Applying Reality Therapy: A Psychology Assessment Counseling Case

This psychology assessment focuses on the application of Reality Therapy, proposed by William Glasser, to a counseling case. It emphasizes understanding the patient's current reality to facilitate better decision-making and personal benefit. The assessment highlights the importance of guiding the patient towards a righteous path while considering potential problems like emotional outbursts. It also touches on ethical considerations, such as maintaining client-therapist boundaries, and suggests appropriate actions depending on the severity of the situation. The document concludes by referencing relevant sources, reinforcing the theoretical and practical aspects of Reality Therapy in counseling.

0Running head: PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Psychology Assessment
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1Running head: PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT
The counseling approach for the case of Roberta has to be Reality Theory, proposed by
William Glasser in the 1960s (Reality Therapy - Counselling Directory, 2018). According to the
theory, the patient will be required to understand the current situation with respect to their
current problem. This helps them in nonprofessional’s term of getting a “reality check” and
opens their mind for the right decisions and personal benefit.
The reason for choosing this theory is because, Roberta is married woman with three
children with her husband, although she is not happy with and he current partner does not want
to engage in any marital relationship, she has to be made to understand the reality of her
situation, her romantic interest does not want to enagage in any social marriage with her which
could be problem if she decides to separate with her current husband as well as impact the lives
of her children.
The concept of the theory is to make people understand their object of love and hold onto
their belongings, having survival instincts with minimum damage to self to ensure a higher
advantageous prospect for self. She needs to be told that (Reality Therapy - Counselling
Directory, 2018). The duty of a psychological counselor is to guide the patient towards the
righteous path and provide solution in such a way that the patient understands and accepts the
situation for his or her own benefit. It is advisable to let the person get a reality check without
being unempathizing (Reality Therapy - Counselling Directory, 2018). Reality theory is based on
giving direct advice and supports it for the personal benefit of the patient. The client sometime
needs to heart outside opinion to realize certain truth or fact of the current situation and stop
themselves from making a personal harm.

2Running head: PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Providing direct advice might have potential problems like mental breakdown of the
patient, sudden feeling of restlessness and emotional outburst. The patient might feel an initial
lack of confidence but it can be overcome by focused person centered problem (McCabe, 2014).
It is important to not give personal advice to patients but provide the best judgment
possible in accordance with the situation at hand (To Give or Not to Give Advice, 2011). The
patient might feel that the therapist is unengaging and not interested which would hamper the
client-therapist trust. This might also lower the patient’s confidence on the therapist. Gaining the
trust of the patient is very important in this kind of setting (Potential ethical violations, 2018).
According to the American Psychologists association, the therapist is not supposed to
engage in any relationship outside of the professional environment. Nevertheless, in case of
Roberta who is fighting in distress depending on the severity of the situation, a continuation of
the session in a coffee shop can be appropriate if the client-therapist boundary is not
overstepped. It has to be made sure that the environment is restrained so as to make sure that the
professional boundary is maintained and the therapy session can be continued (Potential ethical
violations, 2018).

3Running head: PSYCHOLOGY ASSESSMENT
References:
McCabe, C. (2014). Virtual Reality Therapy Shows New Benefits. WSJ. Retrieved 31 March
2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/virtual-reality-therapy-shows-new-benefits-
1413841124
Potential ethical violations. (2018). http://www.apa.org. Retrieved 31 March 2018, from
http://www.apa.org/topics/ethics/potential-violations.aspx
Reality Therapy - Counselling Directory. (2018). Counselling-directory.org.uk. Retrieved 31
March 2018, from https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/reality-therapy.html
To Give or Not to Give Advice. (2011). Psychology Today. Retrieved 31 March 2018, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-ethical-therapist/201205/give-or-not-give-
advice