Adlerian Therapy as With Other

Adlerian Therapy

As with other psychological therapies, the Adlerian model is also focused on bringing about a positive change. However, Adlerian therapy is not limited to changing the internal process as it envisions change in a much broader social context. Adlerian approach was revolutionary in those days as he strived towards societal or community level changes. Human behavior in the Adlerian theory is considered in the context of the environment. This social context of behavior is in fact central to the Adlerian philosophy. One of the main goals of the adlerian therapy is to establish a cooperative relationship with the patient and to bring out the impressions from his/her past and to analyze how they affect his social perception. Thus every individual's problem is essentially treated as a social problem. Since understanding the family order and the interactions between the members is such an essential part of the adlerian approach, the adlerian therapist gives much importance to the family history of the subject. The therapy focuses on a lifestyle assessment where the subject is encouraged to remember and reflect upon their childhood experiences and their own behavioral logic. In doing so, the counselor helps the subject understand the mistakes associated with coping methods, which is essentially the first step towards a positive behavioral change. [Richard S. Sharf]

The video shown was a nice demonstration of how a therapist should interact with his client. Of particular interest is how the therapist initiates conversation with the client and how he opens up the client in a natural manner. This leads to the client feel at ease and explain herself and her problems better without any inhibitions. Also the use of scaling is a very efficient method of gauging the client's present mood and gives a general sense of her well being at this point of time in her life. The video also illustrates the familiar alderian approach of counseling wherein the counselor delves into the family order and the background of the client in order to obtain an overall picture of the client, which would provide better clues to his/her behavioral adaptations. Another important nicety to be discerned from the video is how the therapist follows the client and goes with the flow. For example, the client in this video describes life in a metaphoric sense as a 'roller coaster' and a 'merry go round' and we observe that the therapist continues in a similar vein and asks her "where are you right now on the roller coaster." Establishing effective communication is a key component in any psychological evaluation and this video is a nice demonstration of the process.

The video served a nice purpose of how a therapist should initiate conversation with his client but there was not much about the actual problem of the client. Well this could be well thought of as a first session between a client and a therapist and a more detailed session wherein the therapist actually assesses the client, his goals, perceived shortcomings, behavioral abnormalities or adaptive behaviors and what exactly he expects from the therapy would provide a more thorough guideline for an aspiring student to observe and learn. That is to say that the video does not really address the crux of the problem as much as it enunciates the communication skills of the therapist.

Adlerian therapy is a more comprehensive and thorough approach, which involves understanding the self-better and is focused on change not just at the individual level but on family level and consequently at a much broader social context. It follows an equalitarian approach wherein the client does not feel any inferiority in the presence of the therapist and mutual respect, understanding and establishing good rapport are fundamental to the approach. Goals are identified and client is made to understand his behavioral tendencies, maladaptive behaviors and guided towards reorientation. Adlerian therapy is thus a holistic one, which integrates a persons mind, body and the spirit in the therapeutic process when compared to other traditional models. In short, Adlerian theory emphasizes on living life in a wholesome manner where serving others, expression of love, care and spirituality are all underlined as components of healthy living. Some psychologists however are more oriented towards Freudian theory, which is more biological where sexual drive, gender, and power are considered to be chief motivating factors. [Richard S. Sharf]