Reality Therapy: A Brief Christian Review

William Glasser is the developer of reality therapy. He was born in 1925. He received his training and psychoanalysis however he was not satisfied with the current trends of psychotherapy. Glasser wanted his clients to become more responsible for their actions and behaviors. He wanted them to be able to take control of their life. Through his work and the Veterans Administration, he refined his work in reality therapy. At the V. A. he found much success.

Reality therapy is designed to help individuals control their behaviors and learn to make choices. It is based on choice therapy. Reality therapy says people are responsible for their own decisions and life events. The aim is to help individuals control their lives more effectively. How and why people act a certain way is explained through choice therapy. The real world is distinguished from the perceived world.

According to Glasser, people have five basic needs: survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun. The need for survival refers to taking care of self by eating, drinking, and seeking shelter. The need for belonging is met by cooperating with others. The need for power is often in conflict with the need for belonging. The need for freedom often refers to how one expresses him or herself. The need for fun is not as strong as the other four needs but just as important. Those needs are met through our perception of reality. Our internal pictures of reality are used to satisfy our needs. The pictures do not have to be rational. The irrational pictures cause problems with choices and behaviors.

Glasser sees emotions as choices. With the reality therapy, emotions are expressed in the verb form rather than adjectives such as depressing or angering. Behaviors are defined as doing, thinking, and feeling. Thinking includes both the voluntary and involuntary thoughts.