In 1905, the parents of William Glasser (1925–2013) emigrated from Russia to the United States to escape the pogroms aimed at Russian Jews. In 1915, after several moves, they settled in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents insisted that the family become assimilated into American culture and refused to adopt ghetto-like behaviors that would have led to a lifestyle isolated from the wider American community. It is likely that this parental worldview influenced Glasser as he developed reality therapy, a system of therapy that shuns the viewpoint that clients are helpless victims subject to oppression by their history, their unconscious, or their cultural environment. His ideas remain relevant and controversial in the current professional milieu.

After earning a degree in engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Glasser realized ...