Reality Therapy
Basic Principles of Reality Therapy
- Initiated by William Glasser, and developed primarily by William Glasser and Robert Wubbolding
- It is an optimistic and encouraging treatment approach
- Focuses on present thoughts and behaviors and helps people meet their basic needs more successfully by making better choices
Human Development
- Problems originate during early childhood when we encounter people who believe they know what is right for us (Glasser, 1998a)
- Belief that children should be surrounded by people who love and support them and enable freedom, power, and fun in responsible ways
- views people as self-determining and can overcome early issues
- Little attention to the past (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p.371-72)
![Picture](/uploads/9/0/6/7/90677031/5-basic-needs_orig.jpg)
Five Basic Needs
The relative strength of these five needs give people their different personalities:
((Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 372)
Concept of Mental Illness
Concept of Mental Health
Total Behavior and Motivation
Total behavior is one's overall functioning. It is composed of four inseparable components:
Quality Worlds
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 373-374)
The relative strength of these five needs give people their different personalities:
((Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 372)
Concept of Mental Illness
- Choice therapy superior to medication in the treatment of symptoms, even severe mental disorders
- Mental illness is actually people's failure to meet their five basic needs in responsible and effective ways
- Belief that symptoms of mental illness are chosen by people who feel as though they have little control over the real world (Glasser, 1984) (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 372)
Concept of Mental Health
- An emotionally healthy person is someone who meets their five basic needs
- Not only seek to improve their own lives, but also the lives of others and to help make the world a better place (Wubbolding, 1991) (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 373)
Total Behavior and Motivation
Total behavior is one's overall functioning. It is composed of four inseparable components:
- Acting
- Thinking
- Feeling
- Physiology
Quality Worlds
- People have images of what they would like their life to be like, the people they want to be with, possessions or experiences they would like to have, and ideas and beliefs they value (Glasser, 1998a)
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 373-374)
WDEP System
- W: WANTS
- Exploration of clients' wants in their quality world
- Focus on what they're getting, what they're not getting, and what they're getting that they don't want (Wubbolding, 2011)
- Two filters of perceptions:
- Total knowledge (lower-level) : recognizes & labels perceptions
- Valuing (upper-level): evaluates perceptions (Wubbolding, 1991, 1995)
- Five Levels of client commitment to change
- I don't want to be here
- I want the outcome but not the effort
- I'll try; I might
- I will do my best
- I will do whatever it takes (Wubbolding, 2007b, p.303)
- D: DIRECTION AND DOING
- Exploring people's total behavior (actions, thoughts, emotions & physiology)
- Focuses on what people are doing, not why they are doing it, not on why they are acting in certain ways
- E: EVALUATION
- Encourage clients to evaluate their goals, their actions, their perceptions, and the consequences of all these
- Evaluation is based on whether behaviors and perceptions are realistic and helpful to clients as well as others
- Focuses on the present and emphasize positive and successful aspects of people's lives
- P: PLANNING
- Planning is essential
- "To fail to plan is to plan to fail" (Wubbolding, 1991, p.95)
- Eight qualities of viable plans:
(Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014, p. 374-375)
Importance of Relationships
Importance of Relationships
- Relationships are key to both development of difficulties and achievement of a more rewarding life
- "People who have no close relationships are almost always lonely and feel bad" (Glasser, 1998a, p. 30)
- Partner relationship - the best marriages are between people with similar personalities (Glasser, 1998a, 2000)
- Parenting is another important role in relationships