Unorthodox psychiatrist William Glasser dies

Dr. William Glasser, an unorthodox psychiatrist and best-selling author who emphasized personal responsibility for mental problems, has died. He was 88.

His son, Martin Glasser, tells the Los Angeles Times that Glasser had pneumonia that led to respiratory failure and died Friday at his Los Angeles home.

The Times says that unlike most psychiatrists, Glasser didn’t prescribe psychiatric drugs or dwell on his patients’ past. He largely ignored standard diagnoses of mental disorders.

Glasser’s so-called “reality therapy” approach argued that people seek therapy because they’re unhappy and should take personal responsibility for finding love and feeling worthwhile.

He argued that even schizophrenics and manic depressive could benefit from his approach, which was outlined in a best-selling book in 1965.

Glasser wrote some 20 books on psychiatry and educational reform.