1. CHAPTER 11: REALITY THERAPY
Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
Third Edition
By Nancy L. Murdock
Prepared by
Marcy Stites

2. William Glasser (born 1925)

3. Case Study
“Donald”

4. Highlights of Glasser and RT
Like others, grew out of Glasser’s dissatisfaction with traditional psychoanalytic theory
Born 1925, son of immigrant parents, Cleveland, OH
Board certified in psychiatry, 1961
Ventura School for troubled girls and Reality Therapy (1965)

5. Background (cont.)
In 1996 Glasser radically revised RT theory to emphasize the importance of relationships
Changed theory underlying RT from control theory to choice theory
Robert Wubbolding (2011a) heads Center for Reality Therapy
International Journal of Choice Theory and Reality Therapy

6. “Choice theory teaches that we are much more in control of our lives than we realize.”
Glasser, 1998

7. Basic Philosophy Essential nature of humans is positive
Social constructivist – “real world” is defined by consensual agreement
People are in the driver’s seat – they choose their own behaviors
Anti-psychotropic – one has choices

8. Human Motivation
Maximize pleasure and minimize pain – satisfaction of basic needs (survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun)

9. Central Constructs Basic Needs
Survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun—are innate and universal
Love and belonging is the most important need
All behavior represents our best effort to satisfy needs
Quality World: set of mental images of need-fulfilling things or people
Begins shortly after we’re born and revised continuously over our lifetimes
Mother is the first person in the quality world

10. Continued…
Total Behavior: multidimensional nature of human behavior (acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology)
Acting and thinking are under our control and can be influenced by feelings and physiology
Choice Theory: 10 axioms – “we choose everything we do”
External control by the environment
3 basic beliefs underlie external control
7 deadly habits of external control
7 caring habits

11. To meet our needs in a constructive mean
Goal
To meet our needs in a constructive mean

12. Theory of Person and Development
“Personality” based on relative strengths of a person’s basic needs
No formal theory of personality development
“seeds of unhappiness are planted early”
Parents or other powerful people are key to trust

13. Health Healthy: are advocates of choice
Being happy without violating the rights of others
Able to satisfy their own needs
Having satisfying personal relationships

14. Dysfunction Dysfunction is failure to satisfy one’s needs
“ing” choosing behavior (i.e., depressing)
Make bad choices
Loneliness
Effectiveness in soliciting help
Avoids tougher alternatives – facing problems and risking rejection
Psychotic behavior seen as bad choices in attempting to meet needs
Dysfunction happens when individual feels disconnected from others
Three stages of healthy and unhealthy behaviors (Wubbolding, 2011a)

15. Nature of Therapy Roles
Assessment: none are used other than figuring out what relationship(s) is (are) problematic
Critical of formal diagnosis
Therapeutic Atmosphere
Counselor wants to become a picture in the client’s quality world
Meeting the client’s love and belonging needs
Displays empathy, genuineness, and positive regard
Active, focused on behavior and thinking
Centered in the present and reality based, short term
AB-CDE
Roles
Counselors ask a lot of questions and challenge client to evaluate behavior
Resemble doctor-patient
Taught about choice theory
Client must accept responsibility in counseling sessions
Goals: make better choices
Reconnect to critical relationship(s)
Changing feelings for clients by making more effective acting and thinking choices

16. Process of Therapy
RT is process oriented – what to do now and how the client can make new choices
Do not spend a lot of time on client’s symptoms, transference or countertransference
WDEP process: Wants, Direction, Effective, Plans
8-step approach to RT
Involvement
Focus on Present Behavior
Value judgment
Planning responsible behavior
Commitment to the plan
Accept no excuses
Do not punish
Never give up

17. Techniques Teaching Choice Theory Process of discussion leading to
Identifying problematic need-related behavior and choosing functional behavior
Questioning
Bibliotherapy
Doing the unexpected
Reframing
Humor
Self-disclosure
Metaphors
Physical activity and meditation
Allowing or imposing consequences

18. Evaluation of the Theory
Relatively simple and easy to understand, possibly too simple
Faulted for ignoring social influences on behavior
Qualities
Operationalizing is difficult
Empirical support is weak
Research Support
Outcome studies have shown the theory’s effectiveness
Methodological error in many of the studies, no randomly controlled trial
Theory-testing are few
Ryan and Deci (2008) and LaFond (2000)

19. Individual and Cultural Diversity
Too Heterosexual
Subject to choice is problematic
Needs are culturally bound
Some research evidence suggests RT may be a very acceptable approach for diverse clients

20. Summary
People are motivated to meet their basic needs of survival, love and belonging, fun, freedom, and power.
Love and belonging is the most important
Dysfunction results in bad choices
Therapy is about planning for the client to choose a different way to meet their needs
Research base spotty, dated but likely it can be considered an effective psychotherapy approach

21. Life is about meeting basic needs
Conclusion
Life is about meeting basic needs