Reality Therapy

How are your relationships? Are you facing problems because of your thinking? Acting? Feelings? Goals? These are some of the major subjects of counseling in reality therapy.

What is Reality Therapy?

Reality therapy can entail working with your therapist about feelings of helplessness or your current circumstances in which you feel that you cannot change. You may learn how to change your thinking, acting, and feelings by learning about them.

Reality therapy is a type of 1:1 talk therapy or group therapy that introduces you to the idea that whatever you cannot change, you can change your thinking and attitude. Reality therapy helps enforce that minor adjustments can contribute to your success.

Reality therapy helps you establish insight into your needs and makes some of your basic needs the topic of therapy.

The basic needs that we recognize in reality therapy are:

• Survival.
• Love and belonging.
• Power.
• Freedom.
• Fun.

Your therapist may ask you to talk about your situation, feelings, problems, and ideas to help you become motivated and to close the gap between your intention and your behaviors.

How is Choice Therapy Related to Reality Therapy?

Choice theory brings important topics to this type of counseling. Choice theory is a foundation in therapy that helps you focus on some major areas of your reality:

1. What is going on here and now.
2. Evaluating and talking about your life.
3. Reasoning and making decisions about taking action in certain directions.

At Thoughtwise, some important conversations that you have might be:

• Becoming more aware of your needs and desires.
• Thinking to paint a mental picture of your ideal life/world.
• Talking about ways that you can achieve that ideal “quality world.”

When you are working with a counselor in reality therapy your therapist shows interest in your:

• Your current thinking.
• Your acting.
• Your feelings.
• Your commitment.
• Your plans.
• Your resolutions.
• The messages that you send yourself and others.

The goals for reality therapy are based on you or your loved one’s needs. This treatment may be a serious option for you and especially if you or your loved one would benefit from taking a closer look into your life.

This model of counseling lights the way for you to begin learning about the purpose you place behind your behaviors, actions, thoughts, and relationships.

A major application of choice theory in reality therapy is that you always have choices, and you always make decisions. Reality therapy does not focus on symptoms, but it helps you attend to your needs, your attitude, and the choices that you make.

Reality therapy may help you or your loved one discover what is contributing to your symptoms, dysregulation, and psychology by talking over these topics. At Thoughtwise all of these aspects of your health are important to us. We are sure that if this type of therapy is right for you that we can offer you the therapeutic experience that you need. Please contact us about how important reality therapy can be for you.