INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY ALFRED ADLER (1870-1937) ALFRED ADLER: 1870-1937 Adler stressed a positive view of human nature. He believed that ‘individuals can control their fate. They can do this in part by trying to help others (social interest). How they do this can be understood through analyzing their lifestyle. Early interactions with family members, peers, and teachers help to determine the role of inferiority and superiority in their lives.View of Human Nature *humans are motivated primarily *by social relatedness rather than by sexual urges; behavior is purposeful and goal *directed; and consciousness, more than unconsciousness, is the focus of therapy. STRIVING FOR SUCCESS/SUPERIORITY » Drive: striving for success/superiority » Everyone begins life with physical deficiencies that activate feelings of inferiority » Inferiority feeling- the normal condition of all people. It is the source of people human striving. » Inferiority complex- a condition that develops when a person is unable to compensate for normal inferiority feelings.STRIVING FOR SUCCESS/SUPERIORITY > Personal superiority- goal is towards to personal gain (psychologically unhealthy) > Striving for sucess-the urge towards perfectio! or completion that motivates each of us. > Superiority complex- a condition that develop: when a person overcompensates for normal inferiority feelings. Striving for success and superiority » Striving for superiority —people who strive for personal superiority over others » Striving for success — actions of people motivated by highly developed social interest » Both are guided by final goalThe Final Goal » Each person has the power to create a personalized fictional goal » Provided by heredity and environment » Product of creative power — ability to freely shape their behavior and create their own personality » The final goal reduces the pain of inferiority , feelings and points that person in the direction of either superiority or success | Superiority » People strive for superiority with little or no concern for others » Goals are personal ones and strivings are motivated by exaggerated feelings of personal inferiority or presence of inferiority complex.y | Striving for Success > Healthy individuals concerned with goals beyond themselves — capable of helping others without demanding or expeciing a personal payoff — able to see others not as opponents but as people with whom they can cooperate for social benefit » Their own success is not gained at the expense of others but is a natural tendency to move toward completion or perfection |Striving for Success » They maintain a sense of self— seldom see problems from point of view of societyS development than from a strictly personal vantage point > Social progress is more important to them than personal credit[ Subjective Perception | of Reality View of the world from the clients subjective frame of reference an orientation described as Phenomenological + Individual perceive their world referred to as subjectively reality, includes individual perceptions, thoughts, feelings, values and beliefs : | Individual Psychology «Individuum - indivisible 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Fictionalism > Our most important fiction is the goal of superiority or success — a goal we created early in life and may not clearly understand » This guides our style of life, gives unity to our personality » Fictions are ideas that have no real existence yet they influence people as if they really existed » Ex:Men are superior than women Humans have freewill that enable them to make choices God rewards good and punishes evil ‘|Physical Inferiorities » Some people compensate for these feelings of inferiority by moving toward psychological health and useful style of life » Ex: Beethoven overcame his handicap and made significant contribution to society Adler was weak as a child, and his illness mpyed him to overcome death by becoming a Piysiciad and competing with his older brother and with FreudSTYLE OF LIFE » A unique character structure or pattern of personal behaviors and characteristics by which each of us strives for perfection. » Everything we do is shaped and defined by our style of life. » Product of interaction of heredity, environment and person’s creative power. » Starts at the age of 4 or 5. STYLE OF LIFE FOUR BASIC STYLES OF LIFE FOR DEALING WITH PROBLEMS >» Dominant type > Getting type » Avoiding type > Socially useful typeFOUR BASIC STYLES OF LIFE FOR DEALING WITH PROBLEMS > Dominant type » ruling attitude with little social awareness. person behaves. without regard for others. SOCIAL INTEREST and Community Feeling » Gemeinschaftsgefuhl (German term) » “Community feeling” or social feeling. » Feeling of oneness with all humanity. » Attitude of relatedness with humanity in generalas an empathy for each member of the human community.SOCIAL INTEREST and ‘Community Feeling Community Feeling embodies the feeling of being connected to all humanity * Those who lack this community feeling become discouraged and end up on the useless side of life. ‘Each of these requires the development of psychological capacities for friendship and belonging, for contribution and self-worth, and Origins of Social Interest » Rooted eae in everyone, originated from the mother-child relationship during early months of infancy. » Every person has had the seeds of social interest | sown during those early months. » Marriage and parenthood is a task for two: > Mother's job is to develop a bond that encourages | the child's mature social interest and fosters a sense of cooperation. » The healthy love relationship develops from a true caring for her child, her husband and other people> Innate potential to cooperate with other people to achieve personal and societal goals. > Mother's role is very important in developing social interest. CREATIVE POWER » The ability to create an appropriate style of life. » It makes each person a free individual. » Adynamic concept of implying movement which is the most salient characteristic of life » Psychic life involves movement toward a goal » People are creative beings much more than a product of heredity and environment who do not only react to their environment but also act on it and cause it to react to them » Adler used the analogy “ the law of the doorway”|Safeguarding Tendencies Patterns of behavior that protect a person's exaggerated sense of self-esteem against public damage Enables people to hide their inflated self-image and to maintain their current life style Similar to Freud's defense mechanism [SAFEGUARDING TENDENCIES » Excuses - expressed in “yes, but..” or “if only”. these excuses protect a weak sense of self worth. “Yes, | would like to go to college,but my children demand too much of my attention.” “If only | did not have this physical deficiency, | could compete successfully for a job.”| » Aggression - use to safeguard their exaggerated superiority complex. *depreciation- undervalue other people's achievements and to overvalue one’s own. -belittle another person. “The only reason Kenneth got the job | applied for is because he is an African American.” | Aggression |*accusation - tendency to blame others for one’s failure and seek revenge. “| wanted to be an artist, but my parents forced me to go to medical school. Now | have a job that makes me miserable” *self-accusation - mark by self-torture and guilt. “| feel distressed because | wasnitnicer to my grandmother| while she was still living. Nov, it's too late.”|> Withdrawal - it occurs when people run awayfrom difficulties. - setting up a distance between themselves and their problem. *moving backward, standing still, hesitating and constructing obstacles. |Withdrawal *moving backward - psychologically reverting to a more secure period of life. *standing still - people do not move in any direction thus they avoid responsibilities by ensuring themselves against any threat of failure.|Withdrawal *hesitating - people hesitate or vacillate when faced with difficult problems. Their procrastinations give them the excuse “It’s too late now”. Compulsive behaviors are attempts to waste time. *constructing obstacles - |east severe. - they protect their self-esteem and their prestige by overcoming obstacles. APPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AREAS OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION: - FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS - EARLY COLLECTIONS - DREAMS - PSYCHOTHERAPYFAMILY CONSTELLATIONS Refers to birth order, gender of siblings and age spread between them » The number and birth order, as well as the personality characteristics of members of a family is important in determining lifestyle. » The family and reciprocal relationships with siblings and parents determine how a person finds a place in the family and what he learns about finding a place in the world. Nurturing and protective of others Good organizer Responsible Achiever Second Child/Middle Child Highly motivated Mediator Negative Traits Highly anxious Exaggerated feeling of power Unconscious hostility Fights for acceptance Must always be “right” whereas others are always SaonaE Uncooperative Highly competitive Easily discouraged| Birth Order Positive Traits Negative Traits Youngest Child Realistically ambitious Pampered style of life Dependent on others Wants to excel in everything Only Child Independent Exaggerated feelings of superiority Low feelings of cooperation Inflated sense of self Pampered style of life Early Recollections .| >» Refers to recalled memories that yield clues for understanding both patient’s final goal and their present style of life.» Dreams cannot foretell the future but they can provide clues for solving future problems » Any interpretation of any dream must be tentative and open to reinterpretation » Everything can be different » If one interpretation doesn't feel right, try another » Dreams are self-deceptions and not easily understood by the dreamer » Dreams are disguised to deceive the dreamer, making self interpretation difficult - Cee A ae See Nome es verte A _|Therapeutic Goals | *Therapeutic process includes forming a relationship based on mutual respect. * Psychological Investigation or lifestyle assessment + Mistaken goals and Faulty Assumptions within the persons style of living. this is followed by a reeducation or reorientation of the client toward the useful side of lifef Thera peutic P rocess +The main aim of therapy is to develop the client's sense of belonging and to assist in the adoption of behaviors and processes characterized by community feeling and social interest. It is accomplished by increasing the clients self-awareness, challenging and modifying the fundamental premises, life goals and basic concepts The counseling process focuses on providing information, teaching, guiding, and offering encouragement to discouraged clients. +Encouragement is the most powerful method available for changing a person’s beliefs, for it helps clients build self-confidence and stimulates courage. + Courage is the willingness to act even when fearful in ways that are consistent with social interest.| Therapist Function and Role >Therapists operate on the assumption that clients will feel and behave better once they discover and correct their basic mistakes. » Therapists often gather information about the individual’s style of living by means of questionnaire on the client’s family constellation which includes parents, siblings, and others living in the home, life tasks, and early recollections “cognitive map,” a fundamental understanding of the jurpose of their behavior, counselors assist them in hanging their perceptions. ists of goals for the educational process of therapy: Fostering social interest Helping clients overcome feelings of discouragement and inferiority Modifying clients’ views and goals—that is, changing their lifestyle Changing faulty motivation Encouraging the individual to recognize equality among people Helping people to become contributing members of» Early recollections (ERs) are defined as “stories of events that a person says occurred [one time] before he or she was 10 years of age” -specific incidents that clients recall, along with the feelings and thoughts that accompanied these childhood incidents. >The process of gathering early memories is part of what is called a lifestyle assessment, which involves learning to understand the goals and motivations of the client. Client’s Experience in Therapy *Clients in Adlerian counseling focus their work on desired outcomes and a resilient lifestyle that can provide a new blueprint for their actions. «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.To provide a concrete example, think of a chronically lepressed middle-aged man who begins therapy. After a lifestyle assessment is completed, these basic mistakes are identified: + He has convinced himself that nobody could really care about him. * He rejects people before they have a chance to reject him. * He is harshly critical of himself, expecting perfection. + He has expectations that things will rarely work out well. + He burdens himself with guilt because he is convinced he is letting everyone down. Application: Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures Adlerian counseling is structured around four central objectives that correspond to the four phases of the therapeutic process 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)Phase 1: Establish the Relationship + collaborative way with clients, and this relationship is based on a sense of interest that grows into caring, involvement, and friendship * The counseling process, to be effective, must deal with the personal issues the client recognizes as significant and is willing to explore and change * create effective contact is for counselors to help clients become aware of their assets and strengths rather than dealing continually with their deficits and liabilities + the counselor's function is to provide a wide-angle perspective that will eventually help the client view his or her world differently. + The aim of the second phase of Adlerian counseling is to get a deeper understanding of an individual's lifestyle. + assessment phase proceeds from two interview forms: the subjective interview and the objective interview * subjective interview, the counselor helps the client to tell his or her life story as completely as possible. This process is facilitated by a generous use of empathic listening and respondingPsychological Dynamics objective interview seeks to discover information about (a) how problems in the client's life began; (b) any precipitating events; (c) a medical history, including A current and past medications; (d) a social history; (e) the reasons the client chose therapy at this time; (f) the person's coping with life tasks; and (g) a lifestyle assessment. - Counselor describes as a “Life-Style Investigator” - Lifestyle assessment and investigation of person’s family constellation and early childhood histor, Phase 3: Encourage Self- Understanding and Insight * referring to an understanding of the motivations that operate in a client's life + Interpretation deals with clients’ underlying motives for behaving the way they do in the here and now * both counselor and client eventually come to understand the client's motivations, the ways in which these motivations are now contributing to the maintenance of the problem, and what the client can do to correct the situation_ |Phase 4: Reorientation and _ |Reeducation final stage of the therapeutic process is the action-oriented phase known as reorientation and reeducation: putting insights into practice -Reorientation involves shifting rules of interaction, process, and motivation -During this phase, clients can choose to adopt a new style of life based on the insights they gained in the earlier phases of therapy. : |Application to Group Counseling + Inferiority feelings can be challenged and counteracted effectively in groups, and the mistaken concepts and values that are at the root of social and emotional problems can be deeply influenced because the group is a value-forming agent + The group provides the social context in which members can develop a sense of belonging, social connectedness, and community + Through the mutual sharing of these early recollections, members develop a sense of connection with one another, and group cohesion is increased.* group counselors implement action strategies at each of the group sessions and especially during the reorientation stage when new decisions are made and goals are modified * The core characteristics associated with brief group therapy include rapid establishment of a strong therapeutic alliance, clear problem focus and goal alignment, rapid assessment, emphasis on active and directive therapeutic interventions, a focus on strengths and abilities of clients THANK YOU!