Application of Adlerian Theory and Its Perspectives

¶ … Adlerian Theory in depth and apply it to a specific counseling case with a diversity theme. This paper utilizes five (5) scholarly articles related to the Adlerian Theory and creates a fictitious client case with an inferiority complex and proposes specific treatment concerns after applying the Adlerian Theory to this specific case.

A Rhode Island university exchange student aged 20, Sarah hails from a black South African family. Currently, she resides in a predominantly white, prosperous suburban locality. Sarah's native community is a small one; her mother earned a decent living marketing skin bleaching creams. At the age of five, Sarah was taught to use the cream by her mother after she was told by a neighbor that Sarah would never get a husband owing to her 'too dark' complexion. Sarah complains of being ashamed of the color of her skin, and does not wish to continue residing in her current neighborhood any longer, or to attend university or engage in any activity alongside her white pals owing to her skin tone. She declares that she loathes being black. She believes that her skin color makes her look ugly, and that everyone looks down upon her. Ultimately, she has resolved to use the bleaching cream more often with the hope that one day her skin would turn white.

Adlerian Theory

This theory's basis is the assumption that individuals control their own lives, which aren't merely molded by childhood experiences. Alfred Adler is famous for his individual psychology theory which established that biological and environmental factors have the capacity to restrict one's capability of making choices in life. Adler, however, was of the view that individuals know how to choose their own path in life and rise above their present status (Bitter, 2007). His perspective stresses that therapeutic relationships are collaborations between patient and therapist. The Adlerian theory also concentrates on modification of clients' inferior feelings and mastery of superiority, challenging clients' dysfunctional views and concentrating on holism, social interest, and lifestyle. Therapists of the Adlerian school regard encouragement, reorientation, and insight to be central factors utilized for helping clients achieve preset objectives (Pomeroy & Clark, 2015).

In this theoretical framework, behavior is viewed as

Purposeful, self-determined, goal-focused; Man establishes his own self-goals, determining his path through life; however, seldom is any individual wholly conscious of his/her goals or the reason for behaving in a particular way (John, 2011).

Driven by a wish to belong; Mankind is socially embedded. Human beings are driven to discern their standing among family, in society, at school, and at the workplace. When plagued by feelings of inferiority or inadequacy in comparison to others, individuals begin doubting their standing in their social group. Rather than progressing towards co-operation and participation, one decides to defend oneself from these demands (John, 2011).

Holistic; Every individual is perceived to be more than the totality of their physical, emotional and mental faculties. Unconscious and conscious, body and mind are interdependent. Man's behavior can be best comprehended as an element of a harmony of pattern, leading to a stress on the unique 'lifestyle' of every individual; greater movement and dynamism is expressed by the term 'lifestyle' than by 'personality' (John, 2011)

An individual's life style

Molded in the initial years by experiences; Birth order, siblings, and household circumstances all play a role in shaping lifestyle, however, a person's individual approach to finding meaning in life experiences hold greater significance. According to Adler's theory, what one remembers takes precedence over what one forgets, as individuals' memories (no matter how accurate) form the underpinning for our beliefs with regard to self, other people, and life, on the whole, as well as what one must do for finding a position or even surviving (John, 2011).

Informs actions and choices; All that a person is intended to make him/her feel safe or better. However, an individual's worldview and understanding of what they must do, (i.e., their 'private logic'), usually tends to be faulty, culminating in unhappiness after one gets bogged down. The reason for this is that private logic stems from conclusions drawn at the age of 3-6 years. Adler noted one thing common to every person -- the struggle to get over inferior feelings, occurring through one's amazing capacity of observation that makes one comprehend personal dependency and vulnerability. This gives rise to a struggle for superiority; in Adlerian terminology, a shift from 'felt minus' to 'supposed plus'. Concurrently, every person's distinct way of getting over their inferior feelings differs in several ways, including their inborn aptitudes or handicaps, events happening around them, whether they were inspired to compete or work together with fellow humans, whether they could be bold enough with their imperfection, etc. (John, 2011) In Sarah's case, she began increasing her frequency of bleaching, feeling ashamed of the color of her skin. In her opinion, her complexion makes her ugly, and therefore, she has elected to use her bleaching cream on a more regular basis for fitting in with her white community.

Central Concept: Feeling of Community

The basis of Adler's perspective of mankind's condition and his psychology is the fundamental 'Gemeinschaftsgefuhl' (German for 'community feeling') concept. The concept is hard to appropriately translate; other phrases used in its translation include 'social sense', 'social interest', and 'social feeling'. The first term 'community feeling' was preferred by most Adlerians and by Adler himself. It denotes a complex concept; some of its levels may be understood and implemented, while others may be neglected. If individuals have developed affective-level social interest, they will likely feel closely bonded to the race of mankind, and consequently, can empathize with other people (Stein & Edwards, 1997). In case of Sarah, she was taught to bleach by her mother at the tender age of 5 merely because a neighbor remarked upon her skin tone. Rather than aiding her in developing a sense of belonging to the community, her mother was more concerned with how to alter her natural appearance. Consequently, as she grew up, Sarah perceived herself to be ugly, and ceased participating in social activities to avoid others perceiving her as unattractive. Those with a sense of belonging feel accepted in society; they themselves accept life's comforts and discomforts, as well. At the level of cognition, they can realize the essential, basic interdependence with fellow persons, understanding that any individual's welfare eventually hinges on that of all. At the level of behavior, these feelings and thoughts can subsequently translate to actions whose aim, on the one hand, is self-development; on the other hand, supportive, cooperative actions are aimed at other individuals. Therefore, at its foundations, the idea of a sense of community integrates comprehensive development of individuals' capacities. This process is personally fulfilling as well as enables individuals to contribute worthwhile aspects of life to each other. Concurrently, the idea refers to a realization and acknowledgement of mankind's interconnectedness (Stein & Edwards, 1997).

The above Adlerian notions also address the recent discussion of self's association with society. Unlike others, Adler did not perceive any central conflict between society and self, relatedness and individuality, social interest and self-interest. The aforementioned dichotomies are untrue. Self-development and development of connectedness have a recursive nature, and positively impact each other. Enhanced personal development helps one connect more positively with those around them; simultaneously, enhanced capability of connecting with others will enable to learn more from them, applying this learning to self-development. Adler observed the interactions among life forms on various levels, and in various spheres (Stein & Edwards, 1997). People feel a sense of connectedness with their family, peers, their community, etc., in ever broadening circles. This feel of connectedness may expand to encompass flora, fauna, and even non-living things, until in its broadest sense an individual feels a sense of connectedness with the whole universe. If the world really felt and acknowledged this connection, a number of manmade global issues such as war, bias, intolerance, and oppression might disappear. The sense of interconnectedness in society is crucial for co-existence as well as self-development. It has been widely understood since long if babies aren't emotionally bonded to parents/caregivers, they won't thrive; rather, they will likely perish (Stein & Edwards, 1997).

Social Interest

Adlerian theory's association with social interest represented the earliest psychological system whose basic principles take a 'social-science' approach. Adlerians are of the view that after gathering an understanding of the wish to conquer inferiority and attain perfection, the most critical element in the domain of individual psychology is the social component of a person's life. The social interest concept is intimately linked to the value placed by collectivist societies on societal embedded-ness, as well as the level of security and safety cultivated by belonging to a larger unit. By taking into account the views and attitudes of people towards their peers, one may be able to understand the complete individual. It is imperative to keep in mind that the element of social interest isn't a secondary dynamic force to counterbalance the struggle to attain superiority (Aslinia, Rasheed, & Simpson, 2011). Instead, it is akin to all other psychological processes within an individual - if truth be told, it constitutes one among the most critical processes. By means of social interest, an individual can strive to achieve perfection or superiority, which is, in itself, socially neutral. Collectivist societies, to a certain extent, also regard this as an endeavor towards goodness. One of Adler's final papers refers to this idea as the "brick" labeled as 'inherited possibility of social interest"; i.e., it denotes the basic material using which an individual can endeavor towards superiority, building his/her lifestyle. Furthermore, Adlerians' assumption is that those who are part of tight groups are often more successful in life than those choosing to remain isolated. Collectivist cultures view this belief -- of joining the group instead of being isolated -- as healthy, and encourage such behavior (Aslinia, Rasheed, & Simpson, 2011). In case of Sarah, her social interests appeared to be much stronger; she yearned to blend in with her surrounding, white society, in order that others don't perceive her as an inferior individual. Interacting with her native community would make Sarah more confident; her complexion wouldn't have mattered so much that Sarah would resolve to bleach her skin more frequently.

The Therapeutic Relationship and Change

Possible the biggest challenge associated with the application of Adlerian concepts in a collectivist society is in the creation of an environment wherein clients feel un-judged and safe to explore their own unique lifestyle. Several collectivist societies typically view the self-exploration process as being selfish. This viewpoint usually results in people giving secondary status to their personal desires, concentrating instead on group/familial needs. Therapists report that clients capable of developing a trusting, collaborative bond with them, and showing willingness to pursue personal desires typically pass through a phase wherein they experience a high degree of betrayal and guilt. It is important for therapists to have adequate knowledge in this regard, and help their client pass this challenging phase through empathy and genuineness (Aslinia, Rasheed, & Simpson, 2011; Kern et al., 2009). By means of consistent encouragement on the therapist's part, clients can finally start forming a sound insight into their corresponding emotions, actions, and behaviors. There is only one way for achieving actual transformation in clients' psyche -- which is by the clients' own effort. Therapists must realize that simply because any client's culture is collectivist doesn't necessarily imply that they aren't capable of attaining individual goals and desires, despite, probably, exhibiting high degrees of desire for serving their communities and families. A number of collectivist clients possess this attitude at the start of therapy. Moreover, it is equally important for therapists to realize that encouraging clients to discover and understand personal desires doesn't imply that clients have to give up all their collectivist linkages, associations, and responsibilities. The best outcome is, perhaps, aiding clients in achieving a balance in their life, by remaining a part of their original collectivist group by means of maintaining an active effort in social interest, while simultaneously, acquiring the ability of prioritizing situations in which their individualistic and personal desires hold greater significance (Aslinia, Rasheed, & Simpson, 2011; Sperry, 2009).

Counseling Process

Adlerian counseling's objective is establishment of a sound relationship, uncovering individuals' dynamics by analyzing lifestyle, family goals and context, and early recollections, resulting in rich portrayals of individuals, and subsequent generation of hypothesis via understanding and inference, and reeducation or reorientation through various means (Mosak & Maniacci, 2011; Kern et al., 2009). Adlerian psychotherapy has four common phases: relationship, psychological scrutiny, understanding/inference, and reorientation. Assessment of lifestyle is pivotal to holistically understanding clients (Bitter, 2007). Analyses into initial recollections extract private logic, lifestyle, and help access change theory, strengths, and potential problem areas of clients (Kern et al., 2009; Sperry, 2009). Knowledge gleaned from initial recollections offers necessary insights to therapists, which aid them in selecting complimentary therapeutic interventions (Kern et al., 2009). Purposes and goals are determined, and a change in direction is attained via reorientation and reeducation. Flexibility, empowerment, and motivation are fundamental to the process of change (Ballance, 2010).

Counselor-client Relationship

In Adlerian psychotherapy, the therapeutic bond is collaborative in nature, and founded on cooperation, trust, mutual respect, goal alignment, and optimism. The relationship marks the support and catalyst for change and reeducation. Counselors truly care for clients, providing modeling of encouragement and social interest (Mosak & Maniacci, 2011). It has been confirmed by research that the therapeutic bond's quality is a primary driver in intervention compliance and effectiveness (Bitter, 2007; Kern et al., 2009). Therapists of this school emphasize, in their therapeutic alliance, on respect, cooperation, trust, and the value of collaboration, via preliminary evaluation of lifestyle, early recollections, social context, and family constellation (Kern et al., 2009). Bearing in mind the importance assigned by Adlerian therapy to the therapist-client relationship, the technique has enormous potential in modern practice. Forming the therapeutic link and cultivating a sound relationship with discouraged individuals is normally the foremost and most critical element of therapy (Ballance, 2010).