Based on the work of psychiatrist william glaser in the mid 1960s reality therapy is founded on the idea that everyone is seeking to fulfill five basic needs and mental health issues arise when. Reality therapy what is reality therapy reality therapy was developed in the mid sixties by william glasser md an american psychiatrist and psychologist and its techniques theory and wider applications continue to evolve at his hands reality therapy is a method of therapy which teaches people to understand the needs that have developed through the evolution of our species and that drive all human beings to make more effective choices to meet those needs to take control of their own . In reality therapy robert e wubbolding explores the history theory research and practice of this choice focused approach to psychotherapy william glasser first developed the ideas behind reality therapy in the 1950s and 1960s when he formulated the basis of choice theory which concerns the way human beings choose their own behavior and how these choices can either satisfy or not satisfy