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ABSTRACT
The Contimuum of Healthy Communication was created to visually present the connection between relationships, Glasser's Seven Deadly and Seven Caring Habits, and emotional vs rational reasoning. These three dimensions are discussed in a narrative fashion. Specific mention is made of the importance of healthy relationships and of how relationship satisfaction and dissatisfaction are connected to Old Brain and Nerw Brain thinking processes. This chart has been used by the author to facilitate personal growth in high school students and parents, as well as to effectively support pre-service instruction in a faculty of education program in central Canada.
Reality therapy, as a therapeutic model, has been referred to as "an oldie but a goody" and as such, is an extremely useful counseling tool to support today's guidance counselor. William Glasser's approach, with the concepts of choice theory and reality therapy, burgeoned forward in reaction to behaviorism in the 1950's and 60's and is based on humanistic, existential and cognitive-behavioral traditions (Finnerty, 2008). Glasser's Reality Therapy took form in 1965 and is, arguably, the granddaddy of all cognitive approaches. At the turn of the century, Glasser (1998) reconceptualized his control theory and published these ideas in his book Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom. Glasser's concepts are the basis for my counseling practice. By studying Choice Theory and Reality Therapy, I have personally come to see the world in a more meaningful way that makes sense of the human condition.
Fundamental to choice theory are the following presuppositions: all we do is behave; we choose our behavior; and we are biologically driven to fulfill the basic needs of survival, fun, freedom, power, and love and belonging. In his model, Glasser stresses the vitality of relationships and therefore places greater emphasis on the significance of love and belonging over other needs. He also emphasizes what he refers to as total behavior and how we, as human beings, are creative in trying to realize our quality world. However, we are sometimes misguided in connecting with and fulfilling our quality world pictures. This is where effective counseling helps. By supporting clients in connecting to their wants and helping them choose appropriate actions and thoughts, clients can be steered in the direction of connecting with their...