Process or Reality Therapy

Reality therapy is an active, directive, and didactic model for change that stresses the person’s present behavior. A basic tenet of reality therapy is that individuals are responsible for their own behavior. It is a common sense approach an can be used by a wide variety of persons as well as highly trained professionals (Videbeck, 2007). The focus of reality therapy is behavior, not attitude, insight, feelings, one’s past, or unconscious motivation. This model refutes the medical model and encourages positive growth and success.

It concentrates on what the clients can do practically to change behavior to fulfill their needs. The client is asked to identify wants and needs. They are asked to evaluate their behavior, formulate a plan for change, and follow though with their plan (Read, 1997). Reality therapy is grounded in the assumption that we all create our inner world. How the real world exists is not important, but rather what is important is the way we perceive it to exist. Behavior is an attempt to control our perceptions of external world to fit our internal and personal world (Fatout, 1992).

The process of reality therapy is:

1. Make friends – establish a warm, supportive relationship, and insist that clients take a look at the lives they are choosing to lead.
2. Focus upon daily activities and ask what they are doing now.
3. Ask the question: Is what you are doing helping you?
4. Help the client make a plan to do better. Using reality therapy requires a lot of time used in planning and checking with the client on how the plans are being carried out.
5. Commitment to the plan.
6. No excuses.