Presentation by Ma.

Esperanza Maambong -Ordaneza

Adlerian
Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy Proponent: Alfred Adler

June 24, 2023 Advanced Counseling and Psychotherapy

Overview01 View of Human Nature
02 Basic Tenet of Individual Psychology
03 Source of Difficulty
04 Goals and Major Focus of therapy
05 Role of the Counselor/Therapist
06 Characteristics & Competencies of a Counselor/Therapist
07 Therapeutic Techniques and Procedures
08 Different Techniques
 View of Human Nature
Adler has an optimistic view of human nature. Unlike Freud who
sees human nature influenced by biological motives and goals;
Adler approach INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY focuses on social
interest, or the feeling of oneness with humankind . And unlike
Freud, Adler minimize the role of sex in his system and believed
that people are actively involved in creating their personality and
directing their future. Adler sees an individual as a social being that
is shaped by social environment and interactions.
Advanced Counseling and Psychotherapy
 Basic Tenet of Individual
Psychology
• The one dynamic force behind people's behavior is the striving for success
or superiority.
• People's subjective perceptions shape their behavior and personality
• Personality is unified and self-consistent
• The value of all human activity must be seen from the viewpoint of social
interest.
• The self-consistent personality structure develops into a person's style of
• Style of life
• Adaptation to challenges
• development of solutions
• it is shaped during our early
childhood experiences
• mostly established by age of 5
• related to our family dynamics
like family constellation and
traits of family members of the
client.
Application of Theory
2. Social Interest
Aptitude and ability
• Innate cooperative aptitude
• express cooperation through
activities
• Parent-relationship is important
• Use as method of assessment
3. Inferiority
• Perceived weaknesses
• compensation for weaknesses
• Physical inferiority
• Inferiority
⚬ Inadequacy
⚬ Hopelessness
⚬ Belief that there is no
enough strength to solve
social problems
4. Superiority
• Striving for superiority
• Positive and Healthy
• Superiority Complex
⚬ Arrogance
⚬ Demanding of others
⚬ Self-centeredness

Application of Theory
 Sources of Difficulty
(Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956)

• Perception and interpretation of early life events where they

might have felt inferior or hurt that led them to develop a life
plan.
• Private logic (subjective reality) which contains mistaken
appreciations regarding oneself, others, life and the world.
• Fictional finalism the guiding of self-ideal, which underlies an
unquenchable quest or striving toward an impossible superiority
or perfection.
 Causes of Symptoms
Adler believed that the caused of
symptoms was the way a client or an
individual reacted and responded to their
genetics and environment.
Goals and Major Focus of Therapy
(Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956;1958; Eckstein et. al., 1981)
Goals Major Focus
• Understanding personal beliefs and • Goals or purpose behind behavior
feelings, motives and goals. • Subjective reality in the here-and-now
• Insight into mistaken goals and • Perceptions, thoughts, feelings,
self-defeating behavior. values, beliefs, convictions, and
• Understanding lifestyle. conclusion in relation to what one
• Social Interest - awareness of being part wants to accomplish or attain.
of the human community, empathizing • Lifestyle or basic orientation to life.
and striving for a better future for
humanity .
• Successful mastery of universal life tasks:
 Role of the Counselor /Therapist

Ensure that problem is stated and understood in

01 concrete and specific ways.

Conduct and interpret the life style assessment of

02 client

Show relationship between lifestyle, mistaken

03 appreciations and goals and the problem presented

04 Work on reorientation and reintegration of client

Characteristics &(Ansbacher
Comeptencies
& Ansbacher, 1956)

1. Understanding that the birth order is not as important as the psychological

position it creates in the family constellation.
2. Awareness that is not the possession but the use of something that
really matters.
3. Recognition that the inferirotiy-superiority tandem means a movement from
feelings of personal weakness to personal strength, mastery and competence rather
than superiority over others.
4. Demonstration of tact, genuine warmth, emphatic understanding and
communication, respect & equality, trusting, cooperative relationship, concreteness.
5. Capacity to conduct Lifestyle Assessment and reorientation.
 100

Steps 75

Phase 1 - Focus on the client rather the 50

• Establishing an emphatic, cooperative, working

problem.
25
relationship.
• Gathering relevant information regarding the presenting 0
Item Item Item Item Ite
problem. 1 2 3 4 5

• Clarifying vague thinking with Socratic dialogue.

Phase 2 - Focus on to get deeper understanding of client lifestyle
• Evaluating consequences of ideas and behaviors.
• Administering Lifestyle Interview Guide.
• Analyzing Lifestyle.
• Family Constellation
• Family Atmosphere
• Early Recollection
Dinkmeyer, Pwe, & Dinkmeyer, 1979; Eckstein et.al., 1975;
Steps Dinkmeyer, Pwe, & Dinkmeyer, 1979; Eckstein et.al., 1975;
1981
Phase 3 - Focus on the interpretation of the findings of the assessment
• Interpreting inferiority feelings, style of life and fictional goal
Phase 4 - Focus on helping the client discover a new and more functional perspective
• Identifying what has been avoided in the past.
• Correcting mistaken ideas about self and others
• Encouraging thinking and behavior in a new direction.
• Converting insight into outsight- different attitude
• Experimenting with concrete actions
• Encouraging all new movements toward significant changes
• Affirming positive attempts and feelings
• Using client's better feelings to extend cooperation and caring about other people.
• Reviewing style of life and adopting new values.
 Act As If Techniques
Enjoining the client to act "as if" she had what he/she was wishing to
01
have or did not have what he/she was bothered by
Guided Imagery
leading client to imagine himself/herself living life as a controller or driver or
02 whatever general lifestyle he/she has to become clearer about the
impossibility of attaining goals and the impact such lifestyle has on quality of
life.
Paradoxical Intention
urging the client to perform the undesirable behavior more frequently,
03
intensely or lengthily or scheduling the performance of the behavior.

Dinkmeyer, Pwe, & Dinkmeyer, 1979; Eckstein et.al., 1975;

1981
 Techniques
Spitting in the Client's Soup
defeating the counseleels purpose by actually mentioning it "Could it be
04
that you are doing this in order to (get attention, prove your power?)".

Avoiding the Client's Tar Baby

05 refusing to be drawn into the client's self-defeating or dysfunctional
assumptions; e.g. refusing to be annoyed when a client claims that people
are always annoyed with her and sets to annoy the counselor.
Catching Oneself
instructing the client to regularly practice being more conscious of the time
06 he/she tend to think or act in counterproductive ways and then shifting to
another mode.
Dinkmeyer, Pwe, & Dinkmeyer, 1979; Eckstein et.al., 1975;
1981
 Push Button
Techniques
leading client to think of a bad experience and become aware of his/her
07
feelings; then to think of the happiest experience and become aware of
the corresponding feeling; to lead to a realization that he/she has the
power to decide ti switch on and off a thought and its accompanying
feeling.
Homework
same concept with CBT but it focused on a concrete behavior that would
08
be accomplished between session and this are tied into client broader
Role
goals.Playing
it used when counselor trying to assess te utility of new behavior and to
09 decide whether the client want to try this bew behavior or not.

Dinkmeyer, Pwe, & Dinkmeyer, 1979; Eckstein et.al., 1975;

1981
 Therapy may Applicable:
Research suggests that Adlerian therapy can be helpful for treating a number
of mental health conditions. Some of the problems this type of therapy may
be used to treat include:
• Adjustment issues
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Substance abuse problems
 Limitation and Strength
Corey, 2013; Sommer-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan,
2015
Accordingly, the Adlerian approach has had a profound and
long-term effect on therapy and has both strenghts and
Strengths limitations.
• Adlerian therapy is typically sensitive to the needs of the client but
requires rigorous training.
• The beliefs that client are not psychologically sick but need help with
mistaken beliefs is in line with many modern therapeutic approaches.
• Therapy techniques offer therapists considerable freedom in working
with the clients.
 Limitation and Strength
Corey, 2013; Sommer-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan,

Weaknesses 2015

• Changing the autonomous self may be culturally at odds with some

clients and their beliefs.
• Clients from some cultures may not be interested in exploring their
past as a child and wish to see the counselor as the "expert".
• Clients may find it difficult or even in appropriate to share family
While there may be challenges, "therapeutic approach allows for the use of a
struggles.
variety of relational, cognitive, behavioral, emotive, and experiential
techniques"(Corey, 2013)
ROLE PLAY -PUSH BUTTON
 Case Application
A 37-year-old working woman, who always see herself as a
failure to her team. She always say that she is not doing enough
and that she feels very incompetent handling her new section
team. She always feel that the new section dislike her because
she is not good enough. Although with her other section, she
feels comfortable already. Her major complaint is that her new
section don't want her and always assume that if there are
someone handling them, they might listen to that someone.