Mental Health - Presentation

This week I did not have as much of a chance to use more Reality Therapy. But it was on my mind for much of the week and I tried to apply it to my own life. When I was considering how to face a problem regarding another person, I would think about how I can only control my own behavior and not the behavior of others. When I lost the mentality of thinking I could control someone else's behavior I regained control over the situation for myself. Instead of thinking of an impossible goal, I thought about small changes I could make that were in my capacity range.

The video about the married couple that we watched in class was very insightful. It had a couple who had been married for a long time and they were arguing about how the other person doesn't do certain things. They both agreed that there was a time in the past where they were happy. In addition, they discussed things they could each do to make the situation better. While the idea of making compromises in a relationship was not new to me, thinking about it from a one-step-at-a-time approach seemed to make sense. Instead of wishing that things were how they used to be, people in relationships should focus on what they can do in the here and now to change. That being said, each person in the relationship can start small taking responsibility and build on that.

Another interesting idea presented itself in the video. It is the idea that if the same problems have existed for a long period of time, and no one is willing to change to make things better -- then it's time to quit. While quitting is not the ideal situation, it makes sense and at the very least is a good perspective to have, since people seeking help generally want things to change. I wish that I had the opportunity to present this idea to a couple I am friends with, but the chance unfortunately did not come up this week.

This last week we had a presenter in class, Larry Letwick, who talked about reality therapy. He was very interesting to listen to and had the reality therapy attitude built into him. I think having that attitude is important as a therapist practicing it. The attitude is the same as the title of the therapy -- it's very "realistic." It isn't about focusing on things in the past. It's about life as it is in the real moment and about real things that people can do about it. I appreciate that it is a "doing" model and not a "reflecting" model.

School psychologists generally do not have time for long therapy sessions. Reality therapy is a form of brief therapy that is practical to use for a school psychologist. Brief therapy is all there is time for and it seems like it can lead to positive results in a short amount of time.