Reality Therapy

Choice and Hope

“…Finally, the substance usage becomes such an integrated component of the person's quality world that it is seen as essential to fulfillment of his or her needs. The individual may fulfill these needs by using drugs with friends to fulfill his or her need for love, belonging, and fun (Wubbolding, 2011a(Wubbolding, , 2011b and letting the powerful stimulation of the drug fulfill the need for freedom (Mottern, 2002).…”

“…To help substance-involved individuals find hope, choice-based reality therapy was designed with a focus on teaching them to understand what their needs are and how to fulfill those needs through appropriate choices (Mottern, 2002), to be responsible for their own choices (Glasser, 1965(Glasser, , 1998Moore, 2001;Wubbolding, 2011a), and to set priorities among their needs through the WDEP evaluation system (Wubbolding, 2000(Wubbolding, , 2011a. In this system, W stands for wants, D stands for doing, E stands for evaluation, and P stands for plan.…”

“…Through this type of question, a therapist can assist clients to discover their wants and preferences, which usually reflect their basic needs and the picture of a quality world for each of them. Choice-based reality therapy stresses that, after clarifying and prioritizing their basic needs, clients will be able to make better choices and set up a workable goal (Corey, 2013;Glasser, 1990;Wubbolding, 1990Wubbolding, , 2000Wubbolding, , 2011aWubbolding, , 2011bWubbolding & Brickell, 2009a, 2009b.…”

“…and "Will what you are currently doing take you to where you want to go?" Through such questions, the therapist aims to help clients become aware of what they are doing, evaluate how what they are doing affects other aspects of their total behavior, and then consider how altogether this might influence their goal pursuit behavior (Corey, 2013;Glasser, 1990;Wubbolding, 1990Wubbolding, , 2000Wubbolding, , 2011aWubbolding, , 2011bWubbolding & Brickell, 2009a, 2009b. Through this process, clients are able to move their sense of self-control from the external to the internal and to increase the likelihood that they will carry out their responsibility.…”

“…To help individuals set up workable pathways and enhance a sense of self-confidence, the choice-based reality therapist encourages clients not only to set up a goal and develop a plan to fulfill their wants and needs but also to explore how much confidence they have in their ability to carry out this action plan. They are taught that characteristics of an effective plan should follow the principles of SAMIC, 3 which refers to a plan's being simple, attainable, measurable, permitting immediate involvement, and controlled by the clients through their commitment and consistent behavior (Wubbolding, 2000(Wubbolding, , 2007(Wubbolding, , 2008(Wubbolding, , 2011a(Wubbolding, , 2011b. Hammerley, Cavelle, and Forayth (1992) confirmed that choice-based strategies could enable adolescent drug offenders to build up self-confidence in their ability to solve problems.…”