Reality Therapy and Choice theory – Flashcards

William Glasser, G. L . Harrington

Person can develop either success or failure identities. we are motivated towards growth, people have needs to be loved and to love and feel worthwhile. All people are good, but not every behavior is good. This theory is non-judgmental in a way.

choice theory: we are born with 5 genetically encoded needs that drive us: survival, love and belonging (primary, connecting to others), power (gotten through listening and learning or dominating/abusing), freedom (choice and disocvery, or blaming withdrawing), and fun (laughing or surprising others, teasing or ridicule). Our brain is the control system for these needs, but we don't satisfy them directly. "file" of wants = quality world (motivation) we behave in a way that gives us the most effective control over our lives. behavior is made up of acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology. so think of people as: depressing themselves, angering themselves.

focus on unsatisfying or lack of relationships, talk about what client can control, and client is responsible for their own behavior. Transference isn't accepted. The past is never the problem and history isn't destiny. Symptoms are seen as the body's way of telling one that the behaviors they're choosing aren't satisfying their basic needs. All symptoms are caused by a present unhappy relationship.

connect and reconnect with people in your quality world. Learn better ways of fulfilling needs, plan for change, develop a successful identity. Goals need to be simple and attainable, and not dependent on others.

mentoring process, ask questions like "is what you are choosing to do getting you what you want and need?" this challenges them to evaluate what they're doing. Be involved and warm with client. Confront them, debate and "give" advice, instruct and self-disclose. Must figure out what client's perceived world is and how they filter everything. ask "how do you see this situation?"

change what you are doing and your feelings and thinking will change. They experience urgency.

Encourage client to face reality, clarify, model, stimulate, set goals, be a teacher. Therapist is a consultant. Get clients to realize they can control their behavior. Wubbolding's WDEP model W = wants (perceptions and needs) D = possible things they can do (direction) E = self eval P = plans for improvement help client explore their quality world, and align the perception of the external world to inner world of wants. Less focus on feelings, more focus on action. Q to ask "does your present behavior have a reasonable chance of getting you what you want?"

Short term therapy, deals with conscious behaviors, focus on self-eval cons: doesn't emphasize insight or unconscious effects of trauma from childhood. avoids exploration of dreams which is powerful, can impose therapist's values onto the client. WONT WORK WITH CLINICAL DEPRESSION

are you filling someone's bucket or emptying? so kind of like how transactional analysis has strokes. Our choices can't deprive anyone else's choices (can't step on people).