Counseling with Choice Theory

Counseling with Choice Theory by William Glasser

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Counseling with Choice Thoery, William Glasser demonstrates how to communicate with people who are going through difficulty in ways that help them see the power of choice in their lives. Time and time again, Glasser shows people that when they honor the fact that they can only control their own actions, they become liberated from external control. When we stop trying to control others, we can better harness our energies to work with what we can influence: our own thoughts and behaviors.

This book is written in an anecdotal style that makes for easy reading. It is geared somewhat to the clinician who works with people undergoing great difficulties. However, anyone who finds Choice Theory a useful paradigm would gain greater understanding through reading this book. By demonstrating how the same perspective can be brought to bear on a wide variety of human suffering, Glasser shows the effectiveness of his theory in a very practical way. I feel far more confident in working in this paradigm after reading this book.

View all my reviews

Energy Anatomy

Energy Anatomy by Caroline Myss

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carolyn Myss doesn't pull any punches when she describes how the ways we invest our energy affect our emotional and spiritual health. Blending symbolism that draws from her childhood in the Catholic Church, the Chakras of Indian tradition and the Qaballah gives her a framework with which to describe the various ways we disengage from our own power. This framework also gives useful clues toward reengaging with this power and developing a congruence that nurtures our further growth and healing.

She spends a good deal of time delving into the ways we waste our energy and power, and how to recognize when we do this. She uses the language of economics, describing how we finance thoughtforms with our energy- even things we'd rather not be contributing to. When we really take a look at where our energy is going, we can get a sense of how much more energy we could have if we stop financing thoughts that don't serve us.

If you don't mind challenging questions and uncomfortable answers that are simultaneously liberating, this book may invite you to a new perspective on your situation. I listened to this as an audiobook, and found that listening to Carolyn Myss speak her own truth was an experience worth taking the time for.

View all my reviews

Unhappy Teenagers

Unhappy Teenagers: A Way for Parents and Teachers to Reach Them by William Glasser

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Unhappy Teenagers, William Glasser uses Choice Theory to help families navigate their way through some rather difficult situations. From suicidal thoughts to anorexia, he looks at the problems teens face as issues of control. Choice Theory regards everything we do as a choice, even behaviors we would never want to admit to consciously choosing.

From this vantage point, he encourages parents and counselors to look at the actions teens take as attempts to assert some control over their own lives. Rather than exerting more external control mechanisms, such as punishment and rules, he suggests recognizing that we really can't control other people. In doing so, we can empower teens to recognize the choices they are making and learn how to make choices that better serve them.

Glasser feels that relationships are the fundamental thing. Since we can't control teens when they are out of earshot (or even when they are nearby), we need to control how we treat them, so that they will continue to feel that we are in their corner. By supporting the relationship and our connection with them, we can help them to develop their relationship with their own inner knowing. When they no longer feel that we are against them, they can free up their energy to figure out just exactly what it is that they are for.

View all my reviews