Adlerian Therapy

Excerpt

Adlerian Therapy, introduced by Alfred Adler (1870-1937), is a constructivist and encouragement-based counseling technique concentrating on prevention rather than remediation. His advising method progressed to a combination of purposeful, cognitive, and psychodynamic views. He valued the role of cooperation and connectedness among individuals in the world. His ideology emphasizes the influence of personal choice, the fundamental nature of human beings, the significance of an idealistic and motivating life focus, the elimination of social inequality, and the prioritization of social relationships.

Historical Context

Born in Vienna, Austria, to Hungarian parents, Alfred Adler was the third child and the second son in a family of 7 children. He was a frail boy, developing rickets during his early years before being struck by a near-fatal bout of pneumonia at age 5. These severe health conditions and his rivalry with his older sibling made him feel inferior during his youth. Adler believed these early life experiences were the major factors that drove him to become a doctor. Adler began his foray into the medical profession in the field of ophthalmology. His philosophical orientation was toward the betterment of the human condition.

In the early 1900s, Adler became an imperative figure in the history of psychotherapy. He was an initial supporter and fellow of Sigmund Freud, who invited Adler to collaborate with the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, where he served as leader and co-editor. During this time, his work focused on abnormal human behavior and appeared psychoanalytic. After some time, Adler elaborated his hypotheses on the nature of humankind, which caused significant theoretical disagreement with Freud. Following his ideology, he disclosed a novel doctrine and practice of counseling that emerged as a unification of cognitive, existential-humanistic, systemic, and psychodynamic viewpoints. He reaffirmed his theories during World War I by serving his country as a military doctor. This experience profoundly affected him. As a result, Adler became more interested in standard human behavior, allowing him to establish several child guidance clinics in Vienna. For this reason, he developed a relatively small but significant following. His therapeutic methods became more encouragement-focused after the war, emphasizing human strengths and abilities. This postwar advisory technique was the fundamental basis of Adlerian psychotherapy. In 1935, Adler sought refuge in the United States with a hypothesis about a community of social equals. Although he taught and lectured extensively in the United States, his followers found substantial resistance from those who adopted Freud's psychoanalysis.

Individual Psychology

Adler established the psychological concept of Individual Psychology, often misinterpreted as focusing predominantly on individuals. However, Adler selected this denomination from the Latin "individuum," which means indivisible. This theory suggests that individuals are better comprehended as a whole, not as a collection of parts, rejecting reductionism and accepting holism. Adlerian therapy aims to discern how someone proceeds in life as a whole. Consequently, it seeks to understand an individual's lifestyle, uniqueness, and personality structure to understand each person better.

Adler's View of Human Nature

Adler believed that behavior is socially embedded from birth because no one functions autonomously. The behavior of seeking to belong and having a place or role in human groups is universal. Adler viewed that the fundamental essence of people is being social. Consequently, their conduct is comprehended only in a social context where they must belong to a social system and participate in valuable activities. Every individual is born in an environment where he or she must engage in reciprocal relationships. Correspondingly, everyone is a social being, not in isolation. Adler also concluded that all individuals have one fundamental desire and purpose: to belong and feel significant. Throughout one's life, the goal of belonging is fundamental to human nature. Each individual chooses to decide which group is essential and seeks acceptance. Suppose someone is unaccepted or has a feeling of not belonging; problems and fears can affect an individual's mental health. Another example is when someone cannot score or perform at a job, that individual may fear rejection. As a result, the sense of belonging will remain unfilled, and that person may eventually become anxious or depressed.

Adler's concept of people's nature is ample and founded on certain assumptions that differ notoriously from the Freudian psychoanalytic view. Adler and Freud developed simultaneously and in a similar environment, but their differences were so significant that they eventually became antagonists. Freudian Psychoanalysis is biologically established and focuses on psychosexual development, the dynamics of the mind, and instincts. On the other hand, Adlerian Theory is socially based, interpersonal, and subjective. According to his foundational tenets, human beings function as units in all aspects of personality, such as cognition, affect, and conduct. Adler also highlighted egalitarianism, leading advocates for the rights of women, children, and other groups marginalized by social context.