Reality Therapy

Reality therapy

This approach is also centred on the ‘here and now’. It assumes that someone who is experiencing mental distress is not suffering from mental illness but rather that their basic universal psychological needs are not being met. These include the need for fun, love and survival.

The theory is that it is a person’s own thoughts and actions that can restrict these needs. By changing what they do they can change how they feel and therefore take greater control of their world.

Related therapies

• Existential therapy
• Gestalt therapy
• Human Givens psychotherapy
• Psychosynthesis
• Solution focused brief therapy
• Transactional analysis
• Transpersonal psychology