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APA Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to strict professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited.
Choice theory provides the basis for reality therapy. It stresses that human behavior originates from five current sources of motivation or five human needs: Self-preservation, belonging, power or inner control, freedom or independence, and fun or enjoyment. Most behaviors are chosen and serve two purposes: to impact the environment around us in order to satisfy the five needs and send a message to or communicate with the surrounding world.
Reality therapy, the delivery methodology, is best summarized as the WDEP (Wants, Doing, Evaluation, and Planning) system. Each letter represents a cluster of interventions.
- W stands for asking clients what they want from the therapy, from their families, from themselves, and in general from the world around them.
- D represents a discussion of current behavior which includes actions, cognitions or self-talk, and emotions.
- Self-Evaluation constitutes the core of the delivery system. Therapists help clients conduct a searching assessment of the effectiveness of their behavior, especially actions, the attainability of their wants and the validity of their perceived locus of control. Reality Therapy for the 21st Century (Wubbolding, 2000) describes 22 kinds of self-evaluation.
- P includes both linear and paradoxical plans that are specific, attainable and repetitive. The plans are designed to increase belonging, power or inner control, freedom or independence, and fun or enjoyment.
Reality therapy began in a mental hospital and a correctional institution. Consequently, reality therapists apply the WDEP system to a wide range of mental health issues. Participants attending training sessions frequently want to gain specific skills for dealing with resistance, denial and related issues.
Reality therapy is most applicable in cultures that regard free choice as a positive value. Individuals not respecting the rights of others are less likely to benefit from any system based on personal responsibility and humanitarian values.
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