Reality Therapy by William Glasser

This therapeutic intervention based on humanistic philosophy is based on personal choices.

The humanistic orientation in psychotherapywhich emerged as a "third force" in the face of the predominance of psychoanalysis and behaviorism, promotes the conception of people as beings oriented towards the good, individual development, the recognition of one's own strengths, creativity, the adoption of responsibilities and the experience of the present moment.

In addition to the person-centered therapy of Carl Rogers, the psychodrama of Jacob Levy Moreno, the gestalt therapy of Fritz Perls, or the existential psychotherapy of Abraham Maslow, among this group of therapeutic interventions we find some less known ones, such as reality therapy developed by William Glasser..

Biography of William Glasser

Psychiatrist William Glasser (1925-2013) was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Although at the age of 20 he graduated in Chemical Engineering and dedicated himself to this profession for a time, he later chose to focus on his true vocation: human life. In 1949 he completed a master's degree in clinical psychology and in 1953 he received his doctorate in psychiatry.

Glasser completed his studies working with World War II veteransHe continued this work until he was expelled from the Veterans Administration Hospital because of his opposition to Freud's ideas, which predominated among the management of this institution.

Later he worked with girls with delinquent behavior problems; at this time he began to develop the ideas that would make him a famous author. In 1957 he opened a private psychotherapeutic clinic in Los Angeles, California, where he worked until 1986. As his career progressed Glasser shifted his focus to teaching and outreach.

In 1965 he developed his best known contribution: Reality Therapy, an intervention that is framed in humanistic psychology and focuses on the acceptance of reality on the part of individuals.an intervention that is framed within humanistic psychology and focuses on the acceptance of reality by people who are dissatisfied with the current conditions of their lives. For Glasser, the core of therapeutic change is the human capacity to decide.

The theory of selection

In the late 1970s Glasser developed his theory of human behavior, which he eventually called "Choice Theory" ("Choice Theory" in English). His work was based on the contributions of William T. Powers, with whose point of view he clearly identified after becoming familiar with it.

The core idea of Glasser's selection theory is that people's dissatisfaction with their interpersonal relationships is due to the Biological need to have power over others and to force them to do what they want. The aim of his theoretical contributions was to help people to respect each other.

The theory of selection proposes the existence of a "Quality World" in our minds.. This consists of images of our personal conceptions of relationships, beliefs, possessions, etc. that we consider ideal. This Quality World develops during life from the internalization of aspects of reality.

Glasser stated that we constantly and unconsciously compare our perceptions of the world with the idealized images, similar to Jungian archetypes, that make up the Quality World. Each individual tries to make his or her life experience consistent with what he or she considers to be the model to be achieved.

Glasser's theory of selection is completed by the 10 axioms the 10 axioms described by this author:

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• We can only control our own behavior, not that of others.
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• We can only give information to other people.
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• All enduring psychological problems have a relational character.
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• The problematic relationship is always part of our present life.
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• Although the past determines our present way of being, we can only satisfy our present and future needs.
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• To satisfy our needs we must satisfy the images of the Quality World.
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• Everything people do is behavior.
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• The "Total Behavior" is made up of four components: acting, thinking, emotion and physiology..
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• We only have direct control over acting and thinking; change in these indirectly influences change in emotion and physiology.
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• Total Behavior is designated by verbs that refer to its most easily identifiable characteristics.

Reality Therapy

William Glasser's reality therapy aims at the achievement of concrete goals through the achievement of concrete goals through problem solving and sound decision making. and making good decisions. The aim is to help the client achieve personal goals by analyzing current behaviors and modifying those that interfere with the goals.

This psychotherapy focuses on the present moment and on improving the conditions of the future; this is in contrast to the strategies of many of the clinical interventions that existed at the time Reality Therapy emerged, which were primarily concerned with the past and the person's personal history.

Glasser described five basic needs: love and belonging, power, survival, freedom, and fun.. The therapist must collaborate with the client so that these needs can be satisfied; according to this author, people who seek therapeutic help for this purpose reject the reality in which they find themselves immersed.

Thus, Glasser attributed psychological and emotional problems to the unsatisfactory results of the client's behaviors, and not to the fact that the social and legal context, or the person's own self-demands, may be excessively strict. The therapeutic emphasis is placed on that which is under the client's control.

Thus, for Glasser the "cure" for dissatisfaction consists in the assumption of greater responsibility, maturity and awareness than currently exists.The therapeutic success would be related to the client's own control, maturity, and awareness. The therapeutic success would be related to the fact that the client stops rejecting reality and understands that he will only reach satisfaction by working on himself.