BY ASHLEY WAGNER

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Reality Therapy

• BY ASHLEY WAGNER

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Choice Theory

• Developed by William Glasser ( formerly control
  theory) as the basis for reality therapy
• Focuses on the needs and wants that people have
• People have the capacity to choose their
  behaviors to meet these needs and wants
• The purpose of behavior is to attempt to control
  the current external world

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William Glasser

• Tough background but turned his life around
• Psychoanalysis wasnt meeting the needs of his
  clients, wanted to make concrete change
• William Glasser Institute (1967)

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Glassers View of Mental Health

• Mental health is accumulation of behaviors
• Behaviors that cause person to be labeled with a
• mental disorder are under their control
• Negative behaviors are an attempt to meet needs
• Mental disorders overemphasize the role of
  external factors instead of personal
  responsibility

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Regressive and Positive Paths of Development

• Positive
• Positive statement to change
• Positive symptoms
• Positive addictions

• Regressive
• Attitude of giving up after unsuccessful attempt
  at meeting needs
• Negative symptoms
• Negative addictions

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Application of Choice theory

• Reality therapy focuses on strategies and
  techniques for dealing with human choices
• Helping clients meet internal needs in the
  outside world- coping with reality
• Counselor is the teacher of choice theory
• Assessment- no formal methods

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Underlying ideas of Reality Therapy

• Not labeling behavior in order for person to view
  behavior as controllable
• Focus on the present, current behaviors
• Person is capable of taking responsibility for
  meeting their needs
• Connections with others important and can even be
  curative
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vaUYPchyQfiU

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4 elements of behavior

• Acting
• Thinking
• Feeling
• Physiology
• Most control over acting and thinking

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Goals of Reality Therapy

• Helping clients meet internal needs in the
  outside world- coping with reality
• Defining wants and evaluating behaviors in terms
  of meeting their needs, using the WDEP system
• Making concrete plans for fulfilling their needs

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5 basic needs

• Survival
• Belonging
• Power
• Freedom
• Fun

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WDEP System

• W- Wants
• D- Doing
• E-Evaluation
• P-Planning

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Quality (Ideal) World

• Guide/model in your mind that directs your
  behaviors
• Guide consists of images ( such as people,
  places, objects, or ideas) that meet your needs
• Can be updated, like a computer file
• Used to compare to current experience

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My Quality World
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Quality World and Culture

• Culture and Quality World are both fluid,
  dynamic, and interactive through development
• Culture influences the organization of the
  Quality World and the meeting of basic needs in
  general
• Clashes between Quality World and culture
• Exploring clients cultural Quality World

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Therapeutic Techniques

• In general having conversations about needs and
  wants, being flexible
• Using questions
• Doing the unexpected
• Allowing or imposing consequences
• Physical activity, humor, metaphors

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Primary Applications

• Schools-
• the idea of Quality Schools
• ADHD and ODD efficacy
• Couples counseling
• Other applications Groups, work settings

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Limitations

• Lack of empirical research, especially with
  diverse groups
• Human behavior oversimplified
• External factors downplayed
• Feelings not focused on enough for some clients
• Disorders being behaviors we choose

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References

• Glasser, W. (2000). Counseling with choice
  theory The new reality therapy. New York
  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
• Sanchez, W. (1998). Quality world and culture.
  International Journal of Reality Therapy, 17(2),
  12-16.
• Wubbolding, R.E. (2011). Reality therapy.
  Washington D.C. American Psychology Association.