Lesson Proper for Week 4

I. View of Human Nature

· According to Adler, humans are motivated primarily by social relatedness rather
than by sexual urges; behavior is purposeful and goaldirected; and consciousness,
more than unconsciousness, is the focus of therapy. Adler stressed choice and
responsibility, meaning in life, and the striving for success, completion, and perfection.
Adler and Freud created very different theories, even though both men grew up in the
same city in the same era and were educated as physicians at the same university.
Their individual and distinct childhood experiences, their personal struggles, and the
populations with whom they worked were key factors in the development of their
particular views of human nature.

II. Subjective Perception of Reality

· Adlerians attempt to view the world from the client’s subjective frame of
reference, an orientation described as phenomenological. Paying attention to the
individual way in which people perceive their world, referred to as “subjective reality,”
includes the individual’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, values, beliefs, convictions, and
conclusions. Behavior is understood from the vantage point of this subjective
perspective. From the Adlerian perspective, objective reality is less important than how
we interpret reality and the meanings we attach to what we experience.

III. Unity and Patterns of Human Personality

· Adler chose the name Individual Psychology (from the Latin individuum, meaning
indivisible) for his theoretical approach because he wanted to avoid reductionism. Adler
emphasized the unity and indivisibility of the person and stressed understanding the
whole person in the context of his or her life—how all dimensions of a person are
interconnected components, and how all of these components are unified by the
individual’s movement toward a life goal.
· This holistic concept implies that we cannot be understood in parts; rather, all
aspects of ourselves must be understood in relationship (Carlson & Englar-Carlson,
2008). The focus is on understanding whole persons within their socially embedded
contexts of family, culture, school, and work. We are social, creative, decision-making
beings who act with purpose and cannot be fully known outside the contexts that have
meaning in our lives (Sherman & Dinkmeyer, 1987)
· Behavior as purposeful and goal oriented

o Individual Psychology assumes that all human behavior has a

purpose. The concept of the purposeful nature of behavior is
perhaps the cornerstone of Adler’s theory. Adler replaced
deterministic explanations with teleological (purposive, goal-
oriented) ones. A basic assumption of Individual Psychology is that
we can only think, feel, and act in relation to our goal; we can be
fully understood only in light of knowing the purposes and goals
toward which we are striving.

· Striving for significance and superiority

o Adler stressed that the recognition of inferiority feelings and the

consequent striving for perfection or mastery are innate (Ansbacher
& Ansbacher, 1979)—they are two sides of the same coin. To
understand human behavior, it is essential to grasp the ideas of
basic inferiority and compensation.

· Lifestyle

o The movement from a felt minus to a desired plus results in the

development of a life goal, which in turn unifies the personality and
the individual’s core beliefs and assumptions. These core beliefs
and assumptions guide each person’s movement through life and
organize his or her reality, giving meaning to life events.

IV. Social Interest and Community Feeling

· Social interest and community feeling (Gemeinschaftsgefühl) are probably Adler’s
most significant and distinctive concepts (Ansbacher, 1992). These terms refer to
individuals’ awareness of being part of the human community and to individuals’
attitudes in dealing with the social world.

V. Birth Order and Sibling Relationships

a. The oldest child
· Generally receives a good deal of attention, and during the time she is the only
child, she is typically somewhat spoiled as the center of attention.
· Most beginning counselors have ambivalent feelings when meeting their first
clients.
· A certain level of anxiety demonstrates that you are aware of the uncertainties of
the future with your clients and of your abilities to really be there for them. A willingness
to recognize and deal with these anxieties, as opposed to denying them, is a positive
sign.
b. The second child
· From the time she is born, she shares the attention with another child.
· The typical second child behaves as if she were in a race and is generally under
full steam at all times.
· It is as though this second child were in training to surpass the older brother or
sister.
c. The middle child
· This child may become convinced of the unfairness of life and feel cheated. This
person may assume a “poor me” attitude and can become a problem child.

VI. The Therapeutic Process

a. Therapeutic Goals
· Adlerians do not view clients as being “sick” and in need of being “cured.” They
favor the growth model of personality rather than the medical model. As Mosak and
Maniacci (2011) put it: “The Adlerian is interested not in curing sick individuals or a sick
society but in reeducating individuals and in reshaping society” (p. 78).
· Rather than being stuck in some kind of pathology, Adlerians contend that clients
are often discouraged. The counseling process focuses on providing information,
teaching, guiding, and offering encouragement to discouraged clients.

b. Therapists’ Role and Function

· A major function of the therapist is to make a comprehensive assessment of the
client’s functioning. Therapists often gather information about the individual’s style of
living by means of a questionnaire on the client’s family constellation, which includes
parents, siblings, and others living in the home, life tasks, and early recollections.

c. Clients’ Experience in Therapy

· In therapy, clients explore what Adlerians call private logic, the concepts about
self, others, and life that constitute the philosophy on which an individual’s lifestyle is
based. Private logic involves our convictions and beliefs that get in the way of social
interest and that do not facilitate useful, constructive belonging.
d. Relationship between Therapist and Client
· Adlerians consider a good client–therapist relationship to be one between equals
that is based on cooperation, mutual trust, respect, confidence, collaboration, and
alignment of goals. They place special value on the counselor’s modeling of
communication and acting in good faith. From the beginning of therapy, the relationship
is a collaborative one, characterized by two persons working equally toward specific,
agreed-upon goals.

VII. Application: Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures

· Adlerian counseling is structured around four central objectives that correspond
to the four phases of the therapeutic process (Dreikurs, 1967). These phases are not
linear and do not progress in rigid steps; rather, they can best be understood as a
weaving that leads to a tapestry. These phases are as follows:

1. Establish the proper therapeutic relationship.

2. Explore the psychological dynamics operating in the client (an assessment).
3. Encourage the development of self-understanding (insight into purpose).
4. Help the client make new choices (reorientation and reeducation).
· The family Constellation

o Adler considered the family of origin as having a central impact on

an individual’s personality. Adler suggested that it was through the
family constellation that each person forms his or her unique view
of self, others, and life. Factors such as cultural and familial values,
gender-role expectations, and the nature of interpersonal
relationships are all influenced by a child’s observation of the
interactional patterns within the family.

· Early Recollections

o Early recollections are one-time occurrences, usually before the

age of 9, pictured by the client in clear detail. Adler reasoned that
out of the millions of early memories we might have we select
those special memories that project the essential convictions and
even the basic mistakes of our lives.

o Early recollections are a series of small mysteries that can be

woven together into a tapestry that leads to an understanding of
how we view ourselves, how we see the world, what our life goals
are, what motivates us, what we value and believe in, and what we
anticipate for our future.