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Key concepts of reality therapy
The introduction and purpose of reality therapy
Key concepts of reality therapy
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What is Reality Therapy?
Reality therapy is a practical therapeutic method developed by Dr. William Glasser, which focuses on here and now rather the past, problem-solving rather than the issue at hand, and making better choices with specific goals established. Reality therapy is a time-limited, no-nonsense approach that Glasser developed and taught as a method of counseling which is based on choice theory, which states: “all we do is behave, almost all behavior is chosen, and we are driven by five basic needs” (William Glasser Institute, 2010).
Dr. Glasser was born in 1925 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally he was a Chemical Engineer, but later pursued a career in psychiatry. Glasser’s approach to therapy is non-traditional in that he rejected Freud’s model of classic psychoanalysis, which focused on the unconscious factors that influence behavior. He does not believe in the concept of mental illness, unless it can be medically confirmed by a pathologist that there is something wrong with a clients’ brain. Additionally, as Corey notes, Glasser rejects the necessity of diagnostic labels (Corey, 2013, p.335). Glasser’s theory also undermines the necessity of looking into a clients’ past, asserting that it’s insignificant now because it cannot be changed. Throughout his career Glasser had a private practice in psychiatry, was a prominent speaker, and authored over twenty books. He began to develop his ideas of reality psychiatry, later known as reality therapy, while working as a psychiatrist at a girl’s prison.
Glasser believes that humans are genetically social creatures and need other people. He suggests that the cause of almost all psychological symptoms is an inability to get along with the important peopl...
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...eality therapy and the fact that it holds the client responsible for their own actions that brought about the consequences. Quite often God allows us to suffer the consequences of our own choices in order to draw us closer to him!
References
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and Practice of Counseling an Psychotherapy (9th ed.). Belmont, CA:Brooks/Cole.
Cummings, N. A. (1979). Turning Bread Into Stones: Our modern antimiracle. American Psychologist, 34(12), 1119-1129. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.34.12.1119
Jones, S. L., & Butman, R. E. (2011). Modern Psychotherapies (2nd ed.). Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press.
William Glasser Institute (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.wglasser.com/the-glasser- approach/choice-theory
Wubbolding, R. E. (2007). Glasser Quality School. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 11(4), 253-261. doi:10.1037/1089-2699.11.4.253
In the nonfiction book Social:Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman, the author discusses research with neuroscience relating to how strongly humans yearn to connect with one another. The book includes studies about very relevant topics such as how praise and positive feedback heavily impact one’s feelings and opinions of themselves. The author also relates evidence in the book to underlying feelings that human beings have such as selfishness and the need to please others. By using specific examples and experiences that are both personal and research based, he is able to illustrate how people see themselves personally, others around them, and how they are able to make a connection between the two. Lieberman is a professor
While CBT has many advantages, it alone does not encompass all of the concepts I believe are necessary to tackle a client’s needs. Therefore, I draw upon concepts from various theories to assist clients in achieving their goals. Pulling from Reality therapy, a key concept I utilize is focusing on what the client is doing and how to get them to evaluate whether they’re present actions are working for them. CBT does use some form of this in the sense that one must examine and establish their cognitive misconceptions; however, I prefer to extract this concept from Reality therapy because CBT tends to do so by focusing on the past. I am a firm believer that while the past can shape who you are, it does little good to remain focused on it. Focusing on overt behavior, precision in specifying the goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and objective evaluation of therapy outcomes all come from Behavior therapy (Corey, 2013, p. 474). Behavior therapy is highly structured much like that of CBT. By utilizing this aspect of Behavior therapy, I am better able to closely observe where a client is currently and where they are headed. Lastly, I pull from Person-Centered therapy as the final key concept of my counseling approach. PCT focuses on the fact that client’s have the potential to become aware of their problems and resolve them (Corey, 2013). This Person-Centered therapy concept has overlap with CBT as
In The DNA of Relationships, there were two things that made me aware of what I had not thought of doing. First, I was aware that I shouldn’t give others the power to control my feelings. The statement stood out to me about how I can focus on the person and take the right steps of personal responsibility to refuse attention of what the person has done. The “not giving anyone the power to control my feelings” statement interacted me that I should give care to those who the person is, rather than what the person had done, that would build up our relationships. From here, I see the concept fitting me into my understanding of my faith and the Gospel in daily living. When I will be open to people that would have problems, I will help the person, but not the problem. Second, I was aware that I couldn’t force the other person to change. The statement stood out to me about how I cannot change people or even their personalities because they are not me
Since its dawning at the turn of the century, psychotherapy has faced a myriad of objections in regard to its validity as a scientific practice. With the introduction of psychoanalysis in the late 1800’s, Freud opened the doors to a field that would mature as the next one hundred years progressed. Throughout its evolution, psychotherapy has been evaluated for its capacity to deal with clients on an individual basis and at the same time maintain the objective viewpoint which science requires. In what Robert Neimeyer considers a "postmodern context" of scientific, social and political themes, a new philosophical approach to psychotherapy has developed. This approach, called constructivism, is based on a subjective interpretation of reality and how that interpretation affects human thought processes. In "An Appraisal of Constructivist Psychotherapies", Neimeyer looks at how constructivism has devel...
According to Glasser (1965), “reality therapy is a treatment based on changing negative behavior, habits and relationships by focusing on the present or current situations.” An essential aspect of Reality Therapy focuses on the five needs of survival, love and belonging, achievement and power, independence and freedom, and fun, being essential for individuals to ascend through life and establish relationships (Content Guide 5, n.d.). The various techniques utilized during Reality Therapy include: exploring behavior as a focus of change, focusing on the present situation, the adolescent assumes responsibility, a friendly relationship exists between the therapist and patient, the therapist is patient with the individual, the individual considers their ability to change, and lastly the therapist takes into consideration specific factors that are in control of the individual (Content Guide 5, n.d.). In the video, we see the Dr. McFarland create a both friendly and comfortable environment where Adrianne is able to express her opinions and thoughts of her present situation with her parents. Dr. McFarland is also patient with Adrianne, and this is one of the strengths of Reality Therapy, since the way the questions are presented to Adrianne, for example “what are the things your parents need to see from you”, this allows Adrianne to take responsibility and focus on the present situation. One limitation/weakness
Norcross, John C., and Prochaska, James O. (2014). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis (8th ed). Stamford, CT.: Cengage Learning.
In regards to the questions and answers, I feel as though my personal approach to counseling is based off of my own priorities I set forth in myself that follow more closely to the aspects of Reality Therapy, and Adlerian Therapy. Though Reality Therapy primarily focuses on the present, it still has some grounding in the past but not as much as Adlerian does. Even knowing this I still feel these two therapies are more closely related to my own belief system. I am in agreement with Reality Therapy, in that we are responsible for the choices we make. I trust that we can exercise great control over our lives, over how we can change to better ourselves, and to better our relationships with those around us. I feel that we all as a society are influenced by basic needs: belonging, survival, freedom, and power, and that these needs can be used as motivational tool when working with clients.
One of Anderson et al.’s (2010) key points is summed up in the following statement: “The contextual view holds that psychotherapy orientations (and other forms of healing) are equivalent in their effectiveness because of factors shared by all” (p. 145). They posit that four key factors are responsible for this success: the healing setting, the therapeutic myth, rituals prescribed by the therapeutic myth, and an emotional relationship in which one person is able to confide in another (p. 145-152).
“The goal of reality therapy is to help clients get reconnected with the people they have chosen to include in their quality worlds and to teach clients choice theory” (Corey, 2013, p. 183). Letting clients understand that they have a choice in their lives will help them gain control. Furthermore, “the goal of existential therapy is to challenge clients to recognize and accept the freedom they have to become the authors of their own lives” (Corey, 2013, p. 74). As individuals, we have to face different aspects of life such as isolation, freedom, and responsibility. Helping a client through their struggles and acknowledge these life struggles may help guide the client to a positive point in their lives.
Trueman, David. "Depersonalization In Nonclinical Population." Journal Of Psychology 116.1 (1984): 107. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Modern and postmodern theories differ widely in their assumptions regarding reality. Two popular branches of CBT (a blend of related psychotherapies) are cognitive therapy (CT) and rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). These therapies assume that cognitive processes—thoughts, beliefs, self-statements, and perceptions—are the major determinants of an individual’s emotion and behavior. CT and REBT assume that reality is objective and can be observed. Similar to CBT, postmodernism is also a group of related therapies. In contrast though, postmodernists, assume that reality does not exist independent of observational processes. Postmodern approaches such as social constructionism (SC) and narrative therapy (NT) assume that truth and reality are merely a way of understanding a situation within the context of the client’s social and cultural context. ...
Sigmund Freud and Albert Ellis are widely recognized as two of the most influential psychotherapists of the twentieth century. “It is argued that the striking differences in their therapeutic systems, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and psychoanalysis, respectively, are rooted in more fundamental theoretical differences concerning the essential nature of client personality” (Ziegler 75). This paper will discuss in detail, both Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical Therapy and Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Therapy, as well as compare and contrast both theories.
Some years ago a number of psychologists hypothesized that the presence of fear will lead to an individual to want to associate with other persons. In a certain experiment, some subjects were casually divided into two diverse groups. The high fear group was told that in the event of the experiment they could be getting very painful electric shocks. The low fear group on the other hand was told that the received shock would be just like a tender touch. Both of the groups were asked whether they preferred to wait alone or have company of others who were also being shocked. When a suggestively larger percentage of the subjects of high fear group asked to have company, the researchers settled that high fear leads to an increase in the desire to associate with others.
Robey, Patricia, Burdenski, Thomas K., Britzman, Mark, Crowell, Jeri and Smith Cisse, Gloria (2011). Systemic applications of choice theory and reality therapy: An interview with Glasser scholars. The Family Journal 29, pp 427. Doi: 10.1177/1066480711415038
...elationship between man and God. No matter what we do, God is forgiving and will always be there. We can turn our backs on him, or think we know best but his love is a never ending, undying love.