REALITY
THERAPY
CHOICE THEORY
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THEORY
• Created by William Glasser
• Enhanced by Robert Wubbolding
• It is based on Choice Theory and Control
Theory.
• One of the basic concepts of Reality
Therapy is that human behavior is
control by the individual and therefore
base on choice.
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THEORY
• Individuals who are unhappy with their
current behavior have the capacity for
exploring and discovering new behaviors
and replacing the old ineffective ones.
• Once individuals find these new
behaviors satisfying, they will repeat the
behaviors until the new behaviors
become a consistent part of their lives
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
• Symptoms are the result of choices we’ve
made in our lives.
– We can chose to think, feel and behave
differently.
• Emphasis is on personal responsibility.
• Therapist’s function is to keep therapy
focused on the present.
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
• We often mistakenly choose misery in
our best attempt to meet our needs
• We act responsibly when we meet our
needs without keeping others from
meeting their needs
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THEORY – BASIC NEEDS
• Internally driven
Love/
Belonging
Fun
Freedom
You
Power
Reality Therapy in School
Physiology
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
• Glasser believes that an individual has five (5)
basic “internally driven” needs:
–
–
–
–
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Belonging (love)
Freedom (independence)
Power (sense of control)
Fun (enjoyment)
Physiology
• Glasser believes that human personality
development is an attempt to fulfill these five
basic needs.
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
• Our brain functions as a control system to
get us what we want.
• Our quality world consists of our visions of
specific people, activities, events, beliefs and
situations that will fulfill our needs.
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
• We create “picture albums” based on our
quality world.
– The difference (frustration) between what we
want and what we perceive we are getting from
our environment produces specific behaviors.
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THEORY – BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
– Human behavior – composed of doing, thinking,
feeling and physiological behaviors – is
purposeful; that is, it is designed to close the
gap between what we want and what we
perceive we are getting.
– Doing, thinking, and feeling are inseparable
aspects of behavior and are generated from
within, most of them are choices
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THEORY
• Individuals choose their behaviors, which
could be effective or ineffective in helping
to satisfy those basic needs.
• They either develop a success or failure
identity based on the way they see
themselves and how others see them.
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SEVEN PRINCIPLES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
INVOLVEMENT
CURRENT BEHAVIOR
EVALUATING BEHAVIOR
PLANNING RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR
COMMITMENT
ACCEPT NO EXCUSES
NO PUNISHMENT
7 Principles of Reality Therapy
• INVOLVEMENT
The development and maintenance of a close, emotional
relationship between client and therapist/counselor.
• CURRENT BEHAVIOR
The focus is on the here and now behavior and its
ramifications, that behavior is self-selected and so the
consequences are self-inflicted.
• EVALUATING BEHAVIOR
Clients are made to look critically at their own behavior and to
judge whether or not the behavior is in their best interest;
clients determine what is good for themselves and for those
around them who care about them.
7 Principles of Reality Therapy
• PLANNING RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR
The helper helps the client develop a realistic plan to
implement the identified value judgment; the therapist is
strongly involved in teaching responsibility.
• COMMITMENT
Client and helper commit to follow the plan, which may be a
written agreement, but is usually an oral exchange.
Equivocations (“Maybe, I’ll try”) are not acceptable.
7 Principles of Reality Therapy
• ACCEPT NO EXCUSES
The therapist helps clients gain experiences that will enable
them to keep their commitment. New behaviors must be
satisfying and thus self-reinforcing. Clients cannot accept or
make excuses for failure to keep commitments.
• NO PUNISHMENT
The therapist will not implement sanctions not agreed upon in
the commitment. Punishment depletes the relationship and
reinforces the client’s loneliness and isolation.
THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
• The therapeutic process of RT includes a
working relationship that is agreed to by
both counselor and client.
• This agreement usually include the goals
of counseling, the responsibilities of
counselor and client, the duration of
counseling, confidentiality and its
limitations, as well as the therapeutic
relationship.
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THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
• The agreement for counseling is usually
introduced and addressed in the first few
counseling sessions.
• The reality counselor/therapist normally
plays an active and directive role in this
section of the counseling process.
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RT-COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS
• Always be
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–
–
–
–
Courteous
Determined
Enthusiastic
Firm
Genuine
• Suspend judgment
• Do the unexpected
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RT-COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use humor
Be yourself
Share yourself
Listen for metaphors
Listen for themes
Use summaries and focus
Allow or impose consequences
Allow silence
Be ethical
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RT-COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS
• Don’t accept excuses
• Don’t punish, criticize or argue, allow
consequences
• Don’t give up easily
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TECHNIQUES
• Procedures That Lead to Change:
The “WDEP” System formulated by
Robert Wubbolding
– The WDEP system:
•
•
•
•
Want
Doing (action) or Direction
(self)-Evaluation
Plans
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TECHNIQUES
W Wants - What do you want to be and do?
Your “picture album”
D Doing and Direction - What are you doing?
Where do you want to go?
E Evaluation - Does your present behavior
have a reasonable chance of getting you
what you want?
P Planning – “SAMIC3”
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TECHNIQUES
Planning For Change
Simple - Easy to understand, specific and
concrete
A Attainable - Within the capacities and motivation
of the client
M Measurable - Are the changes observable and
helpful?
I Immediate and Involved - What can be done
today? What can you do?
C Controlled - Can you do this by yourself or will
you be dependent on others?
- Can you do this on a continuous basis?
S
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TECHNIQUES
• The WDEP system ask clients what they
want, what they are doing now or
direction they are going, to conduct a
thorough self-evaluation, and to make
plans that will help them fulfill their
needs.
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PROCEDURES OF EXPLORING
•
•
•
•
•
“What do you want?”
“What do you Really want?”
“What do you think people want from you?”
“How do you look at it?”
Tell them what you have to offer, what you want
from them, how you look at the situation.
• Get a commitment to counseling.
PROCEDURE OF EXPLORING TOTAL BEHAVIOR
• “What are you doing?”
–
–
–
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What - specific
Are – current
You – client
Doing – total behaviors
Evaluations – Value Judgments
• “Is your behavior helping or hurting you?”
• “Is what you’re doing helping you get what you
want?”
• “Is what you’re doing against the rules?”
• “Is what you’re doing realistic or attainable?”
• “Does it help you to look at it that way?”
• “How committed are you to the process of therapy
and to changing your life” – will that level work to
your advantage?
• “Is it a helpful plan?”
Levels of Commitment
• 1 – I don’t want to be here – I was forced.
• 2 – I want the pleasure resulting from
change, but I don’t want to make the
effort.
• 3 – I’ll try.
• 4 – I’ll do my best.
• 5 – I’ll do whatever it takes.
A Positive Plan
•
•
•
•
•
•
Need Fulfilling
Simple
Realistic and Attainable
“Something to DO, not Stop doing”
Dependent on the Doer
Specific
A Positive Plan
• Repetitive
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–
•
•
•
•
•
•
Choose to approach others first
Choose to achieve something
Choose to have fun
Choose to act independently
Immediate
Realistic
Process Centered
Evaluated
Firm
Reinforced
TECHNIQUES
• With the WDEP system:
• The counselor takes the lead in asking the
questions but allows the client to fully
describe his/her issue/s in a systematic
way.
• The counselor also shows a caring
attitude towards the client but does not
accept any excuses from the client.
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Total Behavior
Our Best Attempt to Satisfy Our Needs
• DOING – active behaviors
• THINKING – thoughts, self-statements
• FEELINGS – anger, joy, pain, anxiety
• PHYSIOLOGY – bodily reactions
GLASSER’S BEHAVIORAL CAR
Feeling
Physiology
Acting
Thinking
The 4 wheels on the car describe a person’s total behavior. In
order for the car to move, the four wheels have to move
together. It is the same for a person to display any behavior, all
four components are present and work simultaneously.
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Glasser's Reality Therapy
• Two Assumptions:
– A. Need to love and be loved
– B. To be worthwhile as a person
• Three Theoretical Components:
– A. Involvement
– B. Rejection of unrealistic behavior
– C. Relearning
• How might you work with a student who wants to
get out of gang/delinquent behaviors?