group increased significantly while the number of emotionally unstable decreased significantly(emotional stability did not change significantly in the control group before and after counseling), the mental health status of the experimental group and the control group were basically the same before counseling, after counseling, the number of hostility, depression, anxiety, emotional imbalance and psychological imbalance in the experimental group were significantly less than those in the control group(the mental health status of the control group was not obvious before and after counseling), before counseling SCL-90 scores of all subjects and national youth norm for a single sample test, in which the 9 factors scores and national youth norm is very significant different(P < 0.001) with statistical significance. The scores of the students in the experimental group and the control group were tested by independent samples test before counseling and 9 factors were satisfied with P>0.05. There was no significant difference and the two groups were homogeneous. After counseling the scores of the students in the experimental group and the control group were tested by independent sample test, in the experimental group, the scores of depression factor, anxiety factor, hostility factor, and terrorist factor of 4 kinds of emotional factors were significantly decreased. Compared to the control group the difference was significant(P <0.001)(before and after counseling, each factor in the control group changed little). Mentor to individual student cases counseling has eliminated the emotional distress of students. It is effective to adjust the emotion of middle school students by the rational emotive therapy.