Renowned atheist, Dr. Albert Ellis needs our URGENT help!!!

[Cosmophilosopher]

Hi everbody,

I wanted to bring to your attention a very serious injustice which has been brought upon Dr. Albert Ellis, the founder of REBT, and renowned humanist, atheist, skeptic, and promoter of reason in psychotherapy. Dr Ellis has almost single-handedly attacked Transpersonal Psychology, and many other forms of destructive and irrational thinking for decades. (In 1971 the American Humanist Association named Albert Ellis as the Humanist of the Year, and Ellis is now regarded as one of the most influential psychotherapists of the last century).

Dr. Ellis has recently been removed from the Institute he has run for more than 50 years in a hostile takeover and "palace coup". My opinion is that this has been done for the personal financial advantage of those who have illegally stolen the Institute out from under him. There is also anecdotal information coming out that at least one of the board members who voted to oust Albert Ellis may be doing this as a way to suppress Albert Ellis' powerful and voluminous writings and teachings about the rational joys of atheism. (This board member has a doctorate in theology, and has been called a "religious nut" by a past major financial contributor to the Institute).

Dr Ellis is 92 years old, and needs round the clock medical care, but he is still very lucid and mentally sharp. Ellis could have been a multi-millionaire, but instead Dr. Ellis has always directed that all royalties from his many publications, talks, and professional services benefit the Albert Ellis Institute directly, a non-profit educational body he established decades ago, while Dr. Ellis has only drawn a small honorarium as a salary. Now Dr. Ellis has no medical benefits, is basically destitute, has lost the rights to his 92 books, and has been forbidden from carrying on his famous Friday Night Workshops which he has been giving for decades. An article in the NYT gives a backgrounder on this, and I will append it to this message.

Dr. Ellis, after more than 50 years of service to the public, is calling on us to help him. I will include his open letter below. He has mentioned 5 things we can do, here are 2 of them.

1) Raise awareness in the psychological community -- and in the broader community -- about what has happened to Dr. Ellis and the Institute;

2) Raise money to assist Dr. Ellis with his legal bills and other costs associated with his struggles.

There is a petition to reinstate Dr. Albert Ellis here.
http://www.petitiononline.com/abc4rebt/petition.html

Detailed daily updates can be found at this website.
www.rebt.cc

More background for this information can be found here.
www.albertellis.info


The person people can write to to complain, is Dr Michael Broder, as he is the Executive Director who has executed this ruthless "palace coup". Drbroder@aol.com
Full contacts can be found here. http://www.rebt.org/contact.htm


----------------------------
(here is the open letter from Dr. Albert Ellis)
Dear Supporters:

Thank you to all who have written to offer support in my serious disagreements with the Albert Ellis Institute. I appreciate all of your kind words and thoughts. Many of you have expressed an interest in forming or joining a committee to help me in my current struggles, and I am, again, very appreciative of these thoughts. I have heard that there is, in fact, such a committee being formed. As I understand it, the main goals of the committee are to:

1. Raise awareness in the psychological community -- and in the broader community -- about what has happened to me and the Institute;

2. Return me to the Board of Trustees of the Institute so that I can continue to play a role in shaping the future of the Institute;

3. Return the main focus of the Institute to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, as opposed to the watered-down general forms of therapy that are favored by the current management of the Institute (I have always been and continue to be open to new developments within the study of REBT, but I am not in favor of forms of therapy that run counter to the very essence of REBT);

4. Return me to "Active Duty" so that I can restart the Friday Night Workshops at the Institute. They were cancelled without reason by the Institute.

5. Raise money to assist me with my legal bills and other costs associated with my struggles.
You should all be hearing from the founders of this committee over the next several weeks, and your support will be critical in our efforts. If you would be interested in assisting the committee please let me know and I will pass that information along to the committee’s founders.

Respectfully yours,

Dr. Albert Ellis

[Cosmophilosopher]

(Here is the NYT article)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/11/nyregion/11psych.html?ex=1129867200&en=7e2859d11b0055b8&ei=5070&pagewanted=print

October 11, 2005
A Psychologist, 92, Is at Odds With the Institute He Founded
By BENEDICT CAREY and DAN HURLEY
In a drama worthy of a field that thrives on conflict, a bitter feud has erupted between Albert Ellis, one of the most provocative and influential figures in modern psychology, and the Upper East Side psychotherapy institute he founded almost a half-century ago.

Dr. Ellis, 92, has filed a lawsuit against the Albert Ellis Institute, after the institute kicked him off its board of directors and canceled his popular Friday evening seminars.

Dr. Ellis and his defenders claim that the nonprofit institute has fallen into the hands of psychologists who are moving it away from the revolutionary therapy techniques pioneered by Dr. Ellis in the 1960's and 1970's.

The lawsuit, reported on Sunday by The New York Post, charges that the board acted improperly in removing Dr. Ellis and seeks his reinstatement, as well as unspecified damages. But Daniel Kurtz, a lawyer for the institute, said that the board acted out of economic necessity: payouts to Dr. Ellis for medical and other expenses were jeopardizing the institute's tax-exempt status and its viability, he said.

Dr. Ellis, who lives above the institute on East 65th Street, has been in declining health since an infection that nearly killed him several years ago and has daily nursing care.

In the last year, the dispute has turned personal. Some board members have said they were uncomfortable with Dr. Ellis's confrontational style and eccentricities, and saw him as a liability, said Andy Hopson, a volunteer consultant hired by the institute at Dr. Ellis's urging.

And some of Dr. Ellis's supporters have hinted that the institute's current managers are little more than overpaid self-promoters, intent on turning the institute into an outlet for pop psychology in the style of Dr. Phil, according to Mike Abrams, a psychologist in private practice in New Jersey who has worked with Dr. Ellis.

The board also fired Dr. Ellis's assistant, whom he has now married, a fact that he has interpreted as additional evidence of personal animosity on the part of board members.

In an interview from his bedside yesterday, Dr. Ellis said that neither money nor his health was the most important issue in the dispute.

It is natural for any psychological institute to change and adapt with the times, he said, "but it's unusual for them to change and go completely against the main principles" of its founder "and still call it the Albert Ellis Institute, and say they're doing the therapy, which they are not."

The history of psychology is replete with personality clashes between charismatic gurus and their students, perhaps the most famous being the break between Sigmund Freud and his disciples Carl Jung and Alfred Adler in the early 1900's.

But historians say that the current quarrel is unusual, given the relationship between Dr. Ellis and the institute.

"I can't think of anything else where somebody had a theory and a practice and an institute in their name and that there was a coup going on internally over it," said David Baker, a professor of psychology at the University of Akron and director of the Archives of the History of American Psychology there. "This sounds nasty."

Dr. Baker said of Dr. Ellis: "He's always been provocative. He may not be willing to change with the times, and the times change - that's something we know from the lessons of history."

In a typical Friday evening session, Dr. Ellis - stooped in recent years, with a wisp of white hair and large black glasses - would advise, cajole and entertain groups of 100 or more students, psychologists and others looking for answers, often lacing his comments with obscenities for effect.

"Do you know why your family is trying to control you?" he barked at one attendee at a seminar last year. "Because they're out of their minds!"

Most therapists thought Dr. Ellis was off-track when he founded the institute in 1959 and used it as a platform to promote a revolution in psychotherapy.

At the time, psychotherapy drew its methods and inspiration from Freudian theory, which held that mental distress could be traced to unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood. In a radical departure, Dr. Ellis insisted that therapists spend less time probing distant childhood experiences and concentrate instead on what was happening in people's lives at the moment.

In his own practice, he had observed that people's conscious personal philosophies and beliefs - the need to be appreciated, the fear of never finding anyone to love - often drove them to despair and distraction.

Dr. Ellis devised a method for exposing and defusing these habits, called rational emotive behavior therapy. Around the same time, a psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Beck, now at the University of Pennsylvania, developed similar techniques, and the two men are considered the fathers of cognitive behavior therapy. Subsequent research has shown that the therapy is as effective as medication - and sometimes more so - in treating depression, relieving anxiety and ameliorating other types of distress.

Dr. Ellis was a board member at the institute for 46 years and hired most of its employees. But his personal style began to wear on some in management years ago, according to psychologists who have worked at the clinic. "I have worked with Dr. Ellis for years, and truly he is a first-class genius," Dr. Abrams said, "but that genius does not cross into every domain, and management is not his strength. I've told him that to his face."

By early 2004, with Dr. Ellis in declining health, the board began to negotiate with him about his future role at the institute, Mr. Kurtz said. The two sides could not come to agreement about Dr. Ellis's payment or title, Mr. Kurtz said, and in July, institute officials canceled the Friday evening sessions that had been a staple there for 30 years.

Dr. Ellis's lawyer, Michael de Leeuw, said: "Either these people really believe he is losing it, which he is not - in which case their lack of sympathy and fairness is appalling - or it's a palace coup.

"They have created a lot of animus. It's not what anyone would want to do to a guy who's 92 and the founder of a major school of psychology, especially one from whom they have all been directly enriched."

Mr. Kurtz said that the board's action in no way challenged the importance of Dr. Ellis's contributions but that those contributions were ultimately irrelevant to the ouster.

"We had someone who was working part time by any standard and who received financial benefits in the range of $500,000 to $600,000; it was just an outrageous situation," he said, referring mostly to medical benefits.

Mr. Kurtz, an expert in the laws governing nonprofits, said that in the nonprofit world, "there's something called founder's syndrome, and this is an extreme case of that: he sees this as something he can use as he wishes, and he can't."

Michael Broder, the director of the Institute, said yesterday that the action by the board was not personal and was within the law. Dr. Ellis's lawyers responded that Dr. Broder himself earned more than $200,000 last year and that Dr. Ellis's expenses were legitimate, especially given his modest salary - less than $50,000 a year - and his years of devotion to the institute.

Mr. Hopson said that the personal friction between Dr. Ellis and top managers was evident.

"It became apparent to me very quickly in my interviewing process that the relationship between Dr. Broder and Dr. Ellis was tenuous at best," he said. "Dr. Ellis didn't trust Dr. Broder and was frustrated that even though he was president of the board, Dr. Broder often ignored his directives."

Mr. Hopson said that Dr. Ellis also believed that Dr. Broder was manipulating the board.

"He frequently lamented to me that he didn't trust Dr. Broder," Mr. Hopson said.

In his new identity as a therapist unaffiliated with the Albert Ellis Institute, Dr. Ellis said he has been seeing a few clients. He said he does not hate those who removed him from the institute, nor is he angry about it.

"I think it's unfair, but they have the right as fallible, screwed-up humans to be unfair, that's the human condition," he said.

[Melendwyr]

He gave the rights to his books to his organization, turned over control of his royalty monies, and essentially put all his nest eggs in one easily-concealable, generally-accessible basket. Now the basket has been taken from him.

He has chosen... poorly. Now he will pay the price for that.

[Cosmophilosopher]

I do not consider Albert Ellis making poor choices in this case, but to me that is not even the point. ITS NOT A FAIR FIGHT, at this point.
The point is that Ellis is a 92 year old man, who is physically fragile, has had some serious operations and even has had his intestines taken out, but mentally he is in fine shape.
He was tricked by these folks, and is fighting back with lawsuits, as best as he can.

He has asked people for help, to publicize this, and to help in any way they can.

How would we respond if this type of situation occurred when James Randi was 92 years old, or after he passes away?
This is the exact type of situation that could occur with the James Randi Education Foundation in the future, if people are not vigilant. Could you imagine if some of Randi's enemies took over the JREF after he is gone?

All I am asking is for those who would like to help, please sign the petition, publicize what has happened, and try to help block one of the FEW bastions of Rational Psychotherapy, devoid of magic and mysticism and woo-woo, to be stolen and destroyed in the name of greed and possibly anti-atheism.
This situation can be reversed with enough pressure.
There are so few Atheist's and skeptics out there, I think it is important to protect and defend the few that exist.

Here is some more information about what happened at that board meeting, from those inside this case...

---------
"Most of us have had to rely on the New York Times article and guesswork as we try to get to the bottom of the fiasco surrounding Ellis's dismissal. Today I have been in contact with two people who were present at the meeting where AEI board members voted to dismiss Dr. Ellis. What they have told me is very interesting.

- The decision to dismiss Dr. Ellis was made at a regular board meeting, despite the fact that there is a legal requirement for such decisions to be made at a special meeting convened for the sole purpose of discussing the intended dismissal.

- Dr. Ellis was informed that no lawyers would be present at the meeting. This turned out not to be the case; a lawyer for the board was present. Dr. Ellis was unrepresented.

- Undue pressure was put on board members who wanted to vote against dismissing Dr. Ellis. They were told that they would be held personally responsible -- presumably in the event of the AEI suffering financial repercussions -- and would be subject to litigation unless they voted for a dismissal.

- Dr. Broder refused to give other board members access to the auditors' reports that showed he drew a salary of approximately $260,000 in 2004, and a salary estimated to be between $350,000 and $400,000 in 2005.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I never heard of the guy.

[shemp]

I never heard of the guy.

He never heard of you either.

[TriangleMan]

Now Dr. Ellis has no medical benefits, is basically destitute . . .

We had someone who was working part time by any standard and who received financial benefits in the range of $500,000 to $600,000; it was just an outrageous situation," he said, referring mostly to medical benefits.

Mr. Kurtz, an expert in the laws governing nonprofits, said that in the nonprofit world, "there's something called founder's syndrome, and this is an extreme case of that: he sees this as something he can use as he wishes, and he can't."

Michael Broder, the director of the Institute, said yesterday that the action by the board was not personal and was within the law. Dr. Ellis's lawyers responded that Dr. Broder himself earned more than $200,000 last year and that Dr. Ellis's expenses were legitimate, especially given his modest salary - less than $50,000 a year - and his years of devotion to the institute.
Destitute?

And from the Institute's website:
The Institute's Board continues to provide a full salary to Dr. Ellis and an apartment for Dr. Ellis and his wife, who in 2004 was dismissed from her position as a staff therapist at the Institute.

This is similar to people who start companies that become a big success, only to get ousted by the Board of Directors down the road. Steven Jobs comes to mind (although he did come back).

Shame things turned out the way they did, oh well.

[Cosmophilosopher]

Yes, close to destitute, and now he has to get money for health care and legal expenses.

The people who ousted him are falsely claiming he gets a "full salary", which is a lie, put out to fool the public. Ellis has always only gotten about 35K or so a year, as he poured millions back into the Institute. They use those words to fool credulous members of the public. Its propaganda.
What is "full salary" for a world famous psychologist?
35K a year without health benefits?
Garbage men with seniority get double that, plus healthcare, and Dr. Broder, the guy who took over earns $400K this year for a part-time job. That info will come out soon in court.

Their entire statement from ther website is full of nonsense, distortions, lies, and media spin. That is why they released that statement, to manipulate credulous people.

I don't have time to debate all of the complex questions that will arise about this case, as it will likely have to be settled in court.

And I know many people don't give a crap about these types of things as it does not affect their own bottom line, so be it. Empathy and common decency cannot be legislated.

But for those who are interested, please follow-up on this, and try to help out as best you can.

Destitute?

And from the Institute's website:

[Melendwyr]

"Help", how, exactly? What do *we* have the capacity to do to affect this struggle in any way?

(Other than sending money to the good doctor, of course, because soliciting donations in a message board post simply isn't a very good idea.)

[Cosmophilosopher]

Here is news that just broke 5 minutes ago from the dissenting board members, for those who are interested in this.

http://www.albertellis.info/minorityresponse.htm

Two Board Members Speak

We too are saddened by the dispute between Dr. Ellis and the Board of the Albert Ellis Institute.

This letter is our response to the Institute’s comments regarding recent articles in the press.

We respectfully differ with several of the Institute’s statements and offer our comments for your consideration:

This dispute is NOT about personal loyalty for Dr. Ellis taking precedence over the Institute’s obligation to act within the law. Dr. Ellis and his attorneys have always maintained respect for the law and for its boundaries.
Although we commend our fellow Board members for their efforts to prevent the loss of the Institute’s tax exempt status, we maintain that removing Dr. Ellis from all positions of responsibility, including the Board, was not the correct or the respectful way to address these matters.
We contend that the Board was NOT “compelled” to act with the haste and the secrecy that characterized Dr. Ellis’ removal on September 18th 2005 at the last meeting of the Board.
-- Where is the evidence for the necessity and immediacy of this action?

--Where is the unambiguous proof that the payments made for Dr. Ellis’ medical

care are “excess benefits”?

Dr. Ellis has received minimal compensation for the last 50 years. All his income went to support the Institute and purchase its building whose value is in the millions and worth many times over the original purchase price. Furthermore, because of Dr. Ellis’ conservative fiscal policies, the Institute is financially sound

and debt free with a bank account in excess of 5 million dollars.

The only alleged “excess benefits” paid to Dr Ellis were for the purpose of medical bills incurred in the last 2 years since his illness. It was in fact the Board itself that established a trust for the purpose of covering Dr. Ellis’ medical expenses.

4. We oppose the hurtful and hasty removal of Dr. Albert Ellis, founder of REBT,

the Institute, and grandfather of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, from the Board of

Trustees. We hereby register our objection to the violation of the Institute’s own

By-laws “to provide that at least one week’s notice of the proposed action shall

have been given to the entire Board of Trustees then in office”.

In addition, the Board seems to have forgotten a basic psychological principle

whereby penalties or consequences are most usually meted out only after clear

and advanced warning has been given.

5. We agree that “negotiations recently reached an impasse”.

However, we disagree with the Board’s hasty and cruel response to this impasse.

We suggest instead that rational thinking, feeling, and behaving could have generated effective and productive problem solving.

Where good will exists, alternative actions are discussed, not imposed.



The American Psychological Association requires a high standard of conduct from its members. By removing Dr Ellis without notice or warning, in a secretly hatched plan, sprung at the last minute on unsuspecting Board members, we believe the They Board has failed to model the high standard of professional conduct one would have hoped to have expected from them.

Nevertheless, because there is so much at stake -- the future of the Institute and of REBT as well -- we invite our fellow Board members to join us in dialogue and mediation with an impartial consultant.

We remain hopeful that Dr. Ellis may yet spend this precious time doing the work he loves for the thousands of people who continue to benefit from his efforts.

We encourage our fellow Board members to work together with us for the good and welfare of the Institute, of REBT, and of its founder, Dr. Albert Ellis.



Respectfully,

Deborah Steinberg and Emmett Velten

[TruthSeeker]

My one and only Albert Ellis anecdote:

American Psychological Association meeting in the mid-90s. A symposium on recent advances in REBT. Three speakers with Ellis as the final discussant. The speakers give your typical talk. Nothing to get excited about. Ellis gets to the podium and says "You people are all full of ****."

TS falls in love. I have this thing for cranky old profs.

I am saddened by these events. Is the APA aware? Can they help at all?

[TriangleMan]

Dr. Ellis has received minimal compensation for the last 50 years. All his income went to support the Institute and purchase its building whose value is in the millions and worth many times over the original purchase price. Furthermore, because of Dr. Ellis’ conservative fiscal policies, the Institute is financially sound
and debt free with a bank account in excess of 5 million dollars.

Melendwyr has it right. When you put all your eggs in one basket you are at risk for losing everything. That Dr. Ellis invested all of his wealth in the Institute, and then allowed the Institute to be a non-profit body out of his control, and allowed it to be the only way he could now obtain any income and medical coverage, was a poor choice on his part and demonstrates the value of having a diversified portfolio.

This is little different than poor souls who invest their life savings in one stock then wind up ruined when the stock tanks. It's a shame but Dr. Ellis is in a bed he made but my donations will continue go to impovrished people in the Third World.

[Gayle]

I wrote a post about Albert Ellis and the Albert Ellis Institute Forums in a thread in Community about the auto-warning for forbidden words. It's a long post, but some might find it worth reading. Or not. Depends on your beliefs, I guess.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=1239599#post1239599

Many of us truly love this old dude and when we hear that his medical care is in peril, we become highly concerned. I have been in communication with Dr. Ellis and his wife, Dr. Debbie Joffe, since October 11, when the dispute became public knowledge. Ellis is concerned about three major goals.

1. He wants to maintain the core of REBT, keeping it a humanistic, direct, evidence-based therapy that helps people think, emote, behave and live rationally.

2. He has challenged the unreasonably excessive salaries that have been awarded part-time employees -- hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and which have caused the prices of services to the public to be raised, sometimes dramatically. No more $25 an hour sessions or free workshops for Mr. or Ms. Doaks off the street.

3. He wishes to maintain the same high ethical standards the Institute has demonstrated in the last half century.


Melendwyr, Dr. Ellis would be the first to encourage you to send your donations to impoverished third world countries. For him, this is not about raising money on the internet for his personal benefit. However, those of us who feel deep affection for him as a person, just as some people here feel deep affection for Randi, have a tendency to put his welfare first. Please forgive us if we sound zealous.

Truthseeker, the APA is aware, as are people from many countries around the world. To read the list of some of Al's supporters, you can look here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/abc4rebt/

Click on "view signatures" to read the names of the famous mixed with the names of anonymous clients. Many have written moving comments. A large donor (million dollar +) claims this is a theological take-over. He could be right. If you feel it is appropriate, add you name to the list of supporters.


Gayle

[LordoftheLeftHand]

Melendwyr has it right. When you put all your eggs in one basket you are at risk for losing everything. That Dr. Ellis invested all of his wealth in the Institute, and then allowed the Institute to be a non-profit body out of his control, and allowed it to be the only way he could now obtain any income and medical coverage, was a poor choice on his part and demonstrates the value of having a diversified portfolio.



My friends and I started a 501 C-3 in high school that has grown quite large in size. Over the years we have slowly lost control of it (to the point now where we have no control). It sucks but it is the nature of the beast. Luckily we never transferred our income or property to it (well not much anyway). I feel bad for the guy but I can't say I'm surprised.

LLH

[Gayle]

It sucks but it is the nature of the beast.

LLH, you are so right and that's a good learning lesson for everyone. Don't let go of all your wealth, even for a good cause. You may live longer than you expect. Dr. Ellis has been a diabetic for 50 years and I doubt he expected to still be perking along, with a devoted wife, at his advanced age of 92.

The 6 story townhouse Ellis bought and paid for is probably the main issue nobody wants to talk about. He paid $200,000 for it around 1964. In the New York real estate market it's worth up to $20 mil now. He still lives on the sixth floor with a much younger wife and the new "powers that be" want him out. It's a good address in Manhatten. People fight over those buildings ... so, no, none of this is really surprising. The "powers" much prefer dissing the wife.

Red herring!

If you know how 501c3 entities work, you know the wife can't get the building. But another 501c3 can and they don't have to pay. LLH, you probably know what I'm talking about. Complicated as hell, while being brilliantly simple at the same time.

If Dr. Ellis was 45 years old, I would say, well, this is too bad. If he was 75, I'd say, wow, that's really too damn bad. Now, that he's 92 years old, still sharp of wit, but physically weakened, my concern is for his life. Many people are calling this elder abuse. It's reported that attempts are being made to isolate him and make it difficult for him to get his mail and normal services. (see quote below.)

Members of the board are saying the actions were illegal and an employee said two recalcitrant board members were threatened with legal action if they didn't go along. This is a perfect subject for the politics, current events, & social issues forum. Money, treachery, betrayal, illegalities, threats, lawsuits, and scandal.

Dr. Ellis is forbidden to see clients or conduct workshops in his own Institute, but he is getting out. Yesterday, he conducted a 4 hour workshop for the American Israeli Foundation. It's reported he was remarkably compelling.

For people who live in the New York City area, he will soon be starting his famous (inexpensive) Friday Night Workshops once again. For 40 years, he's opened the workshops to the public ... anyone who wanted a chance to come in and listen and ask questions about their own life problems.


* The Friday Night Workshop will begin on October 28th please contact AlbertEllis @AlbertEllis.tv.

* Dr. Ellis reports that he is increasing being denied free access to his mail and professional supplies by his institute staff as his legal battle for justice continues

http://albertellis.info/


Here's something Dr. Ellis' supporters sent by e-mail.

"The new workshops at the American Federation of the Arts will be conducted on Friday nights between 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. At the workshops, Dr. Ellis explains the principles of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy and how to put them to work in every day life. He also takes questions from attendees about how to handle their own psychological issues, and gives advice about ways to cope using REBT techniques."


For years the workshops were free, then $5, then $10. This workshop should be in that price range. You usually get cookies and beverage, too, with the price of admission.

He's not letting adversity keep him down. When I'm 92, I hope I'm as sharp of wit and have as much stamina as he has.


Gayle

[Jocko]

He never heard of you either.

Yes, but CS doesn't have people trolling the web looking for donations on his behalf, either. As far as we know.

[Cosmophilosopher]

The Institute that threw out Albert Ellis in a coup, also had a web-forum they used to host, but so many customers were complaining about what they did to Albert Ellis, that they shut it down. They censored it, and suppressed discussion of the issue.
Albert Ellis has been censored many times before due to his Atheist views, and his views on sexuality, and now he is censored by his very own Institute!

But a new web-forum has been opened recently, for those who are interested in assisting Albert Ellis in his struggles.

http://s14.invisionfree.com/REBT_CBT_Workshop

[Gayle]

Cosmo, thanks for the update and link.

I've been discussing this issue in the community forum in a thread about censorship.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=1239599#post1239599

The Albert Ellis Forum was censored and disappeared overnight because the new management did not like the contents of the posts. They were critical of the new management's actions.

Surprisingly, I did not object to the management stifling criticism in the forums. Freedom of the press belongs to the person who owns the press. That's one of the facts of American life.

The new management grabbed ownership and pulled the plug on the ragtag band of posters who were objecting loudly and effectively to the way the new management was behaving.

Fortunately, the internet provides us with great opportunities to exercise freedom of speech. When the official Albert Ellis forum was dismantled, a couple Ellis supporters went right out and created their own press -- a new Albert Ellis forum. And they did it in 60 hours.

Just a mere decade ago, that would not have been possible.

This controversy has many causes -- money, greed, revenge, distain for open sexuality and a slow theistic take-over of one of the world's greatest humanistic, evidence-based, action-oriented philosophies of living.

Albert Ellis is a controversial character. He was one of the first sex therapists back in the 40's and 50's, promoting the scandalous concept of sex without guilt. He was a signer of the Humanist Manifesto and openly urged people to learn to solve their own problems rather than hoping for an outside force to fix things by magic. He created the first therapy that taught people to think about themselves, their beliefs, thoughts and feelings in a logical and scientific fashion. REBT is an evidence-based therapy, and it has evolved as scientific research has improved our understanding of human genetics, neurology, biology, behavior, thinking and emotion.

Well, don'tcha' just know that religious people have hated him as much as they have hated skeptics, including some of the curmudgeony skeptics people on this site admire.

Even if you couldn't care less about Dr. Albert Ellis or REBT or this multimillion dollar drama in NYC, I'd like to ask you a favor ...

If you care about freedom of speech and if you have the slightest sympathy with the idea of a group of censored people slamming up a new forum in 60 hours that looks just like the old forum (except the new one has ads,) then would you do your best to link this forum to as many places as possible?

If you don't care, that's fine. But, just so you know, one of the things Albert Ellis teaches is called MYA. That stands for "move your ass." When his supporters were censored, they put MYA into action and there you have it ...

http://s14.invisionfree.com/REBT_CBT_Workshop/index.php?act=idx

Ignore the ads. That's the price of free service these days.

Gayle

[Gayle]

The court ruled in Dr. Ellis' favor, but the battle is not over. The usurpers of his Institute continue to hang on to the building and the checkbook, despite their lack of support within the scientific community.

Dr. Albert Ellis, age 93, is the creator of Rational-Emotive-Behavioral-Therapy (REBT) and is widely considered to be the Grandfather of scientific, evidence-based psychotherapy.

He founded the Albert Ellis Institute in Manhatten in 1964, serving as its President until he suffered a life-threatening health crisis several years ago. He came near to dying and many people did not expect him to regain an active intellectual life. But he did.

He is now recovered and still considered to be the world's greatest living psychologist. Although physically frail, he brought an audience of thousands to their feet in a standing ovation after giving a public demonstration of REBT at the recent Evolution of Psychology Conference in Anaheim, California.

Unfortunately, the temporary caretakers of his Institute, which is worth up to $75 million, have decided to keep it for themselves. They hold the majority vote on the board at the moment.

Dr. Ellis is fighting back with the help of his supporters. I am honored to be one of those supporters.

Below, printed with permission, is the preliminary list of dignitaries of psychology and scientific-based psychological research, who support Dr. Ellis' struggle.

On the list you'll see Paul Kurtz, from CSICOP; Aaron Beck, the creator of evidence-based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; and for some excitement, Tony Kidman, who is Nicole's father. He is a famous REBT therapist in Australia. The dignitaries on this list represent the Who's Who of scientific psychotherapy.


Dignitaries of Psychology Support Dr. Albert Ellis


On January 30, 2006, New York Supreme Court Judge Edward H. Lehner ordered Dr. Albert Ellis reinstated to the Board of the Albert Ellis Institute with all privileges and rights connected to that position.

We, the following, support Dr. Albert Ellis' retention on the Board of the Albert Ellis Institute with all privileges and rights attendant to that position.

Aaron Beck, M.D. Developer of Cognitive Therapy. University Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania. Consultant for review panels of the National Institute of Mental Health. Authored over 450 articles. Authored or co-authored seventeen books.

Judith Beck, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Director, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research. Distinguished Founding Fellow and President of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

David Burns, M.D. Clinical Psychiatrist and author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. A. E. Bennett Award from the Society for Biological Society for research on brain chemistry. Distinguished Contribution to Psychology from the Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology.

Jon Carlson, Psy.D, ABPP. Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Counseling at Governors State University in University Park, Illinois. Authored 40 books, and produced over 200 commercially available videos and DVD's. Founding editor of the The Family Journal. Past president of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counseling.

Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D. Principal founder of philosophical counseling in the United States. Co-founder and Executive Director of the Society for Philosophy, Counseling, and Psychotherapy. Ethics Editor for Free Inquiry. Editor-In-Chief and founder of International Journal of Applied Philosophy and International Journal of Philosophical Practice.

Ray Corsini, Ph.D. Professor, prodigious writer, and editor of the Concise Encyclopedia of Psychology and The Dictionary of Psychology. Author of Current Psychotherapies. He is cited as one of the 500 most significant psychologists worldwide since 1850

William Glasser, M.D. Founder of Reality Therapy and Choice Therapy. President of the William Glasser Institute in Los Angeles. Distinguished lecturer and author of 17 books including the best selling Reality Therapy. Board Certified Psychiatrist.

Steven Hayes, Ph.D. University of Nevada Foundation Professor of Psychology. Past-president of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, and Division Twenty-five of the American Psychological Association. Author of more than 350 scientific articles and twenty-seven books.

Tony Kidman, Ph.D. Director of the Health Psychology Unit, University of Technology, Sidney Australia. Member of the Order of Australia. Noted for research into the psycho-social impact of disease, especially cancer.

Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D., ABPP, Dean and Professor of Psychology, Simmons College School for Health Studies, Boston, MA. Editor of the journal of Ethics and Behavior. Recipient of APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service in 1992.

Paul Kurtz, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Chair, Prometheus Books. Editor-in-chief, Free Inquiry Magazine. Humanist Laureate and President of the International Academy of Humanism.

Barry Lubetkin, Ph.D. President and founding member of the American Board of Behavioral Psychology. Founder and Clinical Director, The Behavioral Therapy Institute. Fellow, American Academy of Behavioral Psychology.

Michael Mahoney, Ph.D. Professor, Salve Regina University. Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science. Prolific writer, and author of Human Change Processes: The Scientific Foundations of Psychotherapy.

John Norcross, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology and Distinguished University Fellow at the University of Scranton. Editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Past-president of the International Society of Clinical Psychology. Past-president of the APA Division of Psychotherapy,

Christine Padesky, Ph.D. Distinguished Founding Fellow, Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Former President of the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy. Distinguished Contribution to Psychology Award, California Psychological Association, 2003.

Aldo Pucci, Ph.D. Founder of Rational Living Therapy. President, National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists.

Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology. Past-president, American Psychological Association. Past-president of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Author of twenty books and over 200 articles on motivation and personality.

Thomas S. Szasz, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse. Author of 700 articles and two dozen books including The Myth of Mental Illness.

[Melendwyr]

The court ruled in Ellis' favor in what sense, exactly?

[Gayle]

The court ruled that the action to dismiss Albert Ellis from the board of trustees of his institute was invalid. Therefore, Dr. Ellis has been returned to the board.

The board could reconvene and dismiss Dr. Ellis once again, following a legal and proper procedure. The dignitaries have come out in support of Dr. Ellis' retention on the Board of the Albert Ellis Institute with all privileges and rights attendant to that position.

The court did not rule on other issues, which are being addressed in a separate lawsuit. I am not sure exactly what those issues are. They deal with compensation and medical benefits. The judge did not rule on those issues, but wrote: "Here, although not specified as wrongdoing, the removal of plaintiff is, in essence, based on cause grounded on the excess medical benefits received by him, but, as aforesaid, defendants have set forth no basis why the Board could not discontinue such benefits, nor do they assert that the benefits paid on his behalf were not previously approved by the Board." (bold added.)

The judge called the board's position disingenuous and citing a similar case, said, "the court wrote that the "dismissal, accomplished without notice of any kind or the right of confrontation, is offensive and contrary to our fundamental process of democratic and legal procedure, fair play and the spirit of the law."'

The judge then quoted the board's own lawyer in finding for Dr. Ellis, citing the lawyer's writings on non-profit law and practice. This amounted to a judicial rebuke for the actions of both the board and their counsel against Dr. Ellis.

The board has found a new lawyer.

The court action has been viewed by some as a technicality. However, it clearly demonstrated the disengenous position of the board regarding their entire strategy. The board of trustees has maintained for months that they had no other choice but to act as they did. The judge ruled otherwise.

The judge also noted that the board could moot the whole case by acting properly, and that even after the court had suggested it at oral arguments, the board had not done so.

In a personal communication to me, a member of the board of trustees said that approximately $900,000 has been expended in legal fees so far ... this is in order to avoid paying Dr. Ellis' medical expenses. Go figure.