Introduction
I have chosen Reality Therapy/Choice Theory as the theory
that most believe in for the following reasons. I had a hard time choosing
between cognitive behavior therapy and reality therapy, because they seem to
work together and overlap each other. Some of the attributes of Cognitive
behavior therapy, are that it posits that psychological distress is largely a
function of disturbances in cognitive processes, focuses on changing cognition's
to produce desired changes in affect and behavior, a present centered
time-limited focus, and an active and directive stands by the therapist.[1]
This is very similar to Reality Therapy/Choice Theory, which
teaches that total behavior or all behavior, is made up of four inseparable but
distinct components: acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology. Choice theory
emphasizes thinking and acting, which makes this a general form of cognitive
behavior therapy. [2] I
have chosen to Reality Therapy/Choice Theory because I feel more comfortable
with this method of counseling, and I have already been practicing this type of
counseling in church yet I was aware of it because I really have not had any
formal training in counseling. I also feel that it is the most useful to help
the client in the present and if not immediately, perhaps within a few
sessions. In my video/counseling session with James, we already had a plan by
the end of the session for James to monitor his thoughts. In the ideal
situation, should we have another session, we would further explore how the
thoughts he had been monitoring would make him feel and how that he was
choosing to feel that way, by choosing his thoughts. Have to add also in this
introduction that James is my close friend, yet I have been mentoring him over
the past couple of years. In the video, I mentioned that he could take the
homework. I gave them to his counselor if you wanted to or we see in I could
finish talking about this particular subject. I was one is suggested. The
counselor He is going to right now and it has been of tremendous help to him in
his personal life. So I just wanted to give you that as a background and
introduction as to why I chose this theory.
The Therapists of
Reality Therapy/Choice Theory
The originator of reality therapy and choice theory is
William Glasser. Now retired, Glasser rejected the Freudian model because he
observed that they did not seem to be following Freudian met principles, but
were actually holding people responsible for their behavior. This seems to be
the turning point in Glasser's practice and philosophy. If people were being
held responsible for their behavior, then he seems to have drawn the conclusion
that behavior is a choice. He began talking to the same part of his clients not
there disturbs side as psychoanalysis tends to do. He originally termed his new
therapy as reality psychiatry but because many of the people that adopted his
philosophy or educators, social workers, and correctional workers he changed
the name to reality therapy. He wrote his first book in 1965 with that title.
He began looking for theory to explain his work in the 1980s
and began studying about control theory from William Powers, and by 1996 began
to call his theory choice theory to reflect all that he had developed.
Robert E. Wubbolding received his doctorate in counseling
from the University of Cincinnati and has licenses as a counselor and a
psychologist. He is the director of the Center for reality therapy in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and Prof. emeritus of Xavier University. He adopted reality
therapy because he believed it to be best suited for his interests in
counseling. In 1988, he was appointed by William Glasser as director of
training for the William Glasser Institute. One of his specialties is adapting
choice theory and reality therapy to various cultures and ethnic groups. He
extended the theory and practice of reality therapy with the conceptualization
and introduction of the WDEP system. [3]
The Theory
Choice theory is the theoretical basis for reality therapy;
it explains why and how we function. It does not believe that we are born with
a blank slate, but that we are born with five genetically encoded needs
- 1. Survival
- a. self-preservation
- 2. Love and belonging
- 3. Power
- a. Inner control
- 4. Freedom
- a. Independence
- 5. fun or enjoyment[4]
This is similar to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and
consisted of physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love,
self-esteem, and finally self-actualization.[5]
It seems Maslow's hierarchy of needs were thought about and then modified to
fit choice theory. Choice theory posits that from the time we are born, we are
choosing our behavior in order to satisfy our needs or what makes us feel good
and that we store this information in our minds called our quality world.[6]
I find this a bit interesting because of the video that I recently watched that
demonstrated Infants clearly choosing based on what made them feel good or was
acceptable to them. I only have a link to share to that video and include that
here. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135408n [7]
What is interesting in the video is that choice is mentioned
several times. While the video explores whether or not babies are born with a
built in moral code, it clearly demonstrates that the babies are choosing. This
would confirm Glasser's choice theory posit that we are choosing, or keeping
track, of anything we do that feels very good; and that all we ever do from
birth to death is behave, and with rare exceptions, everything we do is chosen.[8]
The Therapy
Reality therapy focuses quickly on the unsatisfying
relationship, or the lack of relationship, which are often the cause client’s
problems. Reality therapy five characteristics are,
- 1) emphasis on choice and responsibility
- a. The client is responsible for what he does because he has chosen his behavior. We do not blame the client but we cannot lose focus of this truth.
- 2) rejects transference is
- 3) keeping the therapy in the present
- a. Keeping the client in the present instead of the past, because the past may have been painful and may have influenced who the client is today, but staying in the past does not help the client in the present.
- 4) avoiding focusing on symptoms
- a. This is related to keeping therapy in the present by not spending a great amount of time on how the client feels based upon past experiences.
- 5) challenges traditional views of mental illness
- a. rejects the traditional notion that people with problematic physical and psychological symptoms are mentally ill[9]
Key Goals of
Therapy
Reality therapy seems to be very much a teaching type of
therapy or a type of mentoring process. As stated in the textbook. Therapists
try to assist the client to make more effective and responsible choices in
which they can fulfill their basic needs of achievement inner control freedom
and fun. By assisting the client in making responsible choices, the client
learns more responsible behaviors, particularly as it relates to relationships.
This is where reality therapy and cognitive behavior therapy are similar and
closely related. Behaviors are both overt and covert. Overt behaviors consist
of anything that we say or do. Covert behaviors, also known as private
self-talk, consist of what we feel, think, and imagine.[10]
In order to choose, you must think or imagine. We must have some thoughts in
our minds that present us with a choice of either something that enhances our
quality world or detracts from it. Quality choices stem from quality or
responsible thoughts, in other words, covert behavior.
This is seen in the type of questions the therapist will ask
during a session. Questions such as:
- How would you most like to change your life?
- What do you want in your life that you are not getting?
- Is what you are choosing to do bring you closer to the people you want to be closer to right now?
These types of questions are designed to change the covert
behaviors of the client, leading them to choose responsibly. The therapist does
not seem to want sessions to be long, drawn out, continuous events that keep
the client stuck in the past. The therapist wants to keep the client in the
present and work on change immediately.
Techniques
The WDEP develop by Wubbolding is used to help clients
explore their wants possible things they can do, opportunities for self-evaluation,
and design plans for improvement. Exploring ones needs and perceptions is one
technique used by reality therapists. Direction and doing is another part of
the system in which the therapist asks a key question,” What are you doing?” In
my video, I reworded it to ask, "What type of thoughts are you thinking in
that situation?" My focus was to get the client to see the types of covert
behaviors he was choosing, and how they were affecting a satisfying and happy
relationship with his wife.
Another part of the system is self-evaluation, which is the
cornerstone of reality therapy procedures. Counselor can help clients evaluate
their behavior by asking this question:" is your current behavior bringing
you closer to people important to you or is it driving you further apart?"
In my video, I did not ask that question exactly the same way, but I was trying
to get the client to see that his current thoughts and choices of thoughts were
not bringing it closer to his wife at home. Another question therapist might
ask, and which I reworded in the video," how committed are you to the
therapeutic process and to changing your life?" Self-evaluation is a major
task in Reality therapy. Because without honest self-assessment. The client is
unlikely to change. Finally, planning and action of the fourth part of the WDEP
system. The counselor assists the client in exploring other possible behaviors
and formulates an action plan. Plan should have the following characteristics:
it is within the limits of motivation and capacities of the client, they are
easy to understand and realistic, they involve a positive course of action,
repetitive, and perform daily, and carried out as soon as possible. [11]
In the video, I gave the client a couple of plans to monitor
his thoughts over the next week. Since I have already been mentoring James, I
suggested he and I get together later and follow-up on his progress. Alternatively,
he could take the exercises I gave to do to the counselor he is presently
seeing. I gave him the following plans and exercises:
- Some forms to monitor his thoughts at work
- A list of rational and irrational thoughts and how to score them
- The technique I learned from a counselor that helped me tremendously called the three A technique.
The essence of reality therapy is that we are responsible
for what we choose to do that we are internally motivated by current needs and
wants and we control our present behavioral choices.
The therapist functions as a teacher, a mentor, and a model,
confronting clients in ways that help them evaluate what they are doing and
whether their behavior is fulfilling their basic needs without harming
themselves or others. The goals of reality therapy include behavioral change,
better decision-making, and improved significant relationships, enhanced
living, and more effective satisfaction all the psychological needs.[12]
Why I chose Reality
Therapy.
The reason that I chose this technique is that it seems to
be a better fit with what I do in ministry as a pastor/counselor. I do like
some of the other theories, and I am sure I will be using them. For instance,
innocent children that have been horribly abused did not choose what happened
to them, and so I do think some time would be need to be spent going over past
events at least somewhat, in order to help that person to move forward. I have
mentored young women who have been raped and cannot seem to move past that
event and develop meaningful relationships. While the ultimate goal would be to
use reality therapy with everyone, I do not think it would be practical nor
compassionate, to immediately tell abuse or rape victim to the cost of their
unhappiness is there choices and thoughts. I do think reality therapy would be
great in those situations to work on building self-esteem in the clients, which
is one of the basic needs. We need to have met in life.
As I said earlier, I have already been practicing this
without really realizing it, over the course of 25 years
in ministering to people in and outside of church. The Bible speaks much about
the way we think and the choices we make, for instance, there is a Scripture
that says be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. I have counseled many people who are frustrated that they could not
live their own faith on a consistent basis. They wanted to do what was right
but often were perplexed as to why they could not do it. I use this Scripture
mentioned many times to explain to them that they needed to do two things. One
was to begin thinking about and meditating about who they really wanted to be
and to see themselves acting out that behavior. If they wanted to be kind
towards their wife or a friend than to see themselves acting that way. I asked
I also explained to them that they had to change the way they thought about
themselves and how they perceive situation they were in that was causing
stress, it usually had to deal is a relationship. I will explain to them that
the Bible teaches that if we meditate or imagine and think consistently on the right
things that eventually it changes us from the inside out. I have seen it happen
many times. While this is not exactly reality therapy, it is very similar
because the idea is that we choose our thoughts, we choose our behaviors, and
that it is not out of our control that as some of those that I have mentored
were implying. I feel now with what I have learned in this class and some of
the questions that I can now ask, I feel that is only help me further in
ministry, and in helping others of all walks of life. On a personal note, it
took me a long time to learn these things and I am still changing, but I feel that what I have learned here is
going to help me grow more as a person to make better choices for myself, my
family, friends, and those that I will be counseling in the future.
[1] Gerald Corey, (2013).
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole.
Cengage learning.
[2] Gerald Corey, (2009). 'reality
therapy, '. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th
ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.336 -337.
[3] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.334-335.
[4] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy.
9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.336.
[5] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'Person centered therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.177.
[6] Gerald Corey, (2009). 'reality
therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th
ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.337.
[7] CBS News (November 18,
2012 4:53 PM). Born good? Babies help unlock the origins of morality. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135408n. [Last Accessed
November, 2012].
[8] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.337.
[9] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.338-340.
[10] Gary Martin, Joseph Pear,
(2011). behavior modification what it is and how to do it. 9th ed. USA: Pearson
education, Inc..
[11] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.344-348.
[12] Gerald Corey, (2009).
'reality therapy'. In: (ed), Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. 9th ed. USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage learning. pp.354
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