Adlerian Theory

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Adlerian Theory
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Birth to 6 years of age

• Adler holds that the individual begine to form an
  approach to life during this time.

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Alfred Adlers Individual Psychology

• A phenomenological approach
• Social interest is stressed
• Birth order and sibling relationships
• Therapy as teaching, informing and encouraging
• Basic mistakes in the clients private logic
• The therapeutic relationship a collaborative
  partnership

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 5 (1)
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Major philosophies and nature of humans

• Focuses on inferiority feelings, which are normal
• What is important is the capacity to interpret,
  influence and create events
• Individuals cane become whatever they want to be
• Adlerian Individual psychology is that
  personality can only be understood holistically
  and systemically that is the individual is seen
  as an indivisible whole, born, reaered and living
  in specific familial, social and cultural
  contexts

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The Phenomenological Approach

• Adlerians attempt to view the world from the
  clients subjective frame of reference
• How life is in reality is less important than how
  the individual believes life to be
• It is not the childhood experiences that are
  crucial it is our present interpretation of
  these events
• Unconscious instincts and our past do not
  determine our behavior

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 5 (2)
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Basic propositions

• Basic force behind human activity is striving
  from perceived negative to hoped-for
  positiveinferiority to superiority
• Each individual strives in a particular direction
  for a unique goal or ideal selfa unique creation
  of the person. Because it is an ideal, the goal
  is also fictional.
• Aspiring to high social interest is the key to
  human productivity and happiness. Social
  interest must be nurtured or the individuals
  faulty perceptions of him- or herself can result
  in discouraged, self-defeating behaviors

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Basic propositions

• The goal is the key to understanding the
  individual.
• There is no inconsistency in the individual. All
  psychological processes are consistently directed
  toward the goal. The goal is the individuals
  lifestyle and is firmly established at an early
  age.

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Basic Propositions

• Drives are not discrete, nor are divisions
  between the conscious and unconscious. They are
  only components of a unified system.
• The individuals perceptions of self and the
  world and the subsequent interpretation of those
  perceptions are all aspects of the lifestyle,
  which is the cognitive map he or she uses to
  guide hi- or herself in approaching basic life
  tasks.
• The individual cannot be seen as separate from
  the social situation. The two are integral.

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Basic Propositions

• All important life problems are social problems.
  All values become social values.
• Socialization is not gained by external duress
  but is an innate human ability that needs to be
  developed.
• Maladjustment is characterized by increased
  inferiority feelings.
• Unsuccessful coping with basic life tasks is a
  sign of discouragement. It can be overcome
  anytime in life if the individual chooses to do
  so.

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Adlerian theory differs from Freudian theory in
four distinct ways

• Social urges take precedence over sexual urges in
  personality development.
• Consciousness rather than unconsciousness is the
  primary source of ideas and values.
• The determinants of behavior consist of more than
  just ones genetic endowment or early sexual
  impressions.
• Normal psychological development is the model of
  choice rather than varying degrees (or lack
  thereof) of mental illness. (Gilliland James,
  1998)

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Major personality constructs

• Person is viewed as a unified organism
  (individual psychology) and is motivated
  primarily by social interest (social psychology).

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Social Interest

• Adlers most significant and distinctive concept
• Refers to an individuals attitude toward and
  awareness of being a part of the human community
• Mental health is measured by the degree to which
  we successfully share with others and are
  concerned with their welfare
• Happiness and success are largely related to
  social connectedness

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 5 (3)
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Nature of maladaptivity

• For Adler, the obsessive-compulsive person is the
  prototype of all neurosis.
• An individual has a mistaken opinion of self and
  the world.
• The individual will resort to various forms of
  abnormal behavior aimed at safeguarding his or
  her opinion of self.
• Such safeguarding occurs when the individual is
  confronted with situations he or she feels will
  be met unsuccessfully.
• The mistake consists of being self-centered
  rather than taking humankind into account.

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Nature of maladaptivity

• Rooted in the inferiority complex (when the
  individual is overwhelmed by a sense of
  inadequacy and becomes incapable of development).
  Family constellation (including birth order,
  atmosphere, personality characteristics of family
  members, etc.) contributes to adaptivity/maladapti
  vity.

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Major personality constructs

• From birth to adulthood, all behaviors may be
  construed to have social meaningwanting to
  belongwhether in terms of family, significant
  others, or professional or social groups.
• Fundamental equality among all persons is
  cornerstone of Adlerian theory.

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Basic Principles

• Life tasks Primary tasks in life are striving
  toward belonging in society, friendship,
  occupation and love. (Later added spirituality)

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Nomothetic (apply to all persons) Principles

• The basic dynamic force is striving for a
  fictional goalone of superiority.
• Successful adaptation to life depends on the
  degree of social interest in goal striving
• Goal striving may be considered more or less
  active and can be considered according to type.

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Fictional Goals

• How individuals tackle their problems with
  varying degrees of activity and can be considered
  according to that degree and type. Types are
• Ruling Individual is dominant in
  relationshipsmuch activity but little social
  interest.
• Getting Individual expects things from others
  and is dependent on themlittle activity and
  little social interest.
• Avoiding Individual shies away from
  problemslittle activity and social interest.
• Driving Individual wants to achieve. Total
  success or nothingness are the only
  alternativesmuch activity and little social
  interest.

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Fictional Goals

• Controlling Individual likes orderhis or her
  own ordergreat deal of activity (in keeping the
  unexpected to a minimum) and minimal social
  interest (because others are constantly
  disrupting the individuals plans).
• Being victimized or martyred victims have
  diminished activity and interest, martyrs have
  increased activity and interest.
• Being good Individual satisfies his or her
  sense of superiority by excelling in whatever
  area they undertakeheightened activity and
  interest.
• Being socially useful Individual cooperates
  with others and contributes to their social
  well-being without self-aggrandizementactivity
  and social interest are both great and positive.

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Birth Order

• Adlers five psychological positions
• 1) Oldest child receives more attention,
  spoiled, center of attention
• 2) Second of only two behaves as if in a race,
  often opposite to first child
• 3) Middle often feels squeezed out
• 4) Youngest the baby
• 5) Only does not learn to share or cooperate
  with other children, learns to deal with adults

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 5 (4)
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Major goals of counseling

• To help the client become objective.
• To help client realize their creativity.

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Major techniques/strategies

• Four phases of counseling process
• 1 Establishing the relationship
• Based on sense of deep caring, involvement,
  friendship
• Person to person contact w. clts rather than
  starting with the problem
• Create effective contact to help clts become
  aware of their assets and strengths.
• Attending, and listening with empathy is crucial

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Phase 2 Exploring the Individuals Dynamics

• Subjective interview the counselor helps the
  client to tell his story as completely as
  possible
• Subjective interviews treat clients as experts of
  their own lives
• The counselor is lifestyle investigator

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Phase 2 cont.

• Objective Interview seeks to discover information
  about
• How problems in the clts life began
• Any precipitating events
• A medical history (including meds)
• A social history
• The reasons the clt chose therapy now
• The persons coping w/ life tasks
• Lifestyle assessment

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Family Constellation

• Family of origin has a central impact on an
  individuals personality.
• Some questions to explore
• Who was the favorite?
• What was yoru fatherss relatinship w/ children?
• Mothers?
• What were you like as a child?
• More on pge. 106

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Early Recollections

• As assessment procedure
• Client provides the earliest childhood memory(
  age , event, feelings, etc.)
• It is a one time occurrence pictured by the
  client in clear detail

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Different Purposes of Early Recollections

• Assessment of persons convictions about self and
  others, life, ethics
• Assessment of clients stance in relation to the
  counseling session and the counseling
  relationship
• Verification of coping patterns
• Assessment of individual strengths, assets and
  interfering ideas

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Phase 3 Encouraging Self Understanding and
Insight

• Almost everything in human life has a purpose
• Self understanding happens when hidden purposes
  and goals of behavior are made conscious.
• Counselor should suggest hunches or thoughts not
  what is

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Phase 4 Helping with Reorientation

• Focuses on helping people discover new and more
  functional alternatives.
• Clts are encouraged and challenged to take reisks
  and make changes in their life

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Encouragement

• What one is doing is more important than how one
  is doing.
• The present is more the focus than the past or
  the future.
• The deed is what is important, rather than the
  doer.
• The effort, rather than the outcome, is to be
  emphasized.
• Intrinsic motivation, such as satisfaction,
  enjoyment, and challenge, is more worthwhile than
  extrinsic payoffs.
• What is being learned is more important than what
  is not being learned.
• What is being done correctly is more important
  than what is being done incorrectly.

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Encouragement

• Encouragement is the most powerful method
  available for changing a persons beliefs
• Helps build self-confidence and stimulates
  courage
• Discouragement is the basic condition that
  prevents people from functioning
• Clients are encouraged to recognize that they
  have the power to choose and to act differently

Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy - Chapter 5 (5)
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Major roles of counselor and client

• The primary role of the counselor is to apprise
  the client of mistaken goals that lead to
  self-defeating behavior and to help the client
  broaden his or her social interest so that
  self-centeredness, egotism, and isolation are
  expunged in favor of sincere, meaningful, and
  positive interpersonal relationships. A holistic
  view of the client is taken by the counselor who
  is to pull the client into his or her future
  world of positive interpersonal relationships.
• In Adlerian theory, the counselor is a colleague
  to the client in the process.

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Multicultural application

• Addresses social equality issues and social
  embeddedness of humans
• Clients are encouraged to define themselves
  within their social environment
• Process is grounded within clients culture and
  worldview
• Adler was one of the first psychologists to
  advocate equality for women
• Fin in different cultures opportunities for
  viewing the self, others, and the world in
  multidimensional ways

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Limitations

• Research on effectiveness is limited
• Limited use for clts seeking immediate solutions
  to their problems
• Limited for clts who have little interest in
  exploring early childhood experiences, memories
  and dreams
• Limited effectiveness w/ clts who do not
  understand the purpose of exploring details of a
  lifestyle analysis dealing with current probs.

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Multicultural limitations

• Could be viewed as intrusive and inappropriate to
  explore childhood and family information
• Some cultures may see counselor as expert when
  Adlerian therapist do not veiw self this way