The end of my first graduate school semester leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. Although I'm glad that the stress and pressure of continuously feeling unprepared to take on graduate school is now over, the feeling that I can successfully accomplish my goal and become a School Counselor seems more attainable. Working towards something I feel passionate about, and coming to the end of the beginning of a long journey has never felt so satisfying. What feels even better is all of the knowledge that I have acquired about the profession which society needs in order to function in times of despair. During our very first class we were asked about, “Our life’s motto?” From this day onward and after listening to the different perspectives, backgrounds, …show more content…
and experiences of my classmates I understood we all had one common goal, but different paths outlining our trek. Helping others and providing for those in need is what the Counseling profession is all about. Whether some of chose to be Licensed Professional Counselors or School Counselors this profession is all about helping people through difficult times. How we help is then the main distinction amongst most of us. Our theories class has provided us with the knowledge to choose between a plethora of different counseling approaches applied by professionals today. Although I do not want to discredit or favor any theory over any of the others I believe that some theories are more aligned with the needs of children and adolescents. Professionals working in the education field are encountered with different challenges and tasks than their other counselor counterparts. Therefore there are many counseling theories that do not align well with the issues and troubles of the population I wish to serve. However, there is a theory that satisfies my personal theoretical preference and aligns with the needs of the population I wish to serve. As I began to explore deeper within myself and after spending time looking into the different theories I believe that Reality therapy is the approach I most identify with. My beliefs and personal nature push me toward this particular type of therapy for many different reasons. Not only does this counseling approach align with my core beliefs, values, and personality, but it is also currently being applied to schools around the nation that operate using William Glasser’s theories (William Glasser Institute, 2010). This paper will thus focus on my understanding, implementation, and future planned interventions using reality therapy. Reality Therapy William Glasser developed Reality therapy around the 1960’s following his opposition to therapist using Freudian model, which focused on the disturbed side of patients rather than the rational self (Corey, 2013).
Reality therapy is based on the principles of Choice theory, which stresses that individual behavior and human motivation is all purposeful and intentional in order to satisfy human basic needs (Wubbolding, 2015). The basic needs are that drive all humans are survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun (Correy, 2013). Thus according to choice theory our actions and behaviors are consciously driven by the need to fulfill these basic needs. Human beings are thus not affected or guided by past experiences or unconscious motivations, but by their ability to control the present. The most important of these needs according to Glasser (2000) is the need for love and belonging, which can be defined as the need to have and build meaningful relationships with others. If any of an individual’s basic human needs are not met then the individual is faced with problematic or internal …show more content…
conflict. Reality therapy in Schools As an educator witnessing the needs of America’s youth I feel personally closely aligned with Glasser’s Reality theory.
I believe that humans are responsible for their behavior and that every individual is capable of riding himself or herself of their undesired problem only if they choose to. William Glasser (1975) writes in Reality Therapy, “ [In therapy] someone cares enough about the patient to make him face a truth he has spent his life truing to avoid: he is responsible for his own behavior.” (p.34). Adolescents and children are responsible for their personal behavior and as a society we must look beyond structural reasons for educational gaps and look into the choices and decision that adolescents make that are hindering their educational attainment. With Texas ranking in the 50th place when compared nationwide among other adolescents receiving high school diplomas the need for highly qualified school counselors is imperative (Texas on the Brink,
2013).
Individuals’ perceptions of their life/worth have the power to control the goals that they can carry out and meet. Every day we are learning new things and everyone has his/her own unique ways of learning. My strong desire to help students with their academic, personal, and social needs make me a strong candidate as a school counselor. While completing my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Program Administration I learned a great deal about myself. I have a passion for learning and want to share and express that love for learning with students. I feel that the Master of School Counseling program provides a direct path to my career goals of helping students to comprehend subject matter while learning to love learning as I do. Not only will
According to Glasser (1965), “reality therapy is a treatment based on changing negative behavior, habits and relationships by focusing on the present or current situations.” An essential aspect of Reality Therapy focuses on the five needs of survival, love and belonging, achievement and power, independence and freedom, and fun, being essential for individuals to ascend through life and establish relationships (Content Guide 5, n.d.). The various techniques utilized during Reality Therapy include: exploring behavior as a focus of change, focusing on the present situation, the adolescent assumes responsibility, a friendly relationship exists between the therapist and patient, the therapist is patient with the individual, the individual considers their ability to change, and lastly the therapist takes into consideration specific factors that are in control of the individual (Content Guide 5, n.d.). In the video, we see the Dr. McFarland create a both friendly and comfortable environment where Adrianne is able to express her opinions and thoughts of her present situation with her parents. Dr. McFarland is also patient with Adrianne, and this is one of the strengths of Reality Therapy, since the way the questions are presented to Adrianne, for example “what are the things your parents need to see from you”, this allows Adrianne to take responsibility and focus on the present situation. One limitation/weakness
In my new book, Reality Therapy in Action, I describe how my use of reality therapy has helped many seriously symptomatic clients choose to function normally without the use of drugs.
The career path I’m most interested in is counseling psychology, specifically mental health counseling. My interest in counseling began my freshmen year of high school when I had to do a project on what I wanted my future career to be. At the time, I had no idea what I wanted to do and a family friend suggested I look into music therapy. That sparked my interest in going into the psychology field and once I thought about how much of an impact I could make in people’s lives by doing counseling, I’ve never wanted to do anything else.
I cannot recall a more rewarding experience than helping facilitate a child’s education while enabling parent participation alike. These experiences have drawn me to my current position as an Educational Assistant where I am constantly interacting and establishing relationships with students, learning about their goals and aspirations. It is that same desire to empower our future students that has steered me towards a career as a school counselor. By enrolling in the Masters in counseling program, I aspire to develop methods and experience to become an effective, experienced, and adaptable school counselor that promotes self-awareness, allowing students to realize their full potential and impetus them towards a promising future. I want to learn skills that facilitate personal and career development, ensuring that our students grow accomplishing their goals and ambitions.
The choices we make early in life have an enormous impact on our future. I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives and my personal experiences have set me on the school-counseling path. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of students to soar for their dreams.
In regards to the questions and answers, I feel as though my personal approach to counseling is based off of my own priorities I set forth in myself that follow more closely to the aspects of Reality Therapy, and Adlerian Therapy. Though Reality Therapy primarily focuses on the present, it still has some grounding in the past but not as much as Adlerian does. Even knowing this I still feel these two therapies are more closely related to my own belief system. I am in agreement with Reality Therapy, in that we are responsible for the choices we make. I trust that we can exercise great control over our lives, over how we can change to better ourselves, and to better our relationships with those around us. I feel that we all as a society are influenced by basic needs: belonging, survival, freedom, and power, and that these needs can be used as motivational tool when working with clients.
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
I was one of those children who wanted to be a veterinarian when I was young, but I decided after taking an Early Childhood Education class that I wanted to be a teacher. I have then signed up for the teacher cadet program at my school. To reach my goals, I realize that I must pursue at least a four year college education beginning in the Fall 2016 semester. I am very excited about my future and feel that with the opportunity your scholarship will provide, I can help teach a younger generation.
This career option as an assessment employer for the child protective services could possibly be a long-term career option. Although, I do not believe I would want this as my long-term career goal. Choosing to work directly out of college would also allow myself to gain experience within the field which would improve the possibility of getting a better job or getting into graduate school. If I was hired and I did accept the position within five years my goal would be to continue working while attending school to further mu education. I would continue to work to gain more experience as well as helping me get through school by paying off my tuition. I would not leave this job until I graduate and had another job lined up.
There are many theories out there that attempt to find a way to help people solve their problems. To do this though requires making a choice. A theoretical position is nothing more than taking a position on what are the causes of a person’s problems are and how to approach solving them. There are many divergent positions on how to solve a person’s problems, one of them is called “reality therapy” (Gladding, pg. 331). We’ll discuss what the premise of this therapy is, the steps they use to solve problems
Reality therapy is a practical therapeutic method developed by Dr. William Glasser, which focuses on here and now rather the past, problem-solving rather than the issue at hand, and making better choices with specific goals established. Reality therapy is a time-limited, no-nonsense approach that Glasser developed and taught as a method of counseling which is based on choice theory, which states: “all we do is behave, almost all behavior is chosen, and we are driven by five basic needs” (William Glasser Institute, 2010).
Like many theorist, William Glasser, one of the founders, of reality therapy, was a Freudian psychologist who became displeased with this approach and began pioneering with new methods, which later came to called reality therapy. From 1960’s to the 1970’s reality therapy was designed at putting a few basic concepts of the approach to work in a variety of settings, such as correctional facilities, schools, private practice, marital and family, group work, and counseling in community clinics. Robert Wubbolding has advanced this approach through his explanation and research.
When I arrived, Mrs. Longtin was standing outside of the class counseling a student that was obviously upset. The rest of the students were supposed to be getting their supplies out to prepare for the lesson. Mrs. Longtin passed out their weekly grade reports and several of the students compared their grades. The students all had encouraging words for each other. The lesson was about dividing 2-digit numbers. Mrs. Longtin put a problem on the board and they reviewed how to solve it together. One student raised his hand and gave a “what-if scenario” on the problem. He was determined to come up with the answer mentally. Mrs. Longtin allowed him to do so and tried to throw out little him, she encouraged him, “You almost have it,” until he came
I understand that there is a great deal of opposition to this position, and the opposing viewpoint makes some valid arguments. One concern is that society is coddling today’s youth, and that they are not learning to take responsibility for their own actions enough. (Bradley)