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10-1-2009

Using Reality Therapy in Schools: Its PotentialImpact on the Effectiveness of the ASCA NationalModelDr. Cynthia Palmer MasonWestern Kentucky University, cynthia.mason@wku.edu

Dr. Jill D. DubaWestern Kentucky University, jill.duba@wku.edu

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Recommended Repository CitationMason, Dr. Cynthia Palmer and Duba, Dr. Jill D.. (2009). Using Reality Therapy in Schools: Its Potential Impact on the Effectivenessof the ASCA National Model. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 29 (2), 5-12.Available at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/csa_fac_pub/33

Using Reality Therapy in Schools: Its Potential Impact on theEffectiveness of the ASCA National Model

Cynthia Palmer Mason and Jill D. Duba

Both authors are on the faculty of the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs atWestern Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY

ABSTRACTThe primary purpose of this manuscript is to examine

the application of Reality Therapy in schools. The basiccomponents of the American School CounselingAssociation's National Model and also the core tenets ofReality Therapy are reviewed in terms of pertinent litera-ture. This is followed by a focus on the delivery system ofthe national model. Lastly, specific emphasis will be placedon the potential impact Reality Therapy can have onstudent academic achievement, personal/social develop-ment, and career decision-making skills when applied toeach program component.

In 2003, the American School Counselor Association(ASCA) published the ASCA National Model: AFramework for School Counseling Programs (Wittmer &Clark, 2007). Using the best practices over the last fiftyyears, the national model was developed during a summitin 2001 by the leadership of ASCA, national school coun-seling leaders, school counselor educators, practicingschool counselors, state guidance coordinators, schooldistrict guidance coordinators, and representatives fromthe Education Trust. Much of the work incorporated in theframework was previously done by Drs. Norm Gysbers, C.D. Johnson, Sharon Johnson, and Robert Myrick(Wittmer & Clark, 2007).

This model provides a foundation, a delivery system, amanagement system, and an accountability system forprofessional school counselors (Wittmer & Clark, 2007).The ASCA National Model's framework includes thethree domains of academic achievement, career decision-making, and personal/social development. Perhaps themost significant change for school.counselors in the 21stCentury has been the expectation for them to spend alarger percentage of their time in the classroom usingdevelopmental guidance lessons to support and enhanceacademic achievement. In fact, because of the need forcounselors to impact academic achievement, universitytraining programs have changed from a theory basedpreparation to an education based preparation (House &Martin, 1998).

Effective school counseling programs have structuralcomponents and program components (Wittmer & Clark,2007). The structural components provide the ideologicalunderpinnings for the entire program, and should be writ-

ten by an advisory committee composed of administrators,counselors, teachers, parents and community leaders. TheMission Statement and the Rationale Statement are in thiselement. The Mission Statement outlines the purpose ofthe program. This narrative includes a set of principleswhich guides the development, implementation, and eval-uation of the entire program. Following the writing of theMission Statement, the advisory committee develops theRationale Statement. This document clearly presents thereasons for having a comprehensive, developmental coun-seling program in place. It also explains how the programwill benefit the students, the faculty, the parents, and thespecific community being served. The ProgramComponents of the ASCA National Model will bereviewed in the paragraphs that follow.

All activities that counselors perform to deliver theASCA National Model are framed within four programcomponents (guidance curriculum, individual planning,responsive services, and system support). Each componentmakes specific contributions to enhance academicachievement, career decision-making, and personal/socialdevelopment for students (Gysbers & Henderson, 2006).For instance, the Guidance Curriculum complements theacademic curriculum. Its purpose is to provide preventive,proactive lessons to promote positive mental health andenhanced academic achievement for all students.Guidance lessons and activities that focus on relationships,integrity, self-esteem, self-discipline, goal-setting, studyskills, time management, anger management, careers,decision-making, and the importance of acquiring a qual-ity education support and enhance the school instructionprogram.

The Individual Planning component consists of activi-ties that help students to plan, monitor, and manage theirown learning and personal career development. Withinthis element, students explore and evaluate their educa-tion, career options, and personal goals. School counselorswork closely with students on an individual basis andupdate their files after each intervention.

The Responsive Services component provides individ-ual counseling, small group counseling, consultations, andreferrals to meet the immediate needs and concerns ofstudents. This element of the counseling program is avail-able to all students and is often initiated by students.

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Services provided in this component help students toresolve personal concerns that could possibly impede theiracademic concentration and achievement if left unat-tended.

The System Support component provides managementactivities that support the total school counseling program.These elements include professional development, staffand community relations, consultations with teachers andparents, program management, advisory council activities,and research and development.

Effective school counseling programs are 100%programs with all counselor activities fitting into one ofthe four program components. Counselors at each levelmust consider the specifics of their particular schoolsetting and decide the percentage of time to devote to eachprogram component (Wittmer & Clark, 2007). The focusof ASCA National Model school counseling programs isclearly on the academic achievement, personal well-being,and equity of opportunity for all students. Now that thebasic components of the ASCA National Model have beenreviewed, the following paragraphs will address the coretenets of Reality Therapy.

Reality Therapy is a method of counseling andpsychotherapy that was developed by William Glasser(1965). Validated by research studies, this theoreticalapproach has been successfully taught and practiced in theUnited States, Canada, Korea, Japan, Singapore, theUnited Kingdom, Norway, Israel, Ireland, Germany,Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Colombia, Kuwait, Russia,Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong (Wubbolding,2000). In addition to other areas. Reality Therapy hasbeen effectively applied to schools (Glasser, 1990, 1993),parenting (Glasser, 2002), and counseling and therapy(Wubbolding, 2000, 2004; Wubbolding & Brickell, 1999).

Choice Theory is the underlying theoretical basis forReality Therapy. According to Choice Theory, all humanbeings are motivated by five genetically encoded needs -survival, love and belonging, power or achievement, free-dom or independence, and fun - that drive us all our lives(Glasser, 1998). Glasser believes the need to love andbelong is the primary need and also the most difficult needto satisfy because the involvement of another individual isrequired to meet this desire.

Choice Theory emphasizes that beginning shortly afterbirth and continuing all through life, individuals storeinformation inside their minds and build a file of wantscalled the Quality World. The Quality World consists ofpeople, activities, events, beliefs, possessions, and situa-tions that fill personal needs (Wubbolding, 2000). Peopleare the most important component of each Quality Worldand these are the individuals clients care about and wantmost to connect with. For therapy to be successful, a ther-apist must be the kind of person the client would considerputting in his/her quality world (Glasser, 2001). Choice

theory explains that everything we do is chosen and everybehavior is our best attempt to get what we want to satisfyour needs (Glasser).

A basic goal of Reality Therapy is to help clients learnbetter ways of fulfilling their needs. The procedures thatlead to change are based on two specific assumptions(Glasser, 1992). The first assumption is that their presentbehavior is not getting them what they want; the secondassumption is that humans are motivated to change whenthey believe they can choose other behaviors that will getthem closer to what they want.

Reality Therapy emphasizes the importance of thetherapeutic relationship which is the foundation for effec-tive counseling outcomes (Wubbolding & Brickell, 1999).Counselors are able to develop positive relationships withclients when they possess the personal qualities of warmth,sincerity, congruence, understanding, acceptance, concern,openness, respect for the client and the willingness to bechallenged by others (Corey, 2009). These characteristicsallow school counselors to function as advocates who areable to instill a sense of hope in students. Qnce the thera-peutic relationship has been established, the counselorassists students in gaining a deeper understanding of theconsequences of their current behavior. At this point,students are helped to understand that they are not at themercy of others, are not victims, and that they have arange of options to choose from.

Reality Therapy provides the delivery system for help-ing individuals take more effective control of their lives.The acronym WDEP is used to describe the basic proce-dures of Reality Therapy. Each letter refers to a cluster ofstrategies that are designed to promote change: W=wantsand needs; D=direction and doing; E=self-evaluation; andP=planning (Wubbolding, 2000). The following para-graphs will focus on the delivery system of the ASCAnational model which includes the activities, interactions,and areas in which counselors work to enhance the lives ofboys and girls. Within the delivery system there are fourprogram components: school counseling curriculum, indi-vidual student planning, responsive services, and systemsupport (Gysbers & Henderson, 2006). Specific emphasiswill be placed on the potential impact Reality Therapy canhave on student academic achievement, personal/socialdevelopment, and career decision-making skills whenapplied to each program component.

School Counseling Curriculum

The School Counseling Curriculum program compo-nent is used to impart guidance and counseling content tostudents in a systematic way. Activities in this componentfocus on student's study and test-taking skills, post-second-ary planning, understanding of self and others, peerrelationships, substance abuse education, diversity aware-ness, coping strategies and career planning (ASCA, 2006).Guidance lessons are usually presented to students in

6 • International Journal of Reality Therapy • Fall 2009 • Vol.XXIX, number 1

regular classroom settings. School counselors work withthe Steering Committee and the School CommunityAdvisory Committee to decide on the competencies(knowledge and skills) students should acquire at eachgrade level (Gysbers & Henderson, 2006). This curriculumallows counselors to be proactive rather than reactive intheir attempt to meet student needs.

School counselors are actually responsible for thedevelopment and organization of the school counselingcurriculum (Wittmer & Clark, 2007); however, the cooper-ation and support of the faculty, staff, parents andguardians are necessary for its successful implementation.This is one of the reasons why Reahty Therapy practition-ers can be most effective in schools. Reality Therapyemphasizes the importance of the personal quahties ofwarmth, sincerity, congruence, understanding, acceptance,concern, openness and respect for each individual thattherapists must possess. These characteristics that pave theway for school counselors to develop positive therapeuticrelationships with students also help them to gain respect,cooperation, and support from parents, guardians andthose who work within the schools.

When deciding on specific lessons and activities for theschool counseling curriculum at each grade level. RealityTherapy practitioners consider the five basic needs that allhumans possess (survival, love and belonging, power orachievement, freedom or independence, and fun). Specialattention is always given to love and belonging whichGlasser (1998) believes is the primary need. These basicneeds make up the Quahty World for each individual. Thispersonal world consists of specific images of people, activ-ities, events, beliefs, possessions and situations that fulfillindividual needs (Wubbolding, 2000). People are the mostimportant component of the QuaUty World. For a success-ful therapeutic outcome, the counselor must be the kind ofperson a client would consider putting in his/her QualityWorld. As Reality Therapy practitioners interact withstudents, their personal characteristics enable them toappeal to one or more of each student's basic needs.

Before focusing on the importance of academicachievement, personal/social development and careerinformation; Reality Therapy practitioners work at involv-ing, encouraging and supporting all students to help themfeel that they are cared for and actually belong to thisspecific group and this particular school. This interactionhelps to build trust. It is through this relationship with thetherapist that clients begin to focus and learn from them.

As guidance lessons are presented from the structuredcurriculum, school counselors at each grade level focus onthe underlying characteristics of reality therapy (Corey,2009). They begin by emphasizing choice and responsibil-ity. Students are taught that they choose all that they doand are responsible for what they choose. Reality thera-pists challenge students to examine and evaluate their ownbehavior. Students are encouraged to consider how effec-

tive their choices are with regard to their personal goalsfor academic achievement, personal/social adjustment andcareer development. After class discussions, students aretaught to make better choices -choices that will help themto meet their needs in more effective ways as they strive todevelop better relationships, increased happiness and asense of inner control of their lives (Wubbolding, 1988).

Individual Student Planning

When this program component is properly imple-mented, P-12 school students will graduate from theirrespective secondary schools with more reahstic plans forthe future. This is a service whereby counselors focus ongoal setting, academic planning, career planning, problemsolving and an understanding of self (ASCA, 2006). Eachschool year, counselors at all levels should schedule at leastone individual planning session with each student in theirassigned group. It is important for parents to be invited toattend these sessions as their involvement and support arevital for student motivation. This cycle of counselingbegins with the counselor's efforts to create a positiveworking relationship with each student. The personalcharacteristics of each counselor are assets as he/she worksto develop a meaningful therapeutic relationship witheach counselee. When this relationship is an understand-ing and supportive one, it provides a foundation foreffective outcomes. Client involvement is important.Reality therapy practitioners use attending behaviors,hstening skills, suspension of client judgment, facultativeself-disclosure, summarizing and focusing to create thetype of climate that leads to client participation. Once theinvolvement has been estabUshed, counselors focus on thespecific procedures that lead to change in behavior.

The cycle of counseling proceeds with the employmentof the WDEP system. Students are encouraged to exploretheir wants, needs and perceptions in the areas ofacademic achievement, personal/social adjustment andcareer development. This is followed by an exploration oftheir total behavior in each of these areas and theirpersonal evaluations of how effective they are in movingtoward what they actually want. Students are asked if theirpresent behavior has a reasonable chance of getting themwhat they want now, and if they believe it is taking them inthe direction they want to go (Wubbolding, 2000).

Standardized test scores, semester grades, andpersonal preferences are considered as student goals arereviewed. According to Glasser (1992), individuals aremotivated to change when they are convinced that theirpresent behavior is not getting them what they want andalso when they believe they can choose other behaviorsthat will get them closer to what they want. When studentsdecide to change, this is their choice. When they deter-mine what they want to change. Reality Therapypractitioners are able to help them formulate structuredplans for change. Wubbolding (2000) uses the acronymS AMIG to capture the essence of an effective plan: simple.

International Journal of Reality Therapy • Fall 2009 • Vol.XXIX, number 1

attainable, measureable, immediate, committed to andcontrolled by the planner.

Individual student planning sessions usually end with asummary of what has been agreed upon during the inter-view. Two copies are made of student plans when they arerevised; one copy is placed in the student's folder and theother copy is given to the student. Unless a definite datehas been scheduled for the next meeting, counselees areencouraged to consult with counselors as needed duringthe remainder of the school year.

Responsive Services

School counselors are called to respond to the immedi-ate needs and concerns of their students. Such responsesmay include the provision of information, peer mediation,referrals, counseling, or consultation. Further, the ASCANational Model provides specific criteria or objectives ofResponsive Services. Such objectives can be met throughthe use of basic Choice Theory concepts.

Prevention Edncation to Address Life Choices

The first criterion of Responsive Services states,"Every student K-12 receives prevention education toaddress life choices in academic, career, andpersonal/social development" (ASCA, 2003, p. 114). Howcan a school counselor provide prevention educationthrough a Choice Theory lens? Dr. Glasser writes,"Education is not acquiring knowledge; it is best definedas using knowledge" (1998, p. 238). Further, the value liesin applying what has been learned, rather than collecting amental cabinet of knowledge and data. So perhaps theinitial step is re-thinking about what is important to teach.From a Choice Theory perspective, there are two essentialelements or questions. First, how can school counselorsprovide opportunities for students to address life choices invarious areas in real time? Second, how will the counselorprovide good experiences for students as they learn how toaddress life choices?

The opportunities are endless depending on howcreative one is. However, for the purpose of brevity, ideasfor Choice Theory based opportunities are outlined belowspecifically as they relate to a school counselor's call toprovide responsive services to all students in the areas ofacademic achievement, career development, andpersonal/social adjustment. In addition, these opportuni-ties are meant to set the context for enjoyable experiencesfor all involved, teachers and students alike.

Academic development. The opportunities suggestedare based upon the assumption that if one of the five basicneeds is not being satisfied, misery will follow (Glasser,1998). In a school system, misery is typically related toacademic difficulties, a lack of interest and motivation, andfailure. Consequently, school counselors are urged toconsider the uniqueness of each student, while providingopportunities that serve to meet all five of the Basic Needs.

iii

a. Survival and Health (physiological needs). Mentaland emotional Stressors are directly linked to organicresponses within the body.

i. Teach students stress and relaxation coping mecha-nisms as a part of the health education curriculum

ii. Lead students through brief relaxation techniquesprior to all examinations

. Teach appropriate thought reframing and cognitiverestructuring, and its relation to pulse rate and thebody's stress response

b. Love and Belongingi. Hold multiple small and large group parties, cele-

brations, and groups in order to solidifyrelationships; goal of groups can be learning the 14habits (See Rapport, 2007)

ii. Use basic counseling skills so that they are betterable to relate to students on an intimate andfriendly level

iii. Teach students basic counseling skills so they arebetter able to relate to others

iv. Develop partnerships among students (account-ability, studying)

c. Self-Worth/Poweri. Set up activities so that all students can achieve.

Encourage the use of open book testsii. Provide flexible learning activities so that all

students can be empowerediii. Encourage leadership positions among all students

(see Fox & Delgado, 2008, Secret Agents' Club).Students who appear introverted and withdrawnshould be sought to serve in such positions.

d. Freedomi. Teach the students the WDEP system. Help them

use it.ii. Curriculum, Reading: Students can select from a

list of books as required readingiii. Curriculum, Math: Set up role-play scenarios that

would encourage students to use math abilities(i.e., paying at a restaurant, figuring the tip for anygiven service, developing a budget based on careerchoice)

e. Fun: All of the exercises above could includeelements of fun depending on the attitudes of allparticipating.

Career development. All students should be tutoredand encouraged to complete the Choice Theory CareerRating Scale, Figure 1 (based off of Glasser's Choice

8 • International Journal of Reality Therapy • Fall 2009 • Vol.XXiX, number 1

Theory Needs Rating Scale). Group discussions and indi-vidual sessions should be available for students to talkabout how their career choices meet their Basic Needs.Another option is holding an annual career fair.Employees from the community can serve as representa-tives of any given career. While there are plenty ofopportunities for students to learn from these representa-tions, students also are put in a place where they canpractice relationship skills as they inquire about theircareers of interest.

After such a fair, students can be encouraged to chooseone particular career. The following outline serves as amethod of encouraging awareness about how one's careerchoice will impact flexibility in choices and options on aday to day schedule.

1. Students are asked to review career choice in termsof potential salary, schedule, and training.

2. Various cases will be distributed related to potentialcircumstances that could arise in adulthood such as aneed for a new car, personal or family illness,marriage, family obligations, etc. Students will needto consider how their chosen line of work and jobeither poses challenges when such personal issuesarise or allows for flexibility.

3. Students take the Choice Theory Career RatingScale for Children and Adolescents to evaluate ifsuch a career choice fits their needs.

This is only one example of how creativity can beapplied within a Choice Theory framework. Counselorsand teachers are encouraged to consider others.

Personal/Social Development. The authors suggest theuse of the Choice Theory Needs Rating Scale. School coun-selors can use this as a back-drop for discussing personaland social matters. For example, if a student is strugglingwith making friends, one would investigate where thestudent's need strength falls within the Love andBelonging scale. Next, the student would be asked to ratehis or her present need satisfaction within this scale.(Given the presenting problem, we could assume thatone's need satisfaction rating is going to be less than therating given for the need strength on this given scale.) Thecounselor could inquire about what steps would be impor-tant and essential in moving the client's need satisfactionrating up closer to the need strength rating. For example,let's say the student's need strength rating for Love andBelonging was a 10, however the student's need satisfac-tion rating on the same scale was a 4. The counselor mightrespond, "No wonder you are not feeling so good aboutmaking friends. You really want to have more friends;however, that is not working out so well for you. You arenot very satisfied with the situation right now. Let's saythat next week, instead of being satisfied at a number 4,you moved up to a 5. So you were a bit more satisfied.What would you have done that week in order to feel

more satisfied with making friends and being a friend?"This is one way in which the Choice Theory Needs RatingScale can provide a context for conversation with studentsabout their desired personal and social development, aswell as what they are currently doing to meet related goals.System Support

School counselors are called to manage activitieswithin the school that serve to establish, enhance, andmaintain the total counseling program. This involvescollaborating with colleagues, as well as providing profes-sional development opportunities to staff. From a ChoiceTheory perspective, the heart of successful collaborationincludes good, healthy, and effective relationships amongthose collaborating. Healthy relationships are possiblebecause there are healthy and happy people in them.

Glasser (1998) asserts that there are particular charac-teristics of people who can maintain healthy relationships.First, people in such relationships are healthy and happyindividuals. That is, they understand that the only behav-ior they can control is their own (so they are not usingwhat Glasser refers to as External Control Psychology).They do not experience misery because they are notinvolved in blaming others for their feelings or in the busi-ness of trying to control or manipulate others to think oract in certain ways (Glasser, 1998, p. 19). Further, they takeresponsibihty for their feelings. Healthy people do notblame others when they are feeling upset, dismissed, ormisunderstood. More specifically, positive behaviors areused that include choosing to care, support, listen, negoti-ate, befriend, love, encourage, trust, accept, esteem, andwelcome while refraining from destructive ones such aschoosing to coerce, compel, force, reward, punish, boss,manipulate, criticize, motivate, blame, complain, badger,nag, rate, rank or withdraw (Glasser, 1998, p. 21). In orderto maintain and encourage such healthy relationships,school counselors might consider conducting a brief pres-entation to staff related to the harms of External ControlPsychology in relationships, as well as what behaviorscontribute to healthy collégial relationships.

In addition to upholding the above mentioned healthybehaviors, school counselors who are required to establishand maintain system support within the school are encour-aged to do so within a Lead Management framework. Byfollowing the four essential principles of LeadManagement, school counselors can provide an enjoyablesystem of collaboration that only serves to enhance rela-tionships among everyone in the school system.

1. The school counselor engages all colleagues in anongoing honest discussion of both the cost of thework and the quality that is needed for the systemsupport to be successful. In other words, all stake-holders (members of the system support team) areinvited to contribute their ideas without pressure toconform. All members of the team are educated on

International Journal of Reality Therapy • Fall 2009 • Vol.XXIX, number 1 • 9

the elements of healthy relationships and the abovementioned positive, as well as destructive behaviors.

2. The school counselor models the job so that allstakeholders can see what she/he expects. One wayof assuring this is by involving oneself in an intro-spective process. For example, this might includeasking oneself the following questions: (a) is mycounseling with students based within a ChoiceTheory framework; (b) are my one-on-one relation-ships with colleagues consistent with what I amexpecting within this system; (c) am I open to feed-back about how I am leading the group, as well asfeedback regarding the struggles of the stakeholders.

3. The school counselor does not micro-manage butbelieves that all stakeholders are responsible forevaluating how they are contributing to the systemsupport. Stakeholders feel welcome to voice theirconcerns and struggles to the school counselor.

4. The school counselor accepts every opportunity toteach that the quality of the school system support isbased on continual improvement. That is, the roadtowards quality is a journey rather than a destina-tion. Consequently, the school counselor remainsfocused and hopeful at all times.

Please see Glasser, 1998, chapter 11 for an exhaustedexplanation of this concept.

DISCUSSIONThe United States spends more money on education

than other major countries, but failed in 2000 to rankamong the top ten countries for student performance inmathematics, science, and reading (Feller, 2003). Also,current trends in youth related issues include increaseddishonesty; a growing disrespect for parents, teachers, andother authority figures; increased cruelty; a rise in preju-dice and hate crimes; a decline in the work ethic; increasedself-destructive behaviors which involve premature sexualactivity, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies; and adecline in the perception of importance of personal andcivic responsibility (Wittmer & Clark, 2007). These dataare indicative of a need for a transformed perspective.

The ASCA National Model: A Framework for SchoolCounseling Programs was developed by state and nationalschool counseling leaders. It includes the three domains ofacademic achievement, career decision-making, andpersonal/social development. All activities that counselorsperform to deliver the ASCA National Model are framedwithin four program components (guidance curriculum,individual student planning, responsive services, andsystem support). This model is both comprehensive anddevelopmental.

The school counseling program is important and so arethe counselors who will implement it. We believe that

Reality Therapy practitioners have the potential to impactstudent academic achievement, career decision-making,and personal/social development most effectively for twospecific reasons. First, Reality Therapy training empha-sizes the importance of the personal qualities of warmth,sincerity, congruence, understanding, acceptance, concern,openness, and respect for the individual. These character-istics help school counselors to build trust and developpositive therapeutic relationships with students. This isvital. Second, Reality Therapy practitioners understandand are able to teach students the basic principles ofChoice Theory, Basic Needs, and the Quality World. Thisknowledge will provide an added sense of self-esteem,self-worth, inner peace, and self confidence.

We have outlined a number of activities RealityTherapy practitioners could use in all four programcomponents to enhance academic achievement, careerdecision-making, and personal/social development. Also,we developed a Choice Theory Career Rating Scale forChildren and Adolescents. Counselors can use this scale asa guide for discussing career interest as well as personaland social matters.

Effective school counselors and school counselingprograms are vital to our society. We recommend thatschool districts purchase copies of The Quality School(Glasser, 1990) and The Quality School Teacher (1993) forall administrators and members of the faculty We alsorecommend that school districts incorporate RealityTherapy training as a part of the required professionaldevelopment for all school personnel. These efforts couldmove school counseling from the periphery of schoolprograms to a position of leadership in all areas thatimpact student growth and development (EducationTrust, 2003).

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REFERENCESAmerican School Counselor Association. (2003). The

ASCA National Model: A framework for schoolcounseling programs. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2006). Rolestatement: The school counselor. Alexandria, VA:Author.

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling andpsychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Education Trust. (2003). Transforming school counseling.Retrieved August 13, 2006 fromhttp://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Transforming+School-i-Counseling/Metlife.htm

Feller, B. (2003, September 16). U. S. outspends, doesn'toutrank in education. The Daily News, pp. Al, A6.

Glasser, W (1965). Reality therapy. New York: HarperCollins.

Glasser, W (1990). The quality school. New York: HarperCollins.

Glasser, W. (1992). Reality therapy. New York StateJournal for Counseling and Development, 7 (1), 5-13.

Glasser, W. (1993). The quality school teacher. New York:Harper Collins.

Glasser, W (1998). Choice theory New York: HarperCollins.

Glasser, W (2001). Counseling with choice theory. NewYork: Harper Collins.

Glasser, W. (2002). Unhappy teenagers. New York:Harper Collins.

Gysbers, N., & Henderson, P. (2006). Developing &managing your school guidance and counselingprogram. Alexandria, VA: American CounselingAssociation.

House, R. M., & Martin, P. J. (1998). Advocating forbetter futures for all students: A new vision schoolcounselor. Education, 119, 284-291.

Wittmer, J., & Clark, M. A. (2007). Managing your schoolcounseling program: K-12 developmental strategies.Minneapolis, MN: Educational Media Corporation.

Wubbolding, R. (1988). Using reality therapy. New York:Harper & Row.

Wubbolding, R. (2000). Reality therapy for the 21stcentury. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner- Routledge.

Wubbolding, R. (2004). Reality therapy training manual.Cincinnati, QH: Center for Reality Therapy.

Wubbolding, R., & Brickell, J. (1999). Counselling withreality therapy. Oxfordshire, UK: Speechmark.

The first author may be contactedat cynthia.mason@wku.edu

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Needs and their Definitions

Love and Belonging:

The need for interpersonal contact, workingtogether with others, and the potential fordeveloping long term relationships and friendships.To feel wanted and approved of by classmates, aswell as by authorities.

Self Worth/Power:

The need for a sense of empowerment,competence, and opportunities for personaleffectiveness in the school environment. Aconnection between one's personal sense ofachievement and worthiness with similarexperiences in the home, school, and community.Opportunities for leadership and managementroles.

Freedom:

The need for autonomy, independence, and limitedrestrictions in the school environment and in thehome. Opportunities for spontaneity and change inall areas of one's life.

Fun and Enjoyment:

The need for balance between work and pleasure.Sufficient opportunities for enjoyable and funexperiences within the context of school, home,and community.

Survival & Health:

Safe physical environment at home and school. Anenvironment that is a supportive context for one'smental and emotional health. Family income thatadequately provides for enhanced educationalopportunities, personal self-care, leisure activities,and vacations.

STRENGTH ANDRATING

Need Strength

0 1 2 3 4

Need Satisfaction

0 1 2 3 4

Need Strength

0 1 2 3 4

Need Satisfaction

0 1 2 3 4

Need Strength

0 1 2 3 4

Need Satisfaction

0 1 2 3 4

Need Strength

0 1 2 3 4

Need Satisfaction

0 1 2 3 4

Need Strength

0 1 2 3 4

Need Satisfaction

0 1 2 3 4

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

SATISFACTIONSCALE

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

9

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

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