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Biography of Biography of
William Glasser William Glasser
Born 1925 & educated at Case Western Glasser's path a continuing progression from
Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio). private practice to lecturing & writing,
ultimately culminating in publication of 20+
Initial training in chemical engineering,
books
then masters in clinical psychology
After writing counseling book, Reality Therapy
Attended UCLA medical school & (1965), published his first book on education,
became a board certified psychiatrist in Schools without Failure (1969), greatly
1961 expanded understanding of motivation &
behavior with Choice Theory (1998), & finally
added, Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous
to Your Mental Health (2003), to help people
improve their mental health and happiness
Philosophy of Philosophy of
William Glasser William Glasser
People should not be labeled with mental People choose to be depressing, anxious,
illness unless they have a true brain panicky, angering, behaving in a way
disorder such as Alzheimers disease, that others say they have a psychosis,
epilepsy, head trauma & brain infections etc. in order to avoid other more painful
(they should all be treated by experiences or to reach out for help
neurologists) They are coping in best way they know
Otherwise, categories of DSM-IV-TR are how for given situation, which is usually
not mental disorders or illness caused either by relationship problem or
Psychologists & psychiatrists should only a lack of a relationship at all
use DSM categories to satisfy
requirements of insurance companies to
receive payments
1
Philosophy of Choice Theory:
William Glasser Need for a new Psychology
The brain reacts to actions & thinking processes Past 100 years, technology has progressed
of individual, rather than individual reacting as drastically, but human progress has been at a
result of an imbalance in brain chemistry as is standstill
popularly thought Still wars, divorces, suicides, murder, poor productivity in
schools & workplace & unhappy people
As a result, people do not need psychotropic or
brain drugs such as Prozac Two groups of people of unhappy people:
Those who try to find their way back to pleasurable
Rather, they need psychotherapy to help them relationships w/happy people
with their relationships
Those who have given up on relationships & try to feel
Society should be in a more preventive mode good by other means (drugs, alcohol, violence, sex, abusing
rather than a reactive mode for psychological food, etc.)
behaviors, just as communities are for medical Once this group can find meaningful relationships through AA
or other professional or nonprofessional counselors & teachers,
illness they too can find happiness again
2
Choice Theory:
Choice Theory:
Basic Needs and Feelings
Basic Needs and Feelings 1) Survival - Physiological Need
There may also be an internal conflict to All living creatures struggle to survive & reproduce
the species
satisfy multiple needs at same time
Also, humans look beyond present survival needs &
e.g., you want to be responsible & gain make an effort to live in ways that lead to longevity
respect of others but also want freedom & (exercise & eating healthy)
fun Survival comes from the old brain base of the
McNamara (1997) also added intraneed brain As humans developed, cerebral cortex
or new brain allows us to have needs beyond
conflicts (e.g., survival
the need for survival can include the If survival was our only need, there would be no
motivation to be safe & the urge toward anorexia or suicide
growth) Also getting along better with each other would
result in more survival & less death
Choice Theory:
Choice Theory:
Basic Needs and Feelings
2) Love & Belonging - Psychological Need Basic Needs and Feelings
Its a 2-way street 3) Power Psychological Need
I need to receive love, be involved & feel like I belong Distinctive human need
I feel better if I am able to give love & acceptance to
others Includes feeling of accomplishment, success,
Most of psychotherapy in countries where survival needs
recognition, respect & being heard
are primarily met revolve around this need For some, the need is insatiable
Either lack of love or deteriorating love are associated For others, they are satisfied with the amount they
with have
Suicide For some, it comes at the expense of their
Mental Illness relationships with others (greed, external control
Infidelity over others)
Murder
But for some, it may work for the common good
Feelings of jealousy, abandonment, revenge & despair (saving lives or developing new treatments)
External control is used extensively here
We need to strive for the latter rather than the former
3
Choice Theory Choice Theory
(Quality World) (Quality World)
As people grow up & interact with It is dynamic as our experiences
environment, they find some parts of
world satisfy their needs & make them
grow
feel good & other parts do not Anytime we feel good, we are
They take this information & build into choosing to behave so that
their memory pictures of people, things, something or someone in our real
beliefs or situations which seem to be the
best ways to satisfy one or more of the world comes close to matching the
basic needs image in our quality world
The conglomerate of these wants is the
world in which we would like to live & is
called our Quality World
4
Reality Therapy
Reality Therapy (Characteristics)
(Characteristics) It is important to keep the therapy in the present &
not dwell on the past
Reality therapy focuses on what clients can
Glasser admits that we are products of the past &
control in a relationship, rather than finding
the therapist can listen to past experiences briefly,
fault or talking about what they cant but we are not victims of the past unless we
control choose to be
It is crucial for client to understand they Also, it is important not to focus on the symptoms
can only control their own actions & because they are just the bodys way of warning
behavior, & they can control all of them client that behavior they are choosing is not
Reality therapists strive to be themselves in satisfying a basic need
order to build relationships with client & Glasser believes that if client believes therapist
teach them how to relate to others wants to hear symptoms or past, they will comply
Therefore, transference is rejected in this & result will be therapy that lasts longer than it
therapy needs to
Family Therapy
(Application: Therapeutic
Reality Therapy From a
Techniques & Procedures) Multicultural Perspective
Clients explore their total behavior & make It is essential that cross-cultural therapists
their own self-evaluations respect differences between their own
quality world & that of their clients
If they decide to try a new behavior, they
make plans & commit themselves to plan & Counselor can work with client to help
them develop relationships as they are
there is a follow-up on how well client is doing
meaningful to them in their culture
Reality therapy is an art form, not just In some cultures, the procedures need to
following procedures be modified such as not asking direct
Each client is different with different needs questions o accepting Ill try when
asked to make plans with Japanese
clients
5
Reality Therapy Reality Therapy
(Contributions) (Limitations and Criticisms)
It has a short-term focus Corey believes that for some cultures,
clients may be reluctant to voice their
Existentialism exist in the theory as needs, & that discrimination & racism may
well as cognitive-behaviorism impede clients from obtaining what they
want in life
There is no hidden agenda by the
The result would be that client may feel
therapist, it is client focused misunderstood
Client is encouraged to decide if Corey also believes that the
what they are doing is working or psychoanalytic aspects of counseling
(unconscious, dreams, transference &
not past childhood experiences) are not
given adequate emphasis in influencing
our behavior