Dr. Ellis believed in short-term therapy that called on patients to focus on what was happening in their lives at the moment and to take immediate action to change their behavior. ''Neurosis,'' he said, was ''just a high-class word for whining.''

''The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you to feel better,'' he said in a 2004 article in The New York Times. ''But you don't get better. You have to back it up with action, action, action.''
From Albert Ellis's obituary in the New York Times, July 25, 2007

One action I'm taking today is to start using Facebook. A couple of people I really respect have linked to my dormant Facebook page, so here goes.

I posted a very interesting article from the New York Times this morning on how to choose the right therapy approach, something that has been of great interest to me since I first talked with a therapist in Wichita, Kansas in the early 70's. Since then I've seen several others, some for very short periods, 3 for very long.

I'm grateful for what I've learned from them, if nothing else it has made me a much better listener and much more empathetic to the problems of others as we all struggle to find our way.

I'm going to put up a link to my Facebook page on my website www.JohnWren.com I'll be posting articles there that I find interesting at a minimum. Let me know what you think of it and if you'd like me to link it to your Facebook page.