William Glasser developed reality therapy, which focuses on helping clients make responsible choices to meet their basic needs and improve their lives. Glasser believed human behavior is driven by five basic needs: survival, love, power, freedom, and fun. Reality therapy techniques encourage clients to evaluate their current situation, make action plans, practice new behaviors, and improve relationships to close the gap between their desired life and reality. The goal is to help clients gain a sense of control by making choices that lead to more fulfilling and productive lives.

1. REALITY THERAPY
(CHOICE THEORY)
COUNSELING THEORIES OF AND
MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACH
Presented by: Vanessa Grace Manos, RPm

2. WHO IS WILLIAM
GLASSER?
meet
the
theorist
A psychiatrist known for
establishing choice theory and
reality therapy, which was
applied not only to counseling
situations, but also the
American education system.
(Vitello, 2013)

3. Glasser was born May 11, 1925 to Betty and
Ben Glasser, who was a watch and clock
repairman.
He was a shy young man, who felt the need
to overcome his modest background. Earned
a chemical engineering degree from Case
Western Reserve University, but was
unhappy in this career path.
Glasser returned to the university and earned
a second bachelor’s degree in psychology in
1953, completing his residency at a Veterans
Administration hospital in Los Angeles.
WILLIAM GLASSER

4. During his first job at a girls reform school in
Ventura, California he completed case studies
that were used in developing his Reality
Therapy concept. Eventually, he founded the
William Glasser Institute in Chicago, which
trained several thousand educators and
counselors in Choice Theory.
WILLIAM GLASSER
The Institute also has helped establish 20
school districts that implement his theories,
which are called “Glasser Quality Schools”
(Vitello, 2013).(2010)

5. WHAT IS
REALITY
THERAPY ?

6. Reality therapy is a type of psychotherapy rooted in choice theory, which
is the idea that a person’s circumstances are a result of their choices.
In reality therapy, clients are taught that they can control their actions,
thoughts, and even how they feel through the choices they make.
The goal is to help people make more responsible, effective, and healthy
choices that improve their lives and reduce their suffering.
Reality
Therapy

7. Reality therapy does not focus on the influence of childhood trauma, attachment issues, or
other root causes of a person’s problems. Instead, it focuses on current problems and issues.
Like solution-focused therapy, reality therapy is usually short-term and focused on problem-
solving.
Similar to motivational Interviewing, most reality therapy techniques are aimed at helping
people make behavioral changes. It focuses more on behavior than other common forms of
therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT),
which are focused on thought patterns and coping skills.
Reality Therapy Vs. Traditional Talk Therapy
Models

8. Reality therapy is rooted in the idea that people choose their thoughts, feelings, actions,
and reactions.
Reality therapists work based on the principle that when these choices are irresponsible
or ineffective, they cause psychological distress.
Dr. William Glasser, the developer of reality therapy, considered all choices an attempt to
meet certain basic human needs.
Choice Theory in Reality Therapy

9. HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS GUIDED BY FIVE BASIC NEEDS:
NEED FOR
SURVIVAL
NEED FOR
LOVE AND
BELONGING
NEED FOR
POWER
NEED FOR
FREEDOM
NEED FOR
FUN

10. Survival and safety: Basic needs like food and shelter, and the need to feel safe and secure.
Love and belonging: The need to have close, healthy, strong relationships with others and
to feel loved, accepted, and connected.
Power and achievement: The need to feel in control of ourselves and our lives, as well as
the need to grow, progress, and achieve things in order to feel fulfilled.
Freedom and independence: Free will and the ability to make choices, be independent, and
feel a sense of autonomy.
Fun and enjoyment: The need to spend time doing things that bring a sense of pleasure,
enjoyment, and personal satisfaction.
According to choice theory, these five needs drive all human behavior:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Choice Theory in Reality Therapy

11. WHAT CAN REALITY THERAPY HELP WITH?
Unlike some therapy approaches, reality-based therapy does not market itself as a
treatment for any particular mental health condition or psychological problem.
It is sometimes part of a more comprehensive or eclectic therapeutic plan, and isn’t
necessarily used alone. It is often criticized for being anti-establishment and denying the
validity of diagnosing and treating mental illness.

12. WHAT CAN REALITY
THERAPY HELP WITH?
Mental health issues like mood disorders or anxiety
disorders
Behavioral problems in children, teens, or adults
Substance use disorders or behavioral addictions
Relationship conflicts with friends, family, or partners
Existential anxiety or people looking for meaning or
fulfillment
Problem solving for specific issues at work, in life, or
in relationships
Reality therapy is sometimes used to help people
struggling with:

13. REALITY THERAPY
TECHNIQUES
Here are eight common
reality therapy
techniques:

14. 1. SELF-EVALUATION & WDEP
Wants: Help clients identify what they want and need in therapy and their lives;
often refers back to the five basic needs to identify unmet needs and wants.
Doing: Work with clients to identify what they’re actively doing to meet their needs,
achieve their goals, and get the things they said they want in life.
Evaluating: Support an evaluation of current choices and actions to see whether each
is helping the client get what they want or hinder them in some way.
Plan: Collaborate with the client to develop a plan of actionable changes they can
make that will help them get what they want without causing more problems.
Self-evaluation is used early on in therapy to help clients identify their problem, a goal,
and a plan to reach this goal. Counselors who use reality therapy often refer to the
WDEP system to help with self-evaluation.
WDEP stands for:

15. W Wants- What do you want to be and do?
Your “picture album”
D Doing and Direction- What are you doing?
Where do you want to go?
E Evaluation- Does your present behavior have a reasonable
chance of getting you what you want?
P Planning- “SAMIC”
CHANGE THE “WDEP” SYSTEM

16. S Simple- Easy to understand, specific and concrete
A Attainable- Within the capacities and motivation of the
client
M Measurable- Are the changes observable and helpful?
I Immediate and Involved- What can be done today?
What can you do?
C Controlled- Can you do this by yourself or will you be
dependent on other?
PLANNING FOR CHANGE

17. 2. ACTION PLANNING
Focus of control: Encourage clients to stay focused on problems they have the power
to change or improve and not the problems beyond their control.
SMART goals: Help clients develop goals that are specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Responsibility: Hold clients accountable for the changes they outline in their plan by
assigning homework, following up, and encouraging clients to not make excuses.
Revision: Once plans are created, they may be continuously revised, updated or
changed to reflect changes in a client’s priorities, goals, or behavior.
An action plan is another reality therapy technique that involves helping clients make a
plan to overcome their problems and achieve their goals. This often requires the
therapist to steer and direct the sessions to stay focused on actionable changes the
client can make.
Techniques reality therapists may use to make action plans include:

18. 3. REFRAMING
Switch their focus away from the problem and towards the solution
Stay present-focused and avoid discussing the past or future
Interrupt unhelpful comparisons between a person’s expectations and
their reality
Encourage people to take responsibility for their actions instead of using
denial, minimization, or excuses
Cognitive reframing is a skill that is usually attributed to Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy, but it’s also used in reality-based therapy. This
technique helps people change the way they think about something.
Reality therapists may use reframing to help clients:

19. 3. REFRAMING
In reframing, a therapist expresses a concept in a positive or less negative
way. This can help shift your mindset from problem-focused to solution-
focused.
For example, you might say that you can’t stand being disrespected by
others. A reality therapist may relabel the problem and say, “Feeling
respected by other people is important for you.” This helps you find
solutions within problems.

20. 4. BEHAVIORAL REHEARSAL
Behavioral rehearsal is essentially any role-playing activity a therapist might ask clients
to do in sessions.
These role-plays may be used in couples therapy or group therapy to help two or more
people practice healthier methods of communication or conflict resolution.
In individual reality therapy sessions, they may be used to help clients practice using
specific skills or responding in different ways to certain situations.

21. 5. RELATIONSHIP HABITS
Relationships are central to the way that people meet their basic need for love and
belonging, and reality therapists believe disconnection is one of the main causes of
psychological distress. Reality therapists believe there are some unhealthy relationship
habits that lead to disconnection, including things like blame, criticism, complaining,
and nagging.
Reality therapists working with couples, families, or individuals with relationship issues
often help their clients identify and change these bad habits. The goal is to replace
them with seven “connecting” relationship habits.

22. 5. RELATIONSHIP HABITS
Supporting
Encouraging
Listening
Accepting
Trusting
Respecting
Negotiating differences
The seven connecting relationship habits are:

24. 6. QUALITY VS. PERCEIVED WORLD
In reality therapy, the perceived world refers to what the client thinks reality is, while
the quality world is what the client actually wants.
The perceived world is based on the client’s life experiences and background. The
larger the gap between the client’s perceived world and quality world, the lower their
life satisfaction is likely to be.
One goal of reality therapy is to bring the two worlds closer together in order to
increase the client’s satisfaction.

25. 7. COMPARING PLACE
The “comparing place” refers to the comparisons the client makes between their
quality world and perceived world.
Reality therapy uses levels of comparison to measure the gap between the client’s
quality and perceived worlds. The wider the gap, the more frustrated the person often
feels due to the distance between what they desire and what they perceive in their
reality.
The therapist then works with the client to determine what behavioral changes need to
be made in order to close the gap between the two worlds.

26. 8. EXTERNAL VS. INTERNAL CONTROL
Reality therapy posits that behavioral choices are determined by internal control. Being
controlled by external factors is a barrier to change, so reality therapists work with
clients to increase self-awareness of the choices that they have control over.
By being more aware and intentional with the choices clients have regarding their
behavior, they can begin to make positive changes in their behavioral patterns.

27. GLASSER INDENTIFIED TWO GENRERAL TYPES OF
PERSONALITY:
People who view themselves
from their own internal frames of
reference
Those who perceived of
themselves as others see them.

28. CLIENT’S
ROLE IN
REALITY
THERAPY
A client in reality therapy will likely
be encouraged to do the following
● Focus on the present, not the past
● Avoid discussing symptoms
● Focus their energy on changing
their thoughts and behavior
● Avoid criticizing, blaming, and/or
comparing themselves to others
● Avoid relying on excuses for their
behavior, whether they are legitimate
or not
● Make specific plans and smart goals
(William Glasser Institute, 2010).

29. BENEFITS OF
REALITY THERAPY
Increases hope
Provides accountability
Raises self-awareness
Promotes self-control
Focuses on the present
Builds problem-solving skills
Empowers clients with the agency
to make positive choices
Reality therapy often combines well
with other therapeutic interventions,
and has a number of benefits,
including:

30. CRITIQUES & LIMITATIONS OF REALITY THERAPY
Reality therapy has been criticized because it doesn’t take mental illness or
personality disorders into account as a contributing factor; instead, it suggests
that emotional distress is a result of unmet psychological needs. For this reason,
most therapists who use this approach don’t diagnose people with psychiatric
disorders or prescribe medications
It could be argued that choice theory, a central tenet of reality therapy, blames
and stigmatizes people with mental illnesses by suggesting their symptoms are a
result of their poor or irresponsible choices. This could be offensive to people
with a diagnosed mental illness who may feel like the therapist is telling them
their problems are imagined or self-created.

31. CRITIQUES & LIMITATIONS OF REALITY THERAPY
Reality therapy focuses on the present and does not investigate root causes,
including childhood trauma, attachment issues, or underlying insecurities or
core beliefs.
Reality-based therapy does not focus on unconscious or subconscious
thoughts or feelings that may drive behaviors; instead, it believes that all
behavior is an intentional attempt to meet one of the five basic needs.
Reality therapy may be influenced by the counselor’s biases or personal
beliefs about “right vs. wrong” choices or behaviors.
Reality therapy rejects the notion that any person or external circumstances
beyond a person’s control can be a source of unhappiness.
Other elements of reality therapy that have been criticized include:

32. FINAL THOUGHTS ON REALITY THERAPY
Reality therapy is an approach that focuses on individual choices, personal
responsibility, and actionable solutions. This approach is founded on choice theory,
which endorses the idea that personal problems (including mental health issues) are the
result of personal choices.
People looking for short-term, solution-focused therapy may be interested in reality
therapy. Those interested in a more traditional approach to treating a diagnosed mental
health condition may want to explore other styles of psychotherapy.
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33. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!