("Classical Adlerian Theory and Practice" is a chapter in Psychoanalytic Versions of the Human Condition: Philosophies of Life and Their Impact on Practice, edited by Paul Marcus and Alan Rosenberg. It was published in August, 1998 by New York University Press and may be ordered directly from them, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon Books. Dr. Marcus has kindly granted permission to post this chapter on the Alfred Adler Institutes of San Francisco and Northwestern Washington web site. Any reproduction of this material must include the chapter title, authors, book title, and editors. The book includes sixteen contributors, from different theoretical perspectives, presenting their conceptions of the human condition, understandings of psychopathology, and brands of clinical psychoanalysis. Original formatting has been adapted to HTML, consequently, end notes have been bracketed within paragraphs. For additional information contact Dr. Stein at 360-647-5670)

Overview

Over the half century since Alfred Adler articulated his theory of personality and system of psychotherapy, his ideas have gradually and persistently permeated the whole of contemporary psychology (Ellenberger 1970, 645-648). The shift of psychoanalysis to ego psychology reflected Adler's original thinking and Adler was "hailed by certain psychoanalysts as a precursor of the later developments of psychoanalysis" (Ellenberger 1970, 638). Adler's observation that "human beings live in the realm of meanings" reflects the social constructivist view of human behavior. An early feminist, he held that both men and women suffered from our society's overvaluing of men and undervaluing of women, and he believed the

only positive relationship between men and women was one of equality. His earliest work in which he argued for the unity of mind and body was a precursor of psychosomatic medicine.

Even the findings of anthropologists, biologists, and physicists parallel Adlerian concepts. Adler's view of the interconnectedness of all living beings and their natural proclivities toward cooperation has been echoed by anthropologists (Ho 1993; Kim and Berry 1993; Maybury-Lewis 1972), and biologists (Augros and Stancui 1988; Hamilton 1964; Simon 1990; Trivers 1971; Wilson 1975). His concept of the style of life, where one central theme is reflected in every psychological expression, suggests the concept in physics of the hologram, wherein each part of a whole is an enfolded image of that whole (Briggs and Peat 1989). His concept of the final goal, a fictional future reference point that pulls all movements in the same direction, is similar to that of a strange attractor in chaos theory, a magnetic end point that pulls on and sets limits for a process (Nelson 1991). He believed in the fundamental creative power of individuals and their freedom to choose and change their direction in life; this is very similar to the biological process called autopoesis which is the autonomous, self-renewing, and self-directing nature of all life forms (Nelson 1991).

When sociologists, anthropologists, biologists, mathematicians, physicists, and psychotherapists begin describing remarkably similar dynamics, one wonders if we are on the brink of a new unified field theory. Forty years ago, Alexander Müller frequently referred to Adler's body of work as "philosophical anthropology," and held that it had the potential for providing the magnetic center that would draw other disciplines together (Müller 1992).

The scientific paradigm shift and intellectual climate of the 1990's might well be ripe for a re-

discovery of Adler's original and full contribution to an understanding of human beings and their relationship to the world. He created an exquisitely integrated, holistic theory of human nature and psychopathology, a set of principles and techniques of psychotherapy, a world view, and a philosophy of living.

In this chapter, we will first describe Adler's view of the human condition and his ideas of personality development, including optimal development. Second, we will outline his explanation of how this process goes astray and results in psychopathology. Third, we will sketch the Adlerian levels of intervention which include not only psychotherapy but also preventive programs in the areas of parenting and education.

The Human Condition and Personality Development

The core of Adler's integrated complex of philosophy, theory, and practice was a vigorously optimistic, humanistic view of life. He offered a value-oriented psychology that envisioned human beings as capable of profound cooperation in living together and striving for self-improvement, self-fulfillment, and contribution to the common welfare. Indeed, Adler predicted that if we did not learn to cooperate, we would run the risk of eventually annihilating each other. Thus, if we were to distill his view of the human condition into one main idea, it would be the concept of the Social Human, inextricably interconnected with others and all of nature. The central problem that humans face is how to live on this planet together, appreciating what others have contributed in the past, and making life better for present and future generations.

Central Concept: Feeling of Community

Following from his view of the human

condition, Adler based his psychology on the central concept of (in German) Gemeinschaftsgefühl. It is a difficult concept to translate adequately and has been translated by the phrases social interest, social feeling, community feeling, and social sense (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 1956, 134). Adler and many of his followers came to prefer the term feeling of community (Bruck 1978). It is a multi-level concept. Individuals may understand and put into practice some levels and neglect the development of others.

If people have developed social interest at the affective level, they are likely to feel a deep belonging to the human race and, as a result, are able to empathize with their fellow humans. They can then feel very much at home on the earth -- accepting both the comforts as well as the discomforts of life. At the cognitive level, they can acknowledge the necessary interdependence with others, recognizing that the welfare of any one individual ultimately depends on the welfare of everyone. At the behavioral level, these thoughts and feelings can then be translated into actions aimed at self development as well as cooperative and helpful movements directed toward others. Thus, at its heart, the concept of feeling of community encompasses individuals' full development of their capacities, a process that is both personally fulfilling and results in people who have something worthwhile to contribute to one another. At the same time, the concept denotes a recognition and acceptance of the interconnectedness of all people.

These ideas of Adler's also speak to the current discussion of the relationship between self and society. Unlike others, he saw no fundamental conflict between self and society, individuality, and relatedness, self interest and social interest. These are false dichotomies. The development of self and connectedness are recursive processes that influence one another in positive

ways. The greater one's personal development, the more able one can connect positively with others; the greater one's ability to connect with others, the more one is able to learn from them and develop oneself. This idea has been rediscovered by recent authors (Guisinger and Blatt 1994).

Adler saw the connections among living beings in many different spheres and on many different levels. An individual can feel connected with another, with family, friends, community, and so on, in ever widening circles. This connectedness can encompass animals, plants, even inanimate objects until, in the largest sense, the person feels connected with the entire cosmos (Müller, 1992, 138). If people truly understood and felt this connectedness, then many of the self-created problems of life -- war, prejudice, persecution, discrimination -- might cease to exist.

The feeling of interconnectedness among people is essential not only for living together in society, but also for the development of each individual person. It has long been well known that if human infants do not have emotional connections with their caregivers they will fail to thrive and are likely to die.

Furthermore, individuals need to acknowledge their connectedness both to the past as well as to the future. What we are able to do in our lives depends very much on the contributions made in the past by others. A critical question that Adler saw facing each person was, "What will be your contribution to life? Will it be on the useful or useless side of life?"

The title that Adler gave to his system, "Individual Psychology," does not immediately suggest its social foundation. It does not mean a psychology of individuals. On the contrary, Adler's psychology is very much a social psychology in which the individual is seen and

understood within his or her social context. Accordingly, Adler devised interventions not only for individual clients but also for families and schools.

In German, the term Individualpsychologie means the psychology of the unique, indivisible, and undivided person (Davidson 1991, 6). What Adler meant by this is that, first, Individual Psychology is an idiographic science. How an individual develops is unique, creative, and dependent on the subjective interpretations the person gives to life. Second, Adler meant to convey that an individual behaves as a unit in which the thoughts, feelings, actions, dreams, memories, and even physiology all lead in the same direction. The person is a system in which the whole is greater than and different from the sum of its parts. In this whole, Adler saw the unity of the person. In the symphony of a person's behavior, he discerned the consistent melodic theme running throughout. This theme may have many variations in tempo, pitch, or intricacy, but it is nevertheless recognizable. Thus, to understand a person, we must look at the whole person, not at the parts, isolated from one another. After we grasp the guiding theme, however, it is easy to see how each individual part is consistent with the theme.

Development of Personality

How do we come to develop this guiding theme? It is an active and creative process in which individuals attribute meaning to the life experiences they have faced. They construct out of this raw material the subjective reality to which they respond. Thus, they are not passive victims of heredity or environment (not objects) but active constructors and interpreters of their situations (subjects).

This process begins in infancy as children become conscious of felt insufficiencies in the

face of normal, everyday tasks, especially when they compare themselves to older children and adults. As a result, they experience what Adler called inferiority feelings, which are the very normal reactions to the awareness of not being able to function in a way that we wish. Adler also described this as experiencing a "minus situation." These feelings become motivation for striving toward what he called a "plus situation."

Individuals strive in this direction because of the "creative power of life, which expresses itself in the desire to develop, to strive, to achieve, and even to compensate for defeats in one direction by striving for success in another. This power is teleological, it expresses itself in the striving after a goal, and, in this striving, every bodily and psychological movement is made to cooperate" (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 1956, 92).

Influenced by the German philosopher Hans Vaihinger, Adler held that individuals were not always guided in their actions by reality. They were also guided by fictions, or what they believe to be true, though these beliefs are largely unconscious (Vaihinger 1925). These ideas formed the basis of Adler's concept of the final goal. The final goal is a fictional creation of the individual--an imagined ideal situation of perfection, completion, or overcoming. Movement toward the final goal is motivated by a striving to overcome the feelings of inferiority. Although the final goal represents a subjective, fictional view of the future, it is what guides the person in the present.

In an active, courageous individual possessing a strong feeling of community, the striving toward the final goal to overcome inferiority feelings may be expressed as a life-long movement toward optimal development -- with full realization that there is no end point to this striving. This is quite similar to Abraham

Maslow's view of individuals striving toward self actualization -- toward the full realization of their potential (Maslow 1970).

In dealing with inferiority feelings and developing the final goal, the influences of the family (both parents and siblings) as well as external social influences may be critical. Children learn to cope with and/or overcome difficulties in life through the support and encouragement of significant others who promote their development, cooperation, and interdependence. Adler considered the connection with and influence of the mother as the primary factor in the early development of the feeling of community. In our current social structure, fathers and caregivers are also recognized as important influences. With this positive foundation, children are likely to grow up to handle what Adler called the three tasks of life, work, community, and love, in a satisfactory way (Adler 1992a, 16-18). As a result, they are likely to develop the courage and ability to continue their growth and make a contribution to life. If, however, children do not receive the proper encouragement and support and, as a result, their feelings of inferiority become exaggerated, they are likely to be discouraged. They may adopt a final goal that is equally exaggerated to compensate for their deeply felt inferiority. Instead of developing themselves and overcoming difficulties, they pursue a goal of imagined superiority and consequently must avoid real tests of themselves. Their final goal would then be an egocentric one, on the useless side of life, rather than a goal of cooperation with others and a feeling of community. The final goal is the result of a process that is unique to each individual. Two persons with similar feelings of inferiority -- e.g., a deeply felt lack of intelligence -- may develop very different goals. One person's goal might be to enlist others in his or service, thus avoiding any tests of intelligence that might be failed. The other's

goal might be to outdo all others thereby demonstrating her superior intelligence in all situations.

Adler called an individual's characteristic approach to life the style of life. In various writings throughout Adler's career, he expressed this concept as self or ego, personality, individuality, the unity of the personality, an individual form of creative activity, the method of facing problems, one's opinion about oneself and the problems of life, or the whole attitude toward life (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 1956, 174).

The style of life, then, becomes the way in which individuals approach or avoid the three main tasks of life and try to realize their fictional final goal. In healthy persons, this dealing with the tasks of life is relatively flexible. They can find many ways of solving problems and, when one way is blocked, they can choose another. This is not so for the disturbed individuals who usually insist on one way or no way.

Like others, Adler viewed the first five years of life as central in the development of personality. By that time, children have experienced enough to have adopted a prototype of their goal and style of life, although there can be some modification throughout the rest of childhood and adolescence. After that, these ways of conceiving of both self and the world seem to fashion for us a set of lenses through which we see the world. Adler called this the scheme of apperception. Individual perception, then, is limited, and there will always be a discrepancy between reality and the perception of it. For normal people, this discrepancy is relatively small; for psychologically disturbed people, the discrepancy is much greater.

In an optimal situation of development, adults will win childrens' cooperation, helping them to

develop a sense of significance through contributing to others, minimizing their inferiority feelings, stimulating their courage, guiding them to be active, and helping them feel a part of the whole. These experiences will help children identify and develop their capacities and become cooperative, productive, and satisfied adults. They will be able to see and feel their interdependence with others and be challenged to develop sufficient courage to deal with difficulties, to connect intimately with others, and to improve themselves for the benefit of all. They may eventually be guided by universal values or principles -- perhaps of justice, beauty, truth, etc. They will be able to use their inferiority feelings as spurs for continued development. They will strive for superiority over difficulties rather than superiority over others. They will have solved the problems posed by the tasks of life in a mutually beneficial way.

This optimal development is different from what is commonly referred to as "normal" or "average." Although many people are reasonably cooperative, they may do just enough in relationships and in work to get by, living without deep commitment and passion and not functioning at their maximum potential. They may be somewhat bored and may endure chronic tension or "stress" without significant emotional or physical symptoms. When they face particularly difficult challenges, they may not have developed their courage and cooperation to the extent that they are able to cope adequately. At that point, they may experience a shock that might trigger psychological symptoms. Examples of challenges that might trigger such symptoms include layoffs, illnesses, marriage, having children, divorce, middle-age, children leaving home, or retirement.

One potential challenge for mental health professionals is to help these "normal"

individuals develop themselves to the maximum -- to set an ideal of mental health that is seen as possible and inspiring, and to identify the steps needed to get there. This is described later in this chapter.

Adler's View of Psychopathology

Adler's view of psychopathology is deceptively simple. He conceived of psychological disturbances generally occurring in the presence of two conditions: an exaggerated inferiority feeling and an insufficiently developed feeling of community. Under these conditions, a person may experience or anticipate failure before a task that appears impossible and may become "discouraged." Adler tended to use this term as opposed to terms such as "pathological" or "sick." When individuals are discouraged, they often resort to fictional means to relieve or mask--rather than overcome--their inferiority feelings. What they are attempting to do is bolster their feelings of self by "tricks," while they avoid actually confronting their seemingly impossible difficulties. These tricks may give them a comforting but fragile feeling of superiority.

A man who was pampered a child may give up looking for work, become depressed, and then depend on parents or public assistance for support. Forcing others to provide for him may yield a secret feeling of power and superiority that compensates for his feelings of inferiority. Unprepared for the normal challenges that might lead to failure, he pays the price for his painful depression, but uses it to maintain his passive self-indulgence and protect himself from a real test of his capacities.

A woman who was abused by her father as a child may choose to reject and depreciate all men as vile creatures and never engage in a satisfactory love relationship. She may feel lonely, but she can always feel morally superior

to all abusive males who are punished by her rejection. She would rather punish all men for the sins of her father, than conquer her fears and develop the ability to love one man.

At a more extreme level, a profound and devastating feeling of inferiority might lead to a grandiose psychotic delusion of being God.

What all of these situations have in common are adults whose inferiority feelings seem so overwhelming and in whom the feeling of community is so underdeveloped that they retreat to protect their fragile yet inflated sense of self. They employ what Adler called safeguarding devices to do this (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 1956, 263-280).

Individuals can use safeguarding devices in attempts both to excuse themselves from failure and depreciate others. Safeguarding devices include symptoms, depreciation, accusations, self-accusations, guilt, and various forms of distancing. Symptoms such as anxiety, phobias, and depression, can all be used as excuses for avoiding the tasks of life and transferring responsibility to others. In this way, individuals can use their symptoms to shield themselves from potential or actual failure in these tasks. Of course, individuals may be able to do well in one or two of the tasks of life and have difficulties in only one, e.g., in work, community, or love.

Depreciation can be used to deflate the value of others, thereby achieving a sense of relative superiority through aggressive criticism or subtle solicitude. Accusations attribute the responsibility for a difficulty or failure to others in an attempt to relieve an individual of the responsibility and to blame others for the failure. Self-accusations can stave off criticisms from others or even elicit comforting protestations of value from them. Guilt may create a feeling of pious superiority over others

and clear the way for continuing harmful actions rather than correcting them. Distancing from tasks and people can be done in many ways including procrastination, avoiding commitments, abuse of alcohol and/or drugs, or suicide.

These safeguarding devices are largely unconscious and entail very real suffering on the part of individuals who employ them. For them, however, the protection and elevation of the sense of self is paramount, and they prefer to distress themselves or others rather than reveal their hidden exaggerated feeling of inferiority.

There are three categories of influences that might stimulate the development of these exaggerated inferiority feelings in children: (1) physical handicaps, (2) family dynamics, and (3) societal influences (Adler 1992a).

Children can either be born with or develop physical handicaps (e.g., deformity, illness) with which they may feel overburdened. The care and attention given to them because of their difficulties may result in their expectation that others should always make their lives easy and keep them the center of care and attention. They may never test their own strengths. The pity or scorn they might also receive may negatively influence their self-evaluations. In any case, their inferiority feelings are likely to become exaggerated.

Family dynamics, including parenting styles and position in the family constellation, is the second category of influences on the development of the inferiority complex. Parenting styles that cause trouble for children are divided into two main categories: pampering, and neglect and abuse. Children who have been pampered have come to expect being the focus of attention and having others serve their whims. They have been trained to take rather than to give and have not learned

how to face and overcome problems by themselves. As a result, they have become very dependent on others and feel unsure of themselves or unable to face the tasks of life. Thus, they demand undue help and attention from others. These demands may be expressed through aggression (e.g., commands) or through weakness (e.g., shyness), by positive (e.g., charm) or negative (e.g., anger) means. Furthermore, when pampered children grow up and others no longer do their bidding, they may interpret this refusal as aggression against them, which may lead to their taking revenge on these others.

Children who have been neglected, rejected, or abused have not experienced love and cooperation. They do not know what it means to feel a positive connection to others and, as a result, often feel isolated and suspicious. When faced with difficulties, they tend to overrate these difficulties and to underrate their own abilities. To make up for what they did not receive as children, they may feel entitled to special consideration or compensation. They may want others to treat them well but do not feel an obligation to respond in turn. Remarkably, both pampered and neglected or abused children may have similar expectations as adults. The first group expects the familiar pampering to continue; the other demands pampering as compensation. Both may feel entitled to everything and obligated to nothing.

In addition to the influences of the parents, Adler was one of the first to recognize that children's positions in the family constellation of siblings could affect their development in critical ways (Adler 1992b, 126-132). Being a significant member of the family is important and children may become discouraged if they think they have a disadvantageous position.

For example, oldest children's experience of being "dethroned" by their younger siblings may

stimulate them to decide that regaining their power is the most important thing they could do. Later in life, the pattern of striving for pre-eminence may continue at work, where they control subordinates excessively, and at home where they may become domestic tyrants.

Second children, experiencing their older siblings as pacemakers, may respond by continually striving to surpass and conquer them. If this appears to be too difficult, these children may give up and withdraw from the competition. Youngest children have many pacemakers and can become quite ambitious and accomplished, or they may not develop the courage necessary to realize his or her ambitions and remains helpless babies. Only children tend to spend their lives in the company of adults, frequently as the center of attention. As a result, these children may fail to learn how to cooperate with peers.

Of course, Adler realized that the examples listed above are only a few of many possible outcomes. The objective position of the child is not the influencing factor; instead, it is the psychological position and themeaning that the child gives to that position. Thus, two children born several years apart may grow up in ways that are quite similar to those of only children. On the other hand, if parents help their children cope with the unique demands of their positions in the family constellation, and if there is a cooperative rather than a competitive home atmosphere, the children are likely not to develop the characteristics associated with each of the positions.

The third category of influence is the societal factors outside the family that also shape how individuals develop their views of themselves and the world. Adler recognized the school as a dominant influence and spent much of his time training teachers and establishing child guidance clinics attached to the schools throughout

Vienna.

Social discrimination on the basis of poverty, ethnicity, gender, religion, or educational level can also exacerbate inferiority feelings. Adler emphasized that it was not just the objective facts or influences that had an impact on the child, but the interpretation the child gives to them. Children who are discriminated against because of physical deformities or socio-economic status, for example, may find maintaining a positive sense of self difficult. But doing so is possible if someone provides sufficient contact, understanding, and encouragement.

Finally, in a way that was far ahead of many others of his day, Adler recognized the destructive influence of our culture's archaic view of men and women. He observed that women were typically devalued and this was a major influence in their exaggerated feelings of inferiority. But he also realized that men, too, were adversely affected. The over-valuing of men often leads to extremely high expectations, and when men begin to see that they cannot meet these expectations, their inferiority feelings also increase. Adler felt that the healthiest arrangement is a recognized equality of value between men and women, which would then result in a higher level of cooperation between them (Adler 1980).

Early experiences, both inside and outside the family, in combination with hereditary attributes and physiological processes, are used creatively by children to form an impression of themselves and life. A final goal of success, significance, and security is imagined and a style of life is adopted to prepare for that goal. Individuals who are not self-pampering or discouraged hold opinions of themselves and the tasks of life that are reasonably close to what Adler called "common sense." These individuals feel connected to one another and have developed

their ability to cooperate.

People who do not feel connected to others and have not developed the ability to cooperate will develop a private logic that becomes increasingly more skewed from common sense. This private logic involves anantithetical scheme of apperception that the person uses rigidly to classify self, others, and experience. In child development, an antithetical scheme is related to children's need for security. They quickly slot their perceptions into very simple categories, often based on whether the stimulus is considered "good" or "bad." Under normal conditions of development, however, children gradually develop the ability to perceive the subtle gradations of qualities in themselves and others. Disturbed individuals, however, because of their heightened feelings of insecurity, remain at the more primitive level of an antithetical scheme of apperception. They may, for example, see only the antithetical extremes of absolute stupidity or total brilliance. Thus, if others do not recognize their brilliance, they assume that others think they are stupid. If they are not adored by all, they may feel neglected or humiliated. If they are not totally powerful, then they must be totally powerless.

While the scheme limits the person's ability to make realistic judgments, it does serve the purpose of protecting the person's choice of a final goal and life style. If an individual feels totally powerless, then it is perfectly logical (from the point of view of his private logic) and is seemingly in his best interests to compensate by grabbing all the power he can, even if this harms others. The person ignores or justifies this harm because of his feeling of being totally powerless. In reality, however, he is not totally powerless. But if he recognized this, he would lose the justification or motivation to strive in the direction of the final goal.

Discouraged individuals may function relatively

well for some time. Their functioning, however, is based on a pretense of value or significance that emerges from their private ideas which do not hold up in reality. Eventually, their private views clash with reality and lead to a shock -- e.g., difficulties in work, friendships, love relationships, or family -- which may lead to the development of symptoms.

These symptoms, however, are not the main focus of an Adlerian understanding of psychological difficulties. What is important is how individuals use their symptoms. Symptoms are actually the smoke covering the fire of inferiority feelings. The symptoms create a detour around and distance from the threatening tasks of life, protecting the pretense. Three factors distinguish mild psychological disorders from severe disorders: the depth of the inferiority feelings, the lack of the feeling of community, and the height of the final goal.

In focusing too much on the symptoms, per se, we run the risk of neglecting what underlies the symptoms -- the inferiority feelings. Unless the severity of these inferiority feelings is diminished, the client will continue to use the symptoms like a crutch for an injured, unhealed limb. And until this process is uncovered and resolved, the person may just substitute one symptom for another.

Adlerian Interventions

Adler's contributions to mental health included several levels of intervention. While the art of psychotherapy was his primary work, he also had a major impact on the field of education in efforts to prevent psychological disorders (Adler 1957). Adler started by training parents, but realized that in order to reach the majority of children he needed to switch his focus to teachers. In Vienna he spent a great deal of time lecturing to teachers and demonstrating how to understand and influence children. In addition,

he was asked to establish child guidance clinics attached to the schools throughout Vienna. He saw prevention through education as the first level of intervention and as a great investment in the future. Continuing in these efforts, many of Adler's followers simplified some of the ideas for use by teachers and parents (Dreikurs and Soltz 1964; Dreikurs and Grey 1968), thus furthering Adler's influence.

The next level of intervention is counseling. Adlerian counseling is generally time-limited, supportive therapy that is usually focused on specific problems. It leads to moderate insight, attitude change, and behavioral change. Anthony Bruck, an associate of Adler, developed brief counseling to a fine art, including the use of explanatory graphics and charts (Bruck, 1978). Examples of the focus of counseling include parenting, marital relationships, and career choice and development. These interventions can help individuals cope with developmental milestones, life crises, and change points in their lives. The potential for personality change at a deep level, however, lies in psychotherapy.

The overall goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is helping an individual develop from a partially functioning person into a more fully functioning one. Fully functioning means solving each of the areas of life more cooperatively, more courageously, with a greater sense of contribution and a greater sense of satisfaction. To do this, an individual must identify and work toward becoming her best self. In other words, the overall goal of therapy is to increase the individual's feeling of community. This is very practical. It is not merely a matter of gaining insight, but of using that insight to take concrete steps to improve relationships with family, friends, community, and work. In its largest sense, the goal of therapy is not to improve just the client's life; the therapist is working to improve the quality of life for everyone in the

client's circle of contact, as well as improving society through the client.

Thus, the first specific goal of therapy is not necessarily fulfilling the client's expectation. The client may want instant, and somewhat magical, relief of symptoms or to continue what he is doing without feeling so uncomfortable. The therapist has to be sympathetic to this desire, but must clarify and establish, as quickly as possible, the cooperative working relationship that is required for genuine improvement of a difficult situation.

Adler suggested that we must provide a belated parental influence of caring, support, encouragement and stimulation to cooperate. By reawakening courage and creativity in the client, a new, unfamiliar feeling of community may develop as he discovers that he has something valuable to offer. Some people have been cared for in a mistakenly indulgent way and have absorbed it, but they have not learned to feel or express a genuine caring for others. These people, although they need to be cared for in a new encouraging way, also need to be challenged to start caring for others in this new way.

 Adlerian Therapy   Adlerian Therapy is a growth model.  It stresses a positive view of human nature and that we are in control of our own fate and not a victim to it.  We start at an early age in creating our own unique style of life and that style stays relatively constant through the remained of our life.  That we are motivated by our setting of goals,  how we deal with the tasks we face in life,  and our social interest.  The therapist will gather as much family history as they can.  They will use this data to help set goals for the client and to get an idea of the clients' past performance.  This will help make certain the goal is not to low or high,    and that the client has the means to reach it.  The goal of Adlerian Therapy is to challenge and encourage the clients' premises and goals.  To encourage goals that are useful socially and to help them feel equal.  These goals maybe from any component of life including,  parenting skills,  marital skills,   ending substance-abuse,   and most anything else.  The therapist will focus on and examine the clients' lifestyle and the therapist will try to form a mutual respect and trust for each other.  They will then mutually set goals and the therapist will provided encouragement to the client in reaching their goals.  The therapist may also assign homework,   setup contracts between them

and the client,  and make suggestions on how the client can reach their goals. Understand, interpret, direct. This statement is an oversimplification of sorts, but defines the

essence of Adlerian psychotherapy. From this minimal overview of Adlerian theory, we can begin to elaborate and explore the intricacies of individual psychology. Adlerians are concerned with understanding the unique and private beliefs and strategies of the individual (private logic and mistaken notions) that we create in childhood, and which serve as a reference for attitudes, private views of self, others and the world, and behavior (lifestyle). Therapeutic work with clients involves short-term and intensive work to increase social interest, to encourage a greater sense of responsibility for behavior, and to support behavioral change. Insight is used therapeutically as an analytical tool to facilitate deeper self-understanding and personal growth.

Concept of the Person

Adlerian Psychotherapy employs a holistic approach to understanding the individual. Adler provides us with an all-encompassing view of the human being, who is a primarily conscious, rather than unconscious creature. Adlerians believe that the most important life problems are social and therefore, the individual must be considered within the social context (Daniels, 1998). Adlerian theory proposes that a human’s principle motive in life is to strive for perfection and that his or her opinion of self, and the world, influences all of the individual’s psychological processes. “Adlerian counseling seeks to correct mistakes in perception and logic that people make in their effort to fit into social relationships and to overcome feelings of inferiority” (Brown & Srebalus 1998). Once the individual has adopted a “mistaken goal”, he or she will formulate other misconceptions to support the “faulty logic” (Brown & Srebalus 1998). Adlerian theory studies the whole person and how that person experiences life. According to this theory, the individual possesses four “life-style convictions” (Mosak 1995). These are: “The self-concept – the convictions I have about who I am; the self-ideal – the convictions of what I should be or am obliged to be to have a place; the

weltbild, or ‘picture of the world’ – convictions about the not self and what the world demands of me; and the ethical convictions- personal ‘right-wrong’ code” (Mosak 1995). When there is conflict between the self-concept and the ideal, inferiority feelings develop. It is important to note that Adlerians do not believe that these feelings of inferiority are abnormal. In fact, this theory proposes that, “to live is to feel inferior” (Mosak 1995). However, when the individual begins to act inferior rather than feel inferior, the individual is engaging in “discouragement” or the inferiority complex (Mosak 1995). “To oversimplify, the inferiority feeling is universal and ‘normal’; the inferiority complex reflects the discouragement of a limited segment of our society and is usually ‘abnormal’” (Mosak 1995). This theory views the healthy and “ideal” individual as one who engages in life experiences with confidence and optimism. “There is a sense of belonging and contributing, the ‘courage to be imperfect,’ and the serene knowledge that one can be acceptable to others, although imperfect” (Mosak 1995). This theory uses subjectivity for understanding the person. In order to understand the individual, we must understand his or her cognitions. Harold Mosak (1995) identifies five underlying assumptions to the Adlerian theory. He states, “a) the individual is unique, b) the individual is self-consistent, c) the individual is responsible, d) the person is creative, an actor, a chooser, and e) people in a soft-deterministic way can direct their own behavior and control their destinies” (Mosak, 1995, p.87). According to Adlerian theory, people strive to attain goals that provide them with a place in this world, in turn giving them security and enhancing self- esteem. “If strivings are solely for the individual’s greater glory, he (Adler) considers them socially useless and, in extreme conditions, characteristic of mental problems. On the other hand, if the strivings are for the purpose of overcoming life’s problems, the individual is engaged in the striving for self-realization, in contribution to humanity and in making the world a better place to live” (Mosak, 1995, p. 53). Concept of Intervention

Like all therapies it is assumed that the individual’s present way of living may accord safety but not happiness, and because there are not any guarantees in life, one must risk some ‘safety’ for the possibility of greater happiness and self-fulfillment. How each therapy goes about moving the client from a place of ‘safety’ to a place of relative ‘risk taking’ may differ. Adlerian psychology addresses the complete range of

human experience, from optimal to pathological, and sees the ‘therapeutic’ relationship as a friendly one between equals (Stein, 1996). At the foundation of Adlerian theory and practice is an optimism about human nature and the premise that the primacy of a feeling of community (connectedness) is an index and goal of mental health (Stein, 1996). The process (intervention) is really one of life-style investigation. The therapist tries to understand the patients life-style, how the individual engages his life, and how that life-style affects the client’s current functioning. The goal of treatment is not merely symptom relief, but the adoption of a contributing way of living (Stein, 1996). Adlerians view pain and suffering in a client’s life as the result of the choices the client has made. This value-based theory of personality hypothesizes that the values a client holds and lives their life by, are learned, and when they no longer work (evidenced by suffering or lack of happiness), the client can re-learn values and life-styles that work more ‘effectively’. Adler taught that a client’s life-style can be viewed as a personal mythology. These mythologies are true for the individual and so the individual acts accordingly. These mythologies are “truths” and “partial truths,” but they can also be myths that one confuses for truths. Adler calls these basic mistakes. Overgeneralizations such as ‘people are hostile’, ‘life is dangerous’ as well as misperceptions of life, ‘life doesn’t give me any breaks’, are all myths that one confuses for truth. These mythologies or life-styles are expressed in the client’s physical behavior, language, dreams, interpretations, etc. The intervention in Adlerian therapy is re-education and reorientation of the client to myths that work ‘better’. The actual techniques employed are used to this end. Adlerians are highly action orientated. They believe the concept of insight is just a proxy for immobility. Insight is not a deep understanding that one must have before change can occur. For Adlerians, insight is understanding translated into action. It reflects the client’s understanding of the purposeful nature of behavior. Concept of Change/Development

According to Adler\'s theory of change, the therapist uses a variety of strategies that help the client to identify his specific needs. The client is unique; therefore, the technique used must fit the situation of the client. \"Thinking, feeling, emotion and behavior can only be understood as subordinated to the individual\'s style of life, or consistent patter of dealing with life\" (Marino, 2000). The individual is not internally

divided or the battleground of conflicting forces. Adler believed that humans possess the freedom to act, determine our fate, determine our personality, and affect our style of life. Humans have the creative power of self to consciously shape our personalities and destinies. Adler was oriented toward the future and looked to our expectations, rather than to the past, to explain and modify behavior. The goal of the therapy is to stimulate cognitive, affective and behavior change. Although the individual is not always fully aware of their specific goal, through analysis of birth order, repeated coping patterns and earliest memories, the psychotherapist infers the goal as a working hypothesis. The client approaches control of feelings and emotions. First, the client recognizes what kind of feeling he or she is having (angriness, sadness, frustration, etc). Once the client sees and knows the feeling; then he or she will try to imagine or think of something pleasant that had happened to him or her, replacing the bad feeling for a good one. By doing this, the client is in control of his or her emotions and can change the mood only by thinking differently. It is believed by Adlerians that thinking different thoughts can effectively change mood states (Marino, 2000). The client is helped by the therapist to see life from another perspective. The client tries to put him or herself into another role. Change occurs when the client is able to see his or her problem from another view, so he or she can explore and practice new behavior. As the therapist explores the thinking, feeling and acting of the client, he or she directs the client into a new philosophy of life. Thus, the client is able to think about a new philosophy of life. He or she makes decisions and conclusions about his or her own life. Adlerian psychotherapy can be broken down into three basic phases: 1) Understanding he specific style of life of the patient, 2) Explaining the patient o himself or herself, and 3) Strengthening the social interest in the patient (Daniels, 1998). It attempts to bring each individual to an optimal level of personal, interpersonal, and occupational functioning. The objective of therapy is to replace exaggerated self-protection, self-enhancement, and self-indulgence with courageous social contribution. The Therapeutic Spiral, developed by Henry T. Stein, Ph.D., is a cohesive model of the tasks facing the Adlerian psychotherapist (attached). It provides a detailed outline of the steps to attaining self-actualization using Adler’s theory. \"If people have developed social interest at the affective level, they are likely to feel a deep belonging to the human race and, as a result, are able to

empathize with their fellow comforts as well as the discomforts of life” (Marino, 2000). ools and Techniques

Once the initial analysis has been completed and goals for treatment have been set, Adlerians employ a variety of techniques to encourage individuals to move forward and elicit change. Most of the techniques are action-oriented, focusing on facilitating life-style changes while working to help the individual learn to counteract discouragement, enhancing self-efficacy and increasing self-esteem. Treatment may occur in the form of multiple psychotherapy (whereby several therapists treat a single patient), individual psychotherapy, and/or group therapy. Additional settings and treatment strategies include the Therapeutic Social Club (as found mental hospital settings), Marriage Counseling, and a focus on broader social problems via Interindividual and Intergroup Conflict Resolution. Within the therapeutic relationship, the therapist is said to represent values the patient may attempt to imitate. In serving as models for their patients, Adlerian therapists therefore characterize themselves as “being for real”- genuine, fallible, and able to laugh at themselves. An emphasis on humor as an important asset is frequently utilized in treatment since “if one can occasionally joke, things cannot be so bad (Moreno, 1987)”. Other verbal techniques include giving advice while taking care to discourage dependency; frequent use of encouragement and support; and utilizing language that avoids moralizing by referring to behaviors as “useful” and “useless” as opposed to “good” and “bad”. Some of the more action-oriented techniques include creative and dramatic approaches to treatment such as role-play, the empty-chair, acting “As if”, and psychodrama. Other techniques include task setting, creating images, catching oneself, and the Push-Button Technique. Dramatic techniques such as Role-play, the Empty Chair, and Acting “as if”, are all utilized to help the patient practice useful skills and behaviors as they “try on” new roles and styles of living. While these techniques provide valuable opportunities for patients to rehearse new life-skills, they also allow for the patient to make choices as to which roles they wish to discard, and which they wish to use in their every day life. Psychodrama is technique that occurs exclusively in a group setting, whereby the internal struggles of a single patient (or “protagonist”) are worked though dramatically. The process occurs with the active participation (and support) of other members of the group who are employed by the protagonist to represent challenging aspects of his or her inner life,

while he or she attempts to move “successfully” through it (Moreno, 1987). A unique approach to Task Setting has the Adlerian therapist making two suggestions as necessary for the patient to apply concurrently, outside of the therapeutic setting, over the course of several weeks. First, “Only do what is agreeable to you”; second, “Consider from time to time how you can give another person pleasure”. According to Adler, successful employment of these two tasks are an effective strategy in helping people feel “useful and worthwhile”, thus enhancing their self-esteem and improving their quality of life. Another task-oriented technique, called catching oneself, requires patients to catch themselves “with their hand in the cookie jar”. The goals of this approach are not only to increase patient awareness of their “old” behaviors and provide an opportunity to replace them with new ones, but to learn to anticipate situations before they occur (Moreno, 1987). Creating images is another technique utilized by Adlerians in eliciting change. Based on the premise that “one picture is worth a thousand words”, patients are given (or generate) images to describe themselves. Use of this technique maintains that remembering this image, the patient can remember goals, and in later stages, can learn to use the image to laugh at oneself (Dayton, 1994). The Push-Button Technique also utilizes the patients’ own imagination in service of therapeutic goals. After being instructed to call upon two specific life experiences- one pleasant experience, and one unpleasant experience- patients are encouraged to focus on the feelings each of these incidents evoke. This process is utilized to teach patients that they can create whatever feeling they wish by deciding what they think about. As a result, the patient finds that he is the creator, not the victim of his emotions, and the power of self-determination is enhanced (Dayton, 1994).

Conclusion

Adlerian psychology is a vigorously optimistic and inspiring approach to psychotherapy. As a values-oriented psychology, it is more than a collection of techniques; it establishes philosophical ideals for individual and group development. Adlerians attempt to capture the absolute uniqueness of each individual, while teaching individuals to live in harmony with society. To encourage insight, Adlerians work with early recollections, birth order, dreams and metaphors. Adlerian counseling and psychotherapy favors a therapeutic relationship that is cooperative,

supportive, empathic, non-dogmatic, and common-sensical. Through a respectful Socratic dialogue, clients are challenged to correct mistaken assumptions, attitudes, behaviors, and feelings about themselves and the world (Stein, 1997). Adlerian psychotherapy is a system of theory and practice built upon psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential, and humanistic principles. http://appraisercentral.com/research/Adlerian%20Psychotherapy%20An%20Overview%20Of%20Theory%20And%20Practice.htm

ADLERIAN THERAPY

Basic Philosophy: “Humans are motivated by social interest, by striving toward goals, and by dealing with the tasks of life. Emphasis is on the individual’s positive capacities to live in society cooperatively. People have the capacity to interpret, influence, and create events. Each person at an early age creates a unique style of life, which tends to remain relatively constant throughout life.†(p. 464)�

Key Concepts: “It stresses the unity of personality, the need to view people from their subjective perspective, and the importance of life goals that give direction to behavior. People are motivated by social interest and by finding goals to give life meaning. Other key concepts are striving for significance and superiority, developing a unique lifestyle, and understanding the family constellation. Therapy is a matter of providing encouragement and assisting clients in changing their cognitive perspective.†(p. 466)�

Goals of Therapy: “To challenge clients’ basic premises and life goals. To offer encouragement so individuals can develop socially useful goals. To develop the client’s sense of belonging.†(p. 469)�

Therapeutic Relationship: “The emphasis is on joint responsibility, on mutually determining goals, on mutual trust and respect, and on equality. A cooperative relationship is manifested by a therapeutic contract. Focus is on identifying, exploring, and disclosing mistaken goals and faulty assumptions within the person’s lifestyle.†(p. 472)�

Techniques of Therapy: “Adlerians pay more attention to the subjective

experiences of clients than to using techniques. Some techniques include gathering life-history data (family constellation, early recollections, personal priorities), sharing interpretations with clients, offering encouragement, and assisting clients in searching for new possibilities.†(p. 474)�

Applications: “Because the approach is based on a growth model, it is applicable to such varied spheres of life as child guidance, parent/child counseling, marital and family therapy, individual counseling with all age groups, correctional and rehabilitation counseling, group counseling, substance abuse programs, and brief counseling. It is ideally suited to preventive care and alleviating a broad range of conditions that interfere with growth.†(p. 476)�

Multiculturalism: “Its focus on social interest, collectivism, pursuing meaning in life, importance of family, goal orientation, and belonging is congruent with many cultures. Focus on person-in-environment allows for cultural factors to be explored…This approach’s detailed interview about one’s family background[, though,] can conflict with cultures that have injunctions against disclosing family matters. Some clients may view the counselor as an authority who will provide answers to problems, which conflicts with the egalitarian, person-to-person spirit as a way to reduce social distance.†(pp. 478, 479)�

Contributions: “One of the first approaches to therapy that was humanistic, unified, holistic, and goal oriented and that put an emphasis on social and psychological factors. A key contribution is the influence that Adlerian concepts have had on other systems and the integration of these concepts into various contemporary therapies.†(p. 481)�

Limitations: “Weak in terms of precision, testability, and empirical validity. Few attempts have been made to validate the basic concepts by scientific methods. Tends to oversimplify some complex human problems and is based heavily on common sense.†(p. 483)�http://www.iuabc.s5.com/custom4.html

   Adlerian therapy focuses on the feelings of self that arise from interactions and conflicts. This sense of self can also be called ones ego. The ego is the central core of personality; it is what makes someone an individual. Adlerian therapy is a therapy of teaching, informing and encouraging the client, in order to help the client fix basic mistakes in their personal logic, and the therapeutic relationship is a collaborative one. His idea of individual psychology is based on the unique motivations of individuals and the importance of each individuals perceived niche in society.

      He believes that human are goal directed by nature, and he feels that social conditions and how one sees themselves in this society can cause disturbances in personality and measures need to be taken to avoid this. Therefore, the therapist should attempt to view the world from their clients subjective frame of reference and that how life in reality is not as important as how an individual perceives it to be. Childhood experiences are not necessarily important - what is important is our perception of these experiences, it is not unconscious instincts and our past that determine behaviour but our present perceptions. Adlers distinctive concept is how an individual feel towards and is aware of being part of a human community. He measures mental health by the degree to which one successfully share with others and is concerned for others welfare. He feels that happiness and success are largely related to social "connectedness."

     Adler feels that birth order is important, and that it motivates later behaviour. The oldest child receives more attention and is spoiled and therefore likes to be the centre of attention. If there is only two children, the second will behave as if they are in a race to the first child, and they will act in opposite ways from the first. The middle child often feels squeezed out. The youngest is the baby, they are more pampered, creative, rebellious, revolutionary and avant-garde. An only child does not learn to share and co-operate with other children and must therefore learn to deal with other adults.

     Adler thinks that encouragement is the most powerful method of changing a persons beliefs - it can help build self-confidence and stimulate courage. Therefore, discouragement is that basic condition that prevents people from functioning. Clients of Adlerian therapy are encouraged to recognize that they have the power to choose and act differently.

     Adler also feels that people who are not functioning properly in society may be experiencing complexes. Someone with an inferiority complex takes normal feelings of incompetence and exaggerates them so that they feel that it is impossible for them to achieve their goals.

     In therapy, assessment is done using lifestyle assessment (identifying targets for therapy and identifying major successes and mistakes in a clients life) and early reflections where one talks about childhood experiences. The client is encouraged to think about their private logic, their concepts about themselves and others and the philosophy that their lifestyle is based on. They are encouraged to discover the purposes of behaviour and symptoms and their basic mistakes associated with coping. The client will learn how to correct their faulty assumptions and conclusions about themselves. This is done using a subjective interview technique and by encouraging self-understanding and insight.

Therapeutic Appraisal of Individual Psychology

Perhaps Rattner best explains a general framework for the practice Individual Psychology

in the following statement:

To individual psychology, psychotherapy is a free collaboration between the therapist and

the patient. They sit opposite each other [in contrast to Freud’s couch] and carry on the

psychological interview, with the patient being considered a partner of equal value and

with equal rights. The analytic work is regarded as collaboration and teamwork whose

purpose is the patient’s self-exploration as guided and inspired by the therapist. In

contrast to adherents of other psychological schools, the individual psychologist for the

beginning counteracts his authority with the patient. As a matter of principle he places

himself on the level of human fellowship, and he must make every effort to avoid any

authoritarian position, which, according to Adler, is bound to lead to failure.

198

Subsequently, several basic goals of Adlerian counseling arise, and from this, four stages

of counseling emerge. The four goals and subsequent stages include the following:

1. Establishing an empathic relationship between the counselor and client, in which the

client feels understood and accepted by the counselor. 2. Helping clients understand their beliefs and feelings, as well as their motives and

goals that determine their lifestyle.

3. Helping clients develop insight into mistaken goals and self-defeating behaviors.

4. Helping clients consider alternatives to the problem behavior or situation and make a

commitment to change.

199

Sweeney, employing more contemporary wording, lists the four stages accordingly—

relationship, psychological investigation, interpretation, and reorientation.

200

Adlerians contrast

counseling and psychotherapy as well. Here also, Sweeney provides a precise explanation. “In

the case of counseling, behavior change within the existing lifestyle is the goal. In

psychotherapy, change in the lifestyle is the desired outcome, making one’s place in a new way

with corresponding attitudes, emotions, and behaviors.”

201

Though the outcome or level of

change is a variant with counseling and psychotherapy, the four stages remain consistent.

202

Stein expands the stages of Adlerian therapy to twelve. These are: (1) empathyrelationship, (2) information, (3) clarification, (4) encouragement, (5) interpretation and

recognition, (6) knowing, (7) group and marathon, (8) doing different, (9) reinforcement, (10)

social interest, (11) goal-redirection, and (12) support and launching.

203

In these stages, Stein

sees an artful strategy on the part the therapist who engages the client with “sensitive timing,

gentleness, and creativity.”

204

Ansbacher and Ansbacher simplify the basic process of Adlerian

therapy by detailing three parts: (1) understanding the lifestyle of the patient, (2) explaining thepatient to himself, and (3) strengthening social interest.

205

For this work, the four stages provide ample detail for understanding the therapeutic

concepts of Adlerian therapy. With the initiation of therapy, the counselor must fully engage and

connect with the client. Rattner implores that creating a trusting environment is “absolutely

necessary.”

206

Adlerian practitioners seek collaborative interaction with clients “that grows into

caring, involvement, and friendship.”

207

One way in which the Adlerian therapist seeks to build

the client connection is to focus on the client’s story and less on the presenting problem.

208

This

approach diverges somewhat from classic training for therapists in which the therapist typically

asks immediately of the client, “Tell me what brings you to therapy!” The Adlerian approach

proves pivotal when the trust and connection develop strongly. The alignment strengthens when

the therapist places aside “any personal ambitions or sensibilities,” and works to maintain

“companionable benevolence, equable helpfulness, and an infinite amount of patience” with the

client.

209

The second phase of therapy includes an analysis of the dynamic, psychological

characteristics of the client’s personality. To formulate a complete and insightful analysis, a

therapist explores a number of areas with the client. The most common analytical tool Adlerian’s

employ is the Lifestyle Assessment. Sweeney remarks that the Lifestyle Assessment is most

thorough when including a review of the family constellation, early recollections, andobservations of the client.

210

The primary goal for the therapist with the Lifestyle Assessment is

to gather a clear understanding of the individual’s private logic which is the person’s “invisible

road map” for charting “goals, plans, and actions without an awareness of the rationale” the

person is following.

211

Stein suggests this information gathering stage may last as many as five to

ten therapy sessions and may cover presenting problems, life tasks, early childhood memories,

generational influences, as well as, religious and cultural concerns.

212

Dreikurs mentions two levels of information to gather in this period of exploration—the

subjective situation and the objective situation. In the subjective situation, Dreikurs covers a

phenomenological or narrative exploration of the client’s life.

213

In the more objective sphere,

Dreikurs collects data surrounding a person’s movement and actions such as may be seen in the

three life tasks.

214

Among data gathering will be information regarding birth order and the family

constellation. To gather this data, the therapist may ask some of the following questions:

1. Who was the favorite child?

2. What was your father and mother’s relationship with the children?

3. Which child was most like your father? Your mother? In what respects?

4. Who among the siblings was most like you? In what ways?

5. What were you like as a child?

6. How did your parents get along? How did they handle disagreements?

215

During the stage of psychological exploration, the therapist asks about early

recollections. Shulman and Mosak offer details for engaging adequately in exploring earlyrecollections.

216

To prompt the client in exploring an early recollection, Corey suggests a leading

remark such as, “I would like hear about your memories. Think back to when you were very

young, as early as you can remember (before the age of 10), and tell me something that happened

one time.”

217

The analytical investigation may include reports of dreams as well. Adler upholds that

dreams are mostly deceptive in nature and not necessarily amenable to interpretation by the one

dreaming, and as goals and motivations are “inconsistent with reality, the more likely that

person’s dreams will be used for self-deception.”

218

These self-deceptions are the motivating

forces that influence the lifestyle by forming the content of the client’s private logic. With this

material in hand, the therapist is able to move the interpretation stage of therapy.

Sweeney details the interpretation stage,

The third stage, the Adlerian interpretation process, involves the use of tentative

inferences and observations made by the clinician. Having listened to the individual

discuss concerns, possibly exploring family constellation and/or early recollections,

uncovered rules as noted above, and having observed behavior in the counseling and/or

elsewhere, the counselor tentatively will offer observations that are descriptive of the

individual and may have implications for meeting the individual’s life tasks.

219

Diagnostic labeling proves contrary generally for Adlerians, thus the effort of exposing

the client to various analytical interpretations is to create an understanding or explanation of

behavior.

220

Alder ranks this as “the most important component in therapy.”

221

In this stage, “bycorrectly interpreting the psychological condition of the person seeking guidance, as well as his

history and his personal problems, the therapist influences his patient and lays a fresh foundation

for his further psychological development.”

222

Additionally, Rattner reinforces the importance of

encouragement during this time as the client releases the old life style and reorients to another

more functional life style.

223

Dinkmeyer and Sperry affirm the importance of the lifestyle

assessment given that it provides insight for the therapist, and conveys a sense of empathy and

understanding to the client.

224

This supportive connection provides the entrée for the therapist to

assist clients in realizing that “behavior develops not from what we are, but from what we

believe we are; that is, behavior is not the result of our experiences but how we interpret

them.”

225

The careful nature of sharing interpretations is an artful process for the therapist. Too

forceful maneuvering with interpretations may push the client away. Orgler outlines the gentle

manner in which the interpretation is made, “we consider it particularly important not to force

our interpretation upon the patient, for we are of the conviction that the only thing that will help

him is the knowledge he gains through his own work.”

226

The ultimate goal for the Adlerian

therapist is to assist the client in gradually coming to terms with the fact “that he has not been

able to solve all or some of the life problems because he had a wrong goal and an erroneous view

of life.”

227

Rightful interpretation allows the client “to see the pattern of movement and itsmeaning.

228

The recognition reflex—a knowing smile or laugh, facial acknowledgment, or verbal

elaboration—is used to affirm the accuracy of psychological hunches based on the

counselee’s lifestyle information, one’s knowledge of human motivation, and one’s

intuitive sense of the internal dialogue used by the individual (private logic) to make a

place among others and cope with life’s tasks.

229

Once effective interpretations proceed with the client, the therapist is able to move to the

third stage of treatment—reorientation. In this final phase of psychotherapy, the client works to

re-educate and reorient themselves to a more functional and effective way of living. This

outcome is noticeable specifically in the three life tasks—social and friendship, work, and love.

Though change proves desirous for the clients, Sweeney recommends entering the reorientation

stage carefully for even when the client expresses a desire to change, the client’s actual

commitment to the change process may be limited.

230

To guide the reorientation process forward, the therapist may employ several therapeutic

techniques with clients as a way to encourage and support the client’s progress. One helpful

technique to use early in the change process is “spitting in the soup” of the client, or as Dreikurs

calls it “stealing the innocence.”

231

Adler’s term for this technique is “besmirching a clean

conscience” which Adler borrows from a grade school act in which a person spits in the soup of

another person in order to take that person’s soup.

232

The technique challenges the tendencies of

a client to fall back into previously ineffective patterns. The counselor “must determine the

purpose and payoff of the behavior and spoil the game by reducing the behaviors pleasure or usefulness in the client’s eyes.”

233

Another technique from Adler is the prescription of the symptom. Variously identified as

paradoxical intention or “antisuggestion,” the intervention encourages the client to heighten the

level of emotion for which there is a complaint. “The irony, of course, is that when invited to do

their ‘thing’ they find themselves incapable of doing it.”

234

Antisuggestion is capable of making

the thoughts, emotions, or behaviors “appear so ridiculous that the client finally gives them

up.”

235

Much of the reorientation process, as well as other stages of counseling, includes

encouragement. The basic intent of the counselor is to offer “both verbal and nonverbal

procedures that enable a counselee to experience and become aware of his own worth.”

236

Thus,

Sweeney lists encouragement as the most influential force in bringing about change in a client’s

beliefs.

237

In this final stage of counseling, encouragement serves primarily to build courage in

the client.

238

“The counselor encourages him [the client] in this respect by letting him know it is

all right to try.”

239

A counselor employing immediacy, another technique, expresses to the client

how the counselor is “experiencing the client in the here and now.”

240

Immediacy is a somewhat

confrontational intervention and its use requires a delicate work on the part of the counselor, but when a client’s behavior or communication is incongruent, the counselor is able to point out the

incongruent aspects of the client’s life. “Healthy, mature people communicate congruently.”

241

Taking from Adler’s interest in Vaihinger, “acting as if” prescribes that the client “act as

if” something is true. In this intervention, the client may well protest that “acting” is a deception.

However, Mosak says “we show him that all acting is not phony pretense, that he is being asked

to try on a role as one might try on a suit. It does not change the person wearing the suit but

sometimes with a handsome suit of clothes, he may feel differently, and perhaps behave” in like

manner.

242

“The expectation is that the plan will work. If it doesn’t, you explore what kept it

from being a good experience.”

243

When clients tend toward victimizing roles, Adlerians may employ the “push-button”

technique. This intervention demonstrates to the client that it is the client who has control over

their emotions. By visualizing both positive and negative situations, clients come to realize that

emotional reactions are created within their own realm of thinking. This technique associates the

important connection between thoughts and emotional reactions.

244

As the therapy progresses, a useful technique to introduce to clients involves “catching

oneself” in the act of moving toward change. Often clients “catch themselves too late,” but this

allows the client to take note of the triggers for a behavior and “learn to anticipate the

situation.”

245

The result of the intervention provides insight for a client, and therefore, a client isable to avoid triggers or respond differently in the presence of the triggers.

246

Adlerians recognize the need to motivate and guide clients to an effective outcome. Thus,

the therapist seeks to grow the client’s commitment to counseling and change. Task setting

allows the therapist and client to agree on reasonable and obtainable goals which are often

reinforced with homework assignments.

247

Creating movement may also result from the

counselor’s use of surprise. A somewhat paradoxical intervention, the therapist agrees with the

client and plays into the client’s pattern of thinking.

248

Collectively, Adlerian theory and the associated therapeutic interventions provide a

comprehensive base for addressing a host of counseling concerns. As noted in the introductory

remarks, Adler’s theory applies to a variety settings and across the age span. Adler himself

qualifies as the father of school guidance counseling with the introduction of his child guidance

centers.

249

Likewise, Adler serves as one of the earliest proponents of family influence, and most

consider Adler to be the father of modern systems theory. “Adler and Dreikurs were among the

first to see the entire family as a system whose structure and interactions were intertwined.

250

With love as the third of Adler’s life tasks, working with couples in relationships and

love naturally fits Adlerian theory as well.

251

Unlike the insistence in systems theory that all

members of the system are present, Adlerians prefer for all to be present, but do not insist othe attendance of all family members.

252

Abramson concludes regarding the family influence,

The suffering and difficulties people experience are not intrapsychic, nor do they occur in

a vacuum. Rather, they take place in the social arena and are expressed first and foremost

in the individual’s family life and intimate relations. Therefore, misconceptions, mistaken

interpretations, and feelings and behaviors that need to be changed are best treated in the

context of the group that shares a common field with the individual on a daily basis.

253

As with family therapy, Adler’s influence is also strongly associated with group

psychotherapy. Initially added to the child guidance programs, Dreikurs extends group

psychotherapy work to his practice, and popularizes group therapy in the United States.

254

Group

interaction is particularly helpful given the social nature of Adler’s theory so “the group provides

the social context in which members can develop a sense of belonging, social connectedness, and

community.”

255

Adlerian theory integrates as well with addressing spirituality in counseling. Johansen

provides the following synopsis:

Adlerian psychology offers a unique, yet appropriate, approach to working with religious

individuals . . . Most schools of psychotherapy have had either a neutral or a negative

position toward religion. In contrast to these systems, Individual Psychology takes an

optimistic and positive stance in regard to religion and spirituality . . . it is arguably the

most religion-friendly.

256

It is this religious and spiritual context of Adlerian theory that provides a springboard for the

remainder of this work as the theological aspects of Adlerian theory lead to an appraisal of the

theory’s adaptability to the integration of Christian counseling.