Happiness Is Just a Bowl of Choices (Paperback)

For the most part, unhappiness is the result of not having the relationship that you want to have with the important people in your life. It has nothing to do with a chemical imbalance of the brain as claimed by TV advertising, doctors, or psychiatrists. No medical tests exist that can determine if there is a chemical imbalance in your brain. Happiness is Just a Bowl of Choices will help you understand the manner in which your brain functions; why you experience unhappiness; and how you can be your own therapist to resolve your unhappiness without the use of brain drugs. You will discover three choices to resolve your unhappiness, any one of which will lead you to happiness. This is a book is about mental health and not mental illness and what you can do to help yourself acquire and maintain happiness in your life.

Michael Rice is a Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor who is certified in Reality Therapy and Choice Theory by the William Glasser Institute. Choice Theory differentiates from conventional psychiatry that diagnoses mental illness and brain disorders for conditions that have no pathology and are treated with psychotropic medications. Choice Theory is based upon personal choices, personal responsibility, and personal transformation. What is being diagnosed and medicated as a mental illness is, in reality, the behavior of someone who is acting out of frustration and unhappiness. The unhappiness and frustration is the result of an unsatisfying relationship with someone important to them . . . something that is occurring in the present. The frustration and unhappiness is the result of several unsuccessful attempts to control a situation that will result in an acceptable relationship. The relationship problem may also be the client's own relationship with him/herself. Mike has been in private practice since 1998 and over the years has helped over four thousand clients for substance abuse and several other behavioral health and emotional concerns. His years of practice and experience has encompassed group therapy, one-on-one, and couples counseling, helping others to better understand themselves by teaching Choice Theory methods of improving their relationships with the important people in their lives. Mike has been an active member of the William Glasser Institute, having served as the Regional Director of the Western states as well as having served on the U.S. Board of Directors of the Institute. Mike has presented several workshops at conferences in AZ, CA, NV, TN, CT, and Bogota, Columbia. He has presented at the AZ Psychological Association and the Sierra Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in Sacramento, CA. Along with Dr. Kenneth Larsen, Mike co-emceed the opening ceremonies of the William Glasser International Conference at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in June of 2012. Mike remains the CEO and Director of Court Counseling Services in Mesa, AZ, which he started in 1998. He continues to assess clients for substance abuse, teaches life-skills, and shares his experiences with client issues and Choice Theory applications in his books and articles.