© 2011 brooks/cole, a division of cengage learning chapter 9 reality therapy nothing strengthens...

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Division of Cengage Learning

Chapter 9

Reality Therapy

Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton


Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Outline the development of reality therapy and Glasser’s

involvement

• Explain the theory of reality therapy and choice theory including its core concepts

• Discuss the counseling relationship and goals in reality therapy

• Describe assessment, process, and techniques in reality therapy

• Demonstrate some therapeutic techniques

• Clarify the effectiveness of reality therapy


William Glasser

• Education: chemical engineering, clinical psychology, medicine

• Theory and concepts based on his work with delinquent adolescent girls

• Rebelled against Freudian concepts

• Founded Institute for Reality therapy for training courses in his approach to counseling


Nature of People

• Psychological problems are the result from an inability to fulfill one’s basic needs

• Correlations exists between lack of success in meeting needs and the degree of distress and unhappiness

• Denial of reality refers to tendency to try to avoid the natural and logical consequences of behavior

• Irresponsible behavior, attempts to satisfy needs in ways that infringe on the rights of others, leads to trouble


Glasser’s Beliefs

• Teach people to love and be loved

• Help people feel valued by themselves and others

• Those will lead to success identity


Choice Theory

• Only behavior we can control is our own

• We are responsible only for what we choose to do with our behavior

• All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems resulting from attempts to get people to do things they do not want to do


Five Basic Needs

Survival

Freedom

Power

Fun

Love and Belonging


Important Terms

Denial of reality

• tendency of people to try to avoid the unpleasant natural and logical consequences of their irresponsible behavior Irresponsible behavior

• attempts by people to satisfy their own basic needs in ways that infringe on the rights of others to meet their needs


Theory of Counseling

• Discard mental illness in favor of responsibility

• Focus on moral issue of right/wrong

• Ignore past, focus on present/future


Theory of Counseling

• Relate on a person-to-person basis

• Ignore the unconscious

• Counseling with children = teaching and learning experience


Choice Theory

• Reality therapists practice Choice Theory

• Prevent problems before they happen

• Examine client’s belief system

• Help people handle the pain from not getting what they want


Choice Theory

• Behavior = acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology

• People are responsible for own choices, decisions, goals, and happiness

• We control our mental images

• We choose psychosomatic illness, we can choose something more satisfying

• The closer reality is to quality world = happier we will be


Four Choices

An example for someone who is depressed:

1.Continue to depress yourself

2.Change what you are doing to get what you want

3.Change what you want

4.Both #2 & #3


Eight Steps

Step 1. Build a relationship with the child.

Step 2. Child describes present behavior

Step 3. Child evaluates what is going on in his life and how he is helping himself.


Help questions for Step 3

• How does this behavior help you?• How does this behavior hurt you?• How does this behavior help you learn

math?• How does this behavior improve your

math?• Is your behavior getting you what you

want?


Eight Steps (Cont.)

Step 4: Counselor and child look at possible alternatives

Step 5: Child selects alternatives for reaching goals and commits to trying the choices.

Step 6: Counselor and child examine the results.

Step 7: Logical and natural consequences are not removed

Step 8: The counselor does not give up on the child.


Moral Development(Piaget and Kohlberg)

Preconventional Morality• Stage 1: Will I get caught?• Stage 2: What is in it for me?

Conventional Morality• Stage 3: What will the neighbors think?• Stage 4: What is the rule or law?

Postconventional Morality• Stage 5: What is best for society?• Stage 6: What is best for humankind?


Reality Therapy Process

1. What are you doing?

2. Is what you are doing helping you get what you want?

3. If not, what might be some other things you could try?

4. Which idea would you like to try first?

5. When?


For younger children

1. What did you do?

2. What is our rule about this?

3. Was what you did against our rule?

4. What were you supposed to do?

5. What are you going to do next time?

6. Do you want to write your plan for next time or do you want me to write it?

7. Let’s check tomorrow to see if your new plan is working.


For older children and adolescents

1. Let’s begin by talking about what you have been doing to solve the problem.

2. It would be helpful if you could give me an idea of how what you have been doing has been helping you.

• We may want to consider some questions: • Is your behavior in touch with reality? • Is your behavior the responsible thing to do? • Is your behavior the right thing to do? • Is your behavior cost-effective?


For older children and adolescents (Cont.)

3. If your behavior is not getting you what you want, what would you like to do differently?

4. What plan would you like to develop?

5. When can we follow up on your plan?


Ten-step Consultation Model

Step 1. List what you have already tried that does not help.

Step 2. (if needed) Make a list of change-of-pace interventions to disrupt the expected.

Step 3. (if needed) Make a list of things you could and would do to help the child have a better day tomorrow


Ten-step Consultation Model(Cont.)

Step 4. Try one-line counseling approaches.

Step 5. Use reality therapy question that emphasize the rules on which agreement was reached in a previous negotiation.

Step 6. Use standard reality therapy questions that end with a written contract or a handshake.


Ten-step Consultation Model(Cont.)

Step 7. In-class time-out is recommended.

Step 8. Some children may require a time-out outside the classroom.

Step 9 and 10 are designed for special more severe cases.

© 2011 brooks/cole, a division of cengage learning chapter 9 reality therapy nothing strengthens...

Documents

theory of reality therapy

reality therapydemonstrate

unhappinessdenial of

reality therapynothing

development of reality

wantchoice theory behavior

satisfyingthe closer

relationship problems