Adlerian Theory Alfred Adler Theory of personality l

Adlerian Theory Alfred Adler

Theory of personality l Consciousness more important than unconsciousness ¡ l The person is viewed holistically— we are creative, responsible, becoming ¡ l Interpersonal psychology rather than intrapersonal psychology People are not “pushed” by heredity and environment as much as “pulled” by the future… ¡ l Contrasts with Freud’s more pessimistic view of human nature and portrayal of personality as comprised of parts Social being is emphasized ¡ l Ego more important than id. The person’s past and circumstances “frame” and “influence” the individual’s goals Life is a dynamic striving for: ¡ ¡ ¡ Security Self-esteem A place of Significance in the world

Theory of personality l Striving for superiority (Feelings of inferiority) ¡ Born helpless and dependent l l Impetus of personality development – The Style of Life Social Interest Individual’s attitude toward and awareness of being a part of the human community ¡ Healthy personality related to the degree to which we successfully share with others and are concerned with their welfare ¡ l ¡ connectedness Three universal life tasks l l l ¡ Happiness and success are largely related to social Building friendships Establishing intimacy Contributing to society Birth Order l Ordinal position predicts some degree of style of life

The creative self l The concepts involved in the development of the style of life manifest through the CREATIVE SELF ¡ l Objective facts translated into personally meaningful events The creative self drives the individual to negotiate the BASIC LIFE TASKS ¡ ¡ ¡ Work Opposite sex relationships Being a constructive part of society

Inferiority and compensation l As children search for significance, they draw conclusions about the self> l 4 goals of the “discouraged child” ¡ ATTENTION GETTING ¡ POWER SEEKING ¡ REVENGE TAKING ¡ DECLARING DEFICIENCY OR DEFEAT

The discouraged child l All of the 4 goals identified by Dreikurs can be portrayed by any child, discouraged or otherwise. It is a matter of degree, frequency, and whether or not the child has an underlying sense of hopefulness, acceptance and significance that determines the health of the child.

Psychopathology l Two problems drive psychopathology ¡ ¡ Exaggerated inferiority feeling Insufficiently developed feeling of community l Manifest through pathological lifestyles l Pampered lifestyle ¡ l Compulsive lifestyle ¡ l Parental overindulgence Parental domination Other manifestations ¡ ¡ Abuse Neglect

Psychopathology - Basic mistakes l OVERGENERALIZATIONS l FALSE OR IMPOSSIBLE GOALS OF SECURITY l MISPERCEPTIONS OF LIFE AND LIFE’S DEMANDS l MIMIMIZATION OF ONE’S WORTH l FAULTY VALUES Thought: This is a short list but a valuable one; many psychological problems that people have can be explained by these 5 “basic mistakes”.

Goals of Therapy l Educate clients about psychological processes l Educate clients about “basic mistakes” l Release or encourage clients’ social interest l Encourage clients to recognize their equality

Therapeutic Relationship l Prototype of social interest ¡ l Therapist’s Role ¡ ¡ l Love, faith and hope for the human condition Psychoeducator/role-model Cooperative Egalitarian Authentic, caring, and genuine Client ¡ Active learner taking social interest within the session

Adlerian Therapeutic Techniques l Analysis ¡ l Interpretation geared toward increasing the perception of purposive nature of life The Life Style Investigation/Feedback ¡ ¡ Family constellation Earliest Recollections Catching oneself – Contingency control l Acting “As If” – Choosing/reevaluation l Push button technique – Precursor to cognitive interventions. Change through choosing l

Content l Intrapersonal conflict important, but marked a distinct move toward dealing with interpersonal conflict l Moved beyond conflict and into meaning and fulfillment

Strengths of Adlerian Therapy l Brief or time-limited l Applicable to community mental health l Addresses social equality issues l Useful for counseling culturally diverse populations l Focus on social context

Limitations l Not very systemized ¡ Which interventions with which patients with which disorders l Is inferiority that important l Difficult to test the idea of creative self or the primacy of social interest ¡ Behavioral explanation is simpler

Other Ego Psychotherapies l More than Adler broke from Freud and focused on the ego as opposed to the Id ¡ Object relations Interpersonal focus based on mental representations of self and people (objects). l The concept of attachment came for OR theory l TR is more open and warm than traditional psychoanalysis l