An Insider’s Look at the Development of a Theoretical Maverick

Reviews the book, William Glasser: Champion of Choice by Jim Roy (see record 2014-15160-000). The book follows the life of William Glasser from his early days as a student in Cleveland, Ohio, to his final days as a maverick but honored psychiatrist in Los Angeles. The book is chronological and shows how Glasser grew as a professional and as a humanitarian through dedication, hard work, timing, friendship, and a bit of luck (such as deciding on the term reality therapy to describe his approach to helping). The text also exposes Glasser’s personal and professional flaws, failures, changes, and setbacks. Writing in interesting and lively prose, Roy presents Glasser in multiple ways, portraying him as brilliant, stubborn, friendly, hard-working, and controversial. He chronicles how Glasser broke with psychiatry over some of its most cherished concepts, such as the use of psychotropic medicines as the answer to difficulties in living. Glasser’s acceptance by educators, psychologists, counselors, social workers, and other helping professionals, and how that happened, is one of the surprises worth reading about in this book. Roy also shows how Glasser’s practice of treating mental health as a part of public health is still an idea worth considering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)