Reality Therapy: A Case Study

Reality Therapy: A Case Study Reality Therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on problem solving and making better choices in order to achieve specific goals. Reality Therapy was developed by Dr. William Glasser, and its primary intention is to focus on the here and now, rather than the past. Reality Therapy is intended to solve problems, rebuild connections and work towards a better future. The author of this paper chose to do an overview of Reality Therapy, and apply Reality Therapy to a case study. Throughout the textbook was no less than ten different types of therapy theories, and reality Therapy struck the author as a potentially effective way to treat clients experiencing various issues that prompt him/her to seek counseling. The case study involves a man named Chad. Chad is a middle aged man with two children at home. Chad has a difficult time in his relationship with his wife and children. Chad also has difficulty communicating and relating to members of his immediate family. Reality therapists believe the underlying problem of most clients is the same: they are either involved in a present unsatisfying relationship or lack what could even be called a relationship (Corey, 2009, 2013, p335). Reality Therapy is tied very closely with Choice Therapy (both from William Glasser) and while Choice Therapy explains why and how we function, Reality Therapy provides a delivery system for helping individuals take more effective control of their lives (Corey, G. (2009,2013, p336). The textbook states, Contemporary Reality Therapy focuses quickly on the unsatisfying relationship or the lack of the relationship, which is often the cause for clients problems (Corey, 2009, 2013 p338). William Glasser is the leading contributor to Reality Therapy. Educated initially as a chemical engineer, Glasser became interested in Psychology and ultimately Psychiatry. Glasser was certified in Psychiatry in 1961, following his studies at the Veterans Administration and UCLA in Los Angeles. Glasser maintained a private practice from 1957-1986 (Corey, 2009, 2013, p 334). Glasser was influenced by a fellow Psychiatrist and mentor named G.L. Harrington. Harrington believed in getting his patients involved in projects in the real world, and by the end of his residency, Glasser began to put together ideas that would later be known as Reality Therapy (Corey, 2009, 2013, p334). The following are some of the key terms and key concepts of Reality Therapy: View of Human Nature Choice Therapy posits that we are not born blank slates waiting to be externally motivated by forces in the world around us. Rather we are born with five genetically encoded needs that drive us all our lives: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun (Corey, 2009, 2013, p 336). Choice Therapy Explanation of Behavior Glasser did not like the terms depress, having a headache, being upset or angry. He preferred to think of it as rather than being depressed, we are depressing, we are upsetting, etc (Corey, 2009, 2013, p 337). Characteristics of Reality Therapy Reality Therapy generally attempts to bring the focus immediately to unsatisfying relationships or the lack thereof. This is the reason for many who seek out professional counseling. Therapists engaged in Reality Therapy typically do not listen very long to complaining, blaming and/or criticizing. Therapists believe these are the most ineffective models of behavior. Here are some of the underlying characteristics of Reality Therapy: Emphasize Choice and Responsibility, Reject Transference, Keep the Therapy in the Present, Avoid focusing on Symptoms, and Challenge Traditional Views of Mental Illness (Corey, 2009, 2013, p 338-340). Chad scheduled an appointment for counseling and came to the first session with some issues he is having with his relationship with his wife. The two of them have not been communicating very effectively lately, and this has caused some difficulties within his relationship. His complaints are that his wife just does not understand him like she once did. She does not meet his emotional needs, she is no longer engaging in topics of his interest, and although they continue to live in the same home together, he is growing into a feeling of detachment with his wife. As a therapist utilizing Reality Therapy in our sessions, I would want to help Chad recognize that focusing on his past will not benefit him in his future hopes of a satisfying relationship with his wife. I would want him to understand that he can take control of his feelings and his behavior that will ultimately help him in both his present and future relationship with his spouse. I would also want Chad to see that rather than expressing his feelings as being depressed, it would be better for him to say his feelings were depressing. In our session the first thing I would want to build would be a relationship with Chad. I would want to assure him that I am not there to hurt him, but to help him. I would want Chad to feel comfortable in sharing some things with me as his counselor. Building a relationship with him would be vital to further sessions as we work together on improving his perception of his relationship. I would then seek to implement procedures that would help Chad begin to change his behavior. The author of the textbook made the following interesting observation: The art of counseling is to weave these components together in ways that lead clients to evaluate their lives and decide to move in more effective directions (Corey, 2009, 2013, p 342). The counseling experience begins with an exploration into the clients needs, wants and/or perceptions. I would want Chad to explore ways in which he feels he could change. He may consider looking at ways in which he can alter his behavior. I would want Chad to see that if his behavior is not getting him what he wants, I would help him see that only he can change his behavior (Corey, 2009, 2013). I would ask Chad to explain what he is doing when he feels this detachment from his wife. What are his actions when he feels that he is having trouble communicating with his wife? If Chad is distracted by someone else; another woman perhaps, I would want Chad to determine if she may be the cause of his feelings of detachment. If Chad is ignoring his wifes communication and not paying attention to her emotional needs, I would ask him to determine if he can think of ways in which he could give her the attention she needs. I may encourage Chad to suggest to his wife that they spend the first 30 minutes after they both get in from work and just express to one another how their day was, any important information that needs to be exchanged between the two of them, what they need from each other in the present, and any future needs they may have. I would foresee Chad taking the initiative with his wife to ensure that their relationship is strong. If Chad is noticing a difference in their relationship, I am certain she notices it also. By him taking the first steps to change hi behavior, may cause her to be receptive to the changes as well. Chads recognition of the opportunity that rests within himself to change his circumstances may be empowering to him, and therefore serve as motivation to change his current relationship into one that is more productive and satisfying to him. I see Reality Therapy fitting well with my worldview. While I have a worldview that places God at the top and in control of all things, I also see mans responsibility for the choices he makes in his own life. Reality Therapy allows the client to focus on the deliberate choices they have made in life, and it also gives them an opportunity to focus on the results those choices have brought. Proverbs 23:7 states, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (BibleGateway.com, 2013). I believe God allows man to make choices in his own life, and sometimes those choices carry consequences. As stated before, the counselor must articulate the correct way for the client to (1) see his behavior as it really is, and (2) be willing to take ownership of it and change the behavior. I would want Chad to understand that God is for him and his happiness in life. I would want Chad to see verses in Scripture that support that statement. Verses like Romans 8:31 when Paul said, If God be for us, who can be against us? (BibleGateway.com, 2013). When Chad expresses his doubt of whether or not his wife loves him, and when he expresses his doubts of whether or not he loves himself, and when he even questions whether or not God has given up on him, I would also want him to see a passage found in Romans 8:38-39. Paul states, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (BibleGateway.com, 2013). I would want to integrate Scripture and the promises of God into the use of Reality Therapy, and I personally think they blend well together with the potential for p ositive results in Chads life. In conclusion, the author of this paper chose to write of Reality Therapy because he likes the approach the counselor takes with the client. He also favors the approach the client takes in accepting responsibility for his/her own actions. Possibly the what the author likes most about Reality Therapy is the fact that it encourages the client to not simply look to the counselor for answers to fix his/her problem; it encourages the client to work with the counselor to develop a plan to change what has brought him/her to counseling to begin with. Future of Crime Trends: White Collar Crimes Future of Crime Trends: White Collar Crimes It is hard to think about the future of crime trends because current conditions can change rapidly as some criminologist believe that crime rates may eventually rise as the number of teens in the population increases only some of criminologist believe this. I think the age structure of society is one of the most important determinants of crime rates but the economy, technological change and social factors will play an important role in crime rate in the UK. If unemployment continues to increase which will be and more attention will be paid to white collar crime and fraud as a result of the massive business failures in the banking, security and housing industries in recent years. The race and crime conundrum may become less important as crime and victimization. When the economy turns down people who are unemployed will become more motivated to commit theft crimes and that a good economy will reduce the number of crime. The good positive way is a poor economy actually will help lower crime rates because unemployed parents are at home to supervise their children and guard their possessions. Because there is less to spend I think age in crime will effect crime rate in future because teenagers have extremely high crime rates kids who commit a lot of crime early in childhood are also likely to continue to commit crime in their adulthood. CCTV does work and works best when it is used alongside wider strategy of partnership working between the police and councils and local communities to tackle crime in their neighbourhood area. When it comes to the crime prevention the CCTV is the most effective in reducing crime for example in car parks is most effective when targeted at vehicle crimes and it is more effective in reducing crime in the UK than in other countries. The CCTV can increase the public confidence and the public will likely to support Criminal Justice System for example in reporting crime and act as a witness. Also in recent terrorist investigations including 7/7 London bombing and 21/7 and the conviction of Steve Wright for Ipswich murder that CCTV has played a important role in detecting crime and protecting the public when needed. The new crime threat will be cybercrime if things go as they are. This would be any crime that involves an information system and includes ID theft. As technology advances people are going to be more brazen to commit cybercrimes from home Transnational crime organisation will continue to grow in diversity in many regions in the world. Developed countries like England and America will bore affected by TCSs than in the past During the early nineteenth century there was not any race and crime issue. This was not due to lack prejudice or indeed a lack of crime. It was because there were relatively few immigrants living in the UK. Black and lower class populations have the highest rates of street and index crime involvement in the UK. ( ) and Sociological theories argue that the location and experiences in the social environment are responsible for these differences in crime involvement ( ). In an early contribution to the sociology of knowledge DeGre (1995) observed that all science including those disciplines not involved in the study of human society are part of the tertiary institutions of a culture being influenced by the larger constellation of stresses and strains, cultural values, technological accomplishments and needs and overall definitions of life goals that characterize the social group society and world situation in which they are operative. No one comes into the world with criminality in the way in which one is born with a certain colour of eyes and crimes committed by immigrants are more frequently prosecuted than those committed by white people because immigrants are less likely to defend themselves legally and they are less often in a position to secure a good lawyer and they are more promptly sentenced to prison and in the court stages they are likely to plead guilty to drop their sentence to a lower level this is because they are come from a different culture different belief and different laws that they faced in their own countries and there always a language barrier Recent studies have found that black and mixed race 16 to 24 years olds have lower levels of trust in the police and the courts compared to older people. Young black peoples confidence in the criminal justice system is actually low. This emphasis on the police reflects greater contact with police in comparison to other Criminal Justice System agencies and subsequently people are more likely to hold some view about them and also black people have a higher relative risk of being stopped and searched than white people in England and Wales(Jack 1998) studies shown that the stop and searches of black people can be influenced by age for example where the black population in a area is younger than the white population and stop and search powers were predominately used on those people under the age of 25 and also the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report highlighted the problem of disproportionality and indicated the discrimination was a major problem and also this research has actually pointed to racial stereotyping by the police and black people are likely to get stop and search than white people. In Stephen Lawrence case was 18 black students were hoping to become an architect and was fatally stabbed while waiting for the bus that was a racial attack but police investigation failed to bring the killers into justice this had a big influence on black community. There is a media effect on race and ethnicity from TV news and from movies people are getting the wrong ideas on immigrants and religion. Media plays important role here in my opinion media shows the criminal act and report them to the public in a negative way rather than report them in a positive way. Because it is a personal interest of media personnel. One more importing thing as well as this if the media giving the news related to crime with fascination in this case the crime ratio of that specific crime will increase for example if in newspapers the news about terrorism is reported so frequently then in this situation the ratio of stop and search will increase according to the British Crime Survey BCS a number of stop and search has actually gone up after the 7/7 London bombing. It seems obvious that power inequality affects the quality of poples lives. The rich and poerfull live better than the poor and powerless. Power inequality affects the type of deviant activities likely to be engaged in. the powerful are more liley to perpetrate profitable crimes such as corporate crime while the powerless people are more likely to commit unprofitable crimes such as homicide and assault and power can also be an importance cause of deviance. For example more likely for bank executives to cheat customers quietly than for jobless persons to rob banks violently. Crime committed by respectable people of high social status in the course of their work and this is called white collar crime (Sutherland, 1961), white collar crime occurs at several levels. Embezzlement for example it is committed by employees against companies and companies also commit white collar crime too when they engage in pricing fixing, sell defective products, evade taxes pr pollute the environment. When companies are the perpetrators white collar crime is often referred to as corporate crime and sometimes corporate crime is more closely parallels organized crime than it does anythink else. For example accountants ,auditors, and executives working for Enron corporation worked together to hide the companys debts exaggerate its profits and pull in money from investors whom they tricked into buying their stock for much more than it was worth (Eichenwald, 2005) White collar crime brings heavy costs to society most scholars and law enforcement officials believe that the money loss due to corporate crime dwarfs that lost through street crime (Hegan) in addition to the economic cost there are social costs as well white collar crime can cost lives when tainted medicines or dangerous cars are sold , safety precautions are flouted on factory lines or toxic chemicals are dumped by manufacturers into rivers and streams the cost of white collar crime go beyond the actual money involved in the crime itself. The reaons for white collar crime are similar to those for street crimes. People want more than they can legitimately get think the benefits of a crime outrun it is potential costs (Shower Wright, 200) In these days the magnitude of white collar crime in our society challenges the popular image of crime as a lower class phenomenon. Instead this appears that people of different status simly haqve different opportunities to commit crime. Those people in lower status are hardly in the position to engage in price fixing, stock manipulation and tax evation.   White collar crimes are far less likely to be offcialy investigated and prosecuted than converntional crimes. In the simplest term what occurs in the streets is more visible and more easily inveatigated than what occurs in the suite. Its hard to detect and it realy can be hard to notice if crime has accurred e.g fraud, tax fraud and shop theft there are also few good reasond that why business in UK and other companies dont want to talk about white-collar crime its because the firms may not want to admit that they have been victim of theft and this can effect on their own business they may also not want to admit that their staff committed a crime. Since crimes were attempts to gain personal advantage by force or fraud they could obviously be committed by the rich and powerful they could certainly involve force or fraud and they could clearly be committed without punishment by the state. Some doctors commit murder and doctors sometimes cheat on medicare and lawyers have been known to misuse funs entrusted to them by their clients: business executives sometimes angage in bid rigging : labor union executives sometimes embezzle funds from pension plans and also manufacturers sometimes dispose of toxic chemicals in wyas contrary to law. Other criminal activities that are often missed by official and many sociological measurements of crime are those conducted by the powerful in society (Pearce, 1976) crimes of the powerful is largely those commited by rulling groups and governments, corporate crime is that crimes commited not so much by individuals but rather by boards for example chair persons and including the breaking of the Health and Safety Work Act and white collar crime that crimes committed by professional people such as tax evasion, business fraudand insider trading. White collar drimesis difficult to estimate the extent and influence of whitecollar crime on victims because all too often those who suffer the consequences of white collar crime are ignored by victimologists. Wide differences in cultural heritage and value system have a direct impact on rates of crime and it is obvious that there are many cultural differences between the America and Japan that doesnt mean that Japanese approaches to crime prevention cannot work in America. In Japan the societys emphasis on apologies and resolving disputes outside the police and the court this can effect on reporting crime and this leads to crime stay on low level in Japan. When we pick the robbery case is the most fearful street crime in America is much higher than Japan for example in 2002 America recorded 182 and for each robbery in Tokyo New York had 462. Robbery rates for England, Germany and France do not approach those in America but resident of those countries are still twenty to thirty times more likely to be held up than people living in Japan. Even when we think about South Korea have same similarity with geographically and culturally with Japans and closest neighbour and has robbery rates 6.5 times than Japan ( ) culture plays important role in to control crime and prevent crime. There is also a lack of confidence in America and people likely to act as witness and they likely to report crime. While some people can effectively cope with strain some certain people have traits that may make them particularly sensitive to strain. These include an explosive temperament being overly sensitive or emotional low tolerance for adversity and poor problem solving skills. Aggressive people who have these traits are likely to have poor interpersonal skills and more likely to be treated negatively by others and their combative personalities make them feared and disliked. These people are likely to live in families whose caretakers share similar personality traits. They are also more likely to reject conventional peers and join deviant groups. In summer 2004 a dramatic murder trial took place in New York City that aptly illustrates how lower class cultural concerns the code of the streets clash with the rules and values of American culture and how deviant cultures can exist side by side with middle class culture. According to Messner and Rosenfeld the relatively high U.S. crime rates can be explained by the interrelationship between culture and institutions. The dominance of the American Dream mythology ensures that many people will develop wishes and desires for material goods that cannot be satisfied by legitimate means that people are willing to do anything to get ahead from cheating on tests to get higher grades to engaging in corporate fraud and tax evasion and those people who cannot succeed become willing to risk everything including a prison sentence. American dream have a different effect on people depending on their place in the social structure. The studies shows that the American dream had a greater effect on whites than African Americans the reason is that whites may have greater expectations of material success than African Americans whose aspirations have been tempered by a long history of racial and economic deprivation. When whites experience strain they are more apt to react with anger and antisocial behaviour. At the institutional level the dominance of economic concerns weakens the informal social control exerted by the family, church and school. In my opinion these institutions have lost their ability to regulate behaviour and they have instead become a conduit for promoting material success. Parents pushing their kids to succeed at any cost and schools encourage the kids to get in to the best colleges by any means possible as well as religious institutions promote their wealth and power because religion lets you down all the time when you are keen on it too much.