The Basics of Adlerian Therapy

Adlerian Theory

Name and brief description of key figure (s) (Drout, Harback, & Rule, n.d.)

The 20th century Austrian psychologist, educator, and physician Alfred Adler was an early disciple of Freudian psychology, but gradually broke with his mentor in several distinct ways. In stark contrast to Sigmund Freud, Adler emphasized the social rather than sexual aspects of human personality development. Freudian “hard determinism” of the human character is starkly contrasted with Adler’s “soft determinism,” as Adler believed in the possibility of the individual avoiding some of the influences of heredity and the environment, with proper counseling and self-awareness. Adler has been called the founder of individual psychology and has had a profound influence upon a number of later branches of psychology, including gestalt and humanistic psychology. For Alder, the self is fundamentally relational and personality is expressed in relation to other human actors and social dynamics. The individual is an indivisible unit that must be understood in the context of the family and society.

Key Points (Drout, et al., n.d.)

a. Structure of personality – human beings are holistic and indivisible, in contrast to the Freudian idea that personality can be divided into ego, id, and superego. The whole of the personality is greater than the sum of its parts and cannot be dissected.

b. Context psychology – Adler believed that dissecting the personality was like attempting to analyze the effectiveness of a piece of music outside of its context in a large symphony. Individuals can only be understood in the context of larger social institutions like the family.

c. Family constellation—Alder is called the first family therapist. He is one of the first therapists to place great significance on birth order in the development of the individual. Only children may struggle to get along with others. First children may have added responsibilities and feel a need to be dependable. Second or middle children may compete for attention with other children. Youngest children may remain infantilized and not take responsibility for their own actions. Early experiences before the age of 6 or 7 have a formative influence upon the individual’s character.

d. Goal-directed behavior is at the heart of Adler’s theory. Human beings pursue goals, including goals of social belonging. Goals are informed by the private logic of one’s developmental experiences and ideal of the self. Unfortunately, because of these early experiences, behaviors may be influenced by faulty logic, and an unrealistic or unattainable fictional final goal.

e. Five life tasks – essential life tasks include coping with social problems, coping with work problems, coping with problems of love, coping with problems related to the self, and understanding one’s relationship to the greater whole of human existence. A failure to accomplish these tasks can lead to pathology

f. Lifestyle – in Adlerian psychology, the individual’s holistic patterns of thought, versus the contemporary understanding of lifestyle as one’s hobbies or routines.

View of the Person (Drout, et al., n.d.)

Adler viewed the person as goal-directed, and desirous of connections with others. Early developmental experiences, including within the family, were critical in shaping the person’s self-esteem. Influences included birth order, and the experience of one individual may be different in the same family.

Counseling Techniques (Drout, et al., n.d)

g. Relationship building and affirmation – The relationship between the therapist and the client is fundamentally a collaborative one, based upon trust. The counselor is supportive and optimistic, and does not presume authority over the individual’s life in the same manner a Freudian analyst might as in free association.

h. Lifestyle inventory – the therapist conducts an assessment of the client’s early memories, family constellation, and childhood history. This will likely include self-perceptions of the client’s athleticism and competency, as well as birth order.

i. Emphasis on recollection – Freudian analysis is based upon the client’s unconscious perceptions of past events. Alder focuses on childhood memories, but the conscious memory of the client in regards to perceived slights, formative experiences, and consciously expressed views of the self, although supplemental data may be consulted, such as in the case of group therapy.

Counseling relationship and brief description of counseling process