Reality Therapy
Reality therapy is a concept that was put together by William Glasser around 1962. He was frustrated that psychoanalytically trained therapists would hold people accountable for their behaviors rather than using the Freudian model to explain a client’s past to explain the present (Corey, 2009). Its main view of human nature is that “we are not born blank slates waiting to be externally motivated by forces in the world around us” (Corey, 2009, p. 317). Instead, we are born with 5 specific needs that we strive to achieve throughout our lives: (1) survival, (2) love and belonging, (3) power or achievement, (4) freedom or independence, and (5) fun (Corey, 2009).
Glasser believed that people choose their behaviors, and therefore, if they are in a situation that is painful or frustrating, it is because they have chosen so (Corey, 2009). Consequently, reality therapists use “choice theory” in order to teach their client how to make more effective choices. Also of interest about Reality and Choice Therapy is that William Glasser does not believe that a person should be labeled with a diagnosis unless it is necessary for insurance reasons (Corey, 2009). He persists that everything we do is chosen, and people who claim that they are depressed or anxious are really implications that one is passive and lacking personal responsibility of behavior (Corey, 2009). Similarly, reality therapists believe in total behavior which regards all behavior is made up of four parts: (1) acting, (2) thinking, (3) feeling, and (4) physiology (Corey, 2009).
As a reality therapist, the focus of therapy is not on what the client cannot control, but what they can control (Corey, 2009). Also, the therapist does not find fault or listen to blaming because they believe it is a waste of energy and time to blame. Instead, a reality therapist focuses on the client’s choice of behavior (accept responsibility) and whether or not it has been effective for them (emphasize choice) (Corey, 2009). Therapists also reject transference, keep the therapy in the present, avoid focusing on symptoms, and challenge traditional views of mental illness (Corey, 2009). A key procedure to practice these characteristics is the WDEP (ask what a client wants, what a client is doing, how they would evaluate themselves, and plan) system (Corey, 2009). Reality therapy is an effective, short-term way of treatment (Corey, 2009).
Feminist Therapy
Feminist therapy is another way to help clients create personal and social change (Corey, 2009). Although the therapy continues to evolve, it is a diverse therapy that emphasizes feminist consciousness in order to replace the current patriarchal system to a system that values equality, diversity, interdependence, and individualism (Corey, 2009). Feminist therapy stems from the women’s movement of the late 1800s and continued to evolve when feminist therapists believed that therapy and counseling was taking an unfair bias towards treatment (Corey, 2009).
Feminist therapy uses some concepts of reality therapy in the sense that it encourages clients to make their own choices to take social action. However, feminist therapists believe that clients are faced with sociopolitical and cultural issues that may influence their symptoms and behaviors (Corey, 2009). For example, when a woman comes into therapy showing symptoms of depression, a feminist therapist would help the client become aware of social oppression that could have caused these feelings rather than diagnosing her with depression. Feminist therapists are similar to reality therapists in that sense; they are reluctant to label a client with a diagnosis (Corey, 2009). Also, the role of a therapist is to create an egalitarian relationship between the client and therapist. This is crucial to the relationship because it allows the client to express his or her thoughts freely and without feeling even more oppressed (Corey, 2009). Feminist therapists are “committed to actively breaking down the hierarchy of power in the therapeutic relationship through the use of various interventions like gender-role analysis, power analysis, and role playing” (Corey, 2009, p. 363). Feminist therapists must allow the clients to make their own choices and not push them to do things they are not ready to do as this would ruin the egalitarian relationship they strive to have (Corey, 2009).
Reference
Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.