Terapia

William Glasser

Reality Therapy
Dr. Sheila K. Grant

Chapter 11

• “. . . it is what you choose to do in a relationship, not what others choose to do, that is the heart of reality therapy.”

Biography of William Glasser
• Born 1925 & educated at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio). • Initial training in chemical engineering, then master’s in clinical psychology • Attended UCLA medical school & became a board certified psychiatrist in 1961

Biography of William Glasser
• Glasser's path a continuing progression from private practice to lecturing & writing, ultimately culminating in publication of 20+ books • After writing counseling book, Reality Therapy (1965), published his first book on education, Schools without Failure (1969), greatly expanded understanding of motivation & behavior with Choice Theory (1998), & finally added, Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health (2003), to help people improve their mental health and happiness

Philosophy of William Glasser
• People should not be labeled with mental illness unless they have a true brain disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, head trauma & brain infections (they should all be treated by neurologists) • Otherwise, categories of DSM-IV-TR are not mental disorders or illness • Psychologists & psychiatrists should only use DSM categories to satisfy requirements of insurance companies to receive payments

Philosophy of William Glasser
• People choose to be depressing, anxious, panicky, angering, behaving in a way that others say they have a psychosis, etc. in order to avoid other more painful experiences or to reach out for help • They are coping in best way they know how for given situation, which is usually caused either by relationship problem or a lack of a relationship at all

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Philosophy of William Glasser
• The brain reacts to actions & thinking processes of individual, rather than individual reacting as result of an “imbalance in brain