adlerian psychotherapy

1. ADLERIAN PSYCHOTHERAPY
"Meanings are not determined by
situations. We determine ourselves by
the meanings we ascribe to situations."
~ Alfred Adler.

2. ALFRED ADLER BIOGRAPHY
• Born: February 7, 1870
near Vienna
– Third child of seven
– Apparent physical comfort, but
miserable childhood (Adler
struggled with rickets; and at
the age of 5, he nearly died of
pneumonia)
– Known for his efforts at
outdoing his older brother

3. ALFRED ADLER BIOGRAPHY
• Received a medical degree in
1895
• Married in 1897
– Eventually had four children
– Only son became a psychiatrist
and continued Adler’s work
– He took his family and moved to
the U.S. Austrian psychiatrist,
Alfred Adler died of a heart
attack while doing a series of
lectures at Aberdeen University
in Scotland.

4. Brief history of Adlerian therapy
• Alfred Adler is one of the three major
contributors to psychodynamic
therapies. He began his work with
Sigmund Freud as part of the
psychoanalytic movement. However,
Adler disagreed with Freud’s principles in
many ways.

5. FREUD ADLER
 Man is motivated by
Sex and Aggression.
 Man is motivated by
social influences &
striving for superiority.
 People have no
choice in shaping their
personality.
 People are largely
responsible for who
they are.
 Present behavior is
caused by the past.
 Present behavior is
shaped by the future.
 Emphasis on the
unconscious.
 People are usually
aware of what they
are doing and why.

6. HISTORY
• In 1912, Adler formed the Society for
Individual Psychology.
• Under his method of individual psychology,
the uniqueness of the person was stressed
as well as the holism of the personality.
• Adler did not prove as influential as Freud
or Jung to psychotherapy. However, his
methods are still commonly used today and
his concept of the inferiority complex is
readily recognized.

7. VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE
• Believed that we form an approach to our life
in the first 6 years of living
• Humans are motivated by social relatedness
not sexual urges
• Consciousness, rather than the unconscious is
the focus of therapy
• Adler was the forerunner to a subjective
approach to psychology

8. VIEWS OF HUMAN NATURE
•It is not genes
•It is not environment
•It is not genes and environment
•It is how we choose to respond
to our genes and environment

9. IMPORTANT CONCEPT OF ADLERIAN THEORY
I. Subjective perception of reality
II. Unity and patterns of human personality
III. Striving for superiority and significance
IV. Behavior is purposeful and goal-directed
V. Lifestyle
VI. Social Interest
VII.Birth order and sibling relationship

10. I. SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF REALITY
PHENOMENOLOGY
–A Person’s Perceptions are based on His or Her
View of Reality
• Adlerians attempt to view the world from
the client’s subjective frame of reference
• Adler believed that we “construct” our
reality according to our own way of looking
at the world.

11. I. SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF REALITY
• SUBJECTIVE REALITY
–Individuals perceptions, thoughts, feelings,
values, beliefs and conclusions
• Objective reality is less important than how
the individual perceives and believes life to
be
• Unconscious instincts and our past do not
determine our behaviour

12. II. UNITY AND PATTERNS OF HUMAN PERSONALITY
A. Every person is unique and
indivisible
B. All actions are directed at a single
goal and serve a single purpose.

13. II. UNITY AND PATTERNS OF HUMAN PERSONALITY
C. HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
–In his view, understanding the whole
person is different than understanding
different aspects of his life or
personality.

14. II. UNITY AND PATTERNS OF HUMAN PERSONALITY
C. HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
– Adler suggested that dividing the person up into
parts or forces (i.e., id, ego, and superego) was
counterproductive because it was mechanistic and
missed the individual essence of each person.
– Understanding the whole individual within their
socially embedded context of family, culture,
school and work.

15. III. STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY AND SIGNIFICANCE
Striving for superiority to overcome basic
inferiority is a normal part of life.
Mosak (2000) reports that Adler and others
have referred to this central human striving in a
number of ways: completion, perfection,
superiority, self-realization, self-actualization,
competence, and mastery

16. III. STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY AND SIGNIFICANCE
Superiority: The drive to become superior allows
individuals to become skilled, competent, and
creative.
Superiority Complex:
a means of masking feelings of inferiority by
displaying boastful, self-centered, or arrogant
superiority in order to overcome feelings of
inferiority.

17. III. STRIVING FOR SUPERIORITY AND SIGNIFICANCE
Inferiority:
Feelings of inadequacy and incompetence that
develop during infancy and serve as the basis to
strive for superiority in order to overcome feelings
of inferiority
Inferiority complex:
A strong and pervasive belief that one is not as
good as other people. It is usually an exaggerated
sense of feelings of inadequacy and insecurity that
may result in being defensive or anxious.

18. Serves as motivation to
strive for superiority strive for sucess
Primary or Secondary
FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY

19. COMPENSATION
A process through which
individuals attempt to
rid themselves of
feelings of inferiority.

20. leads toward
Development of natural abilities
and talents and social interest
Development of maladaptive,
neurotic, and narcissistic behaviors.
as response to
Primary feelings of inferiority
Secondary feelings of
inferiority
Compensation
Healthy Unhealthy

21. IV. BEHAVIOR IS PURPOSEFUL AND GOAL-DIRECTED
A. Humans set goals for themselves,
and behavior becomes unified in
the contexts of these goals
B. Behavior is related to the drive to
attain the image held in our
subjective final goal

22. IV. BEHAVIOR IS PURPOSEFUL AND GOAL-DIRECTED
Subjective final goal - It is the person’s
unique image of what he or she want to
be, and the person imagines that
attainment of this image will lead to a
sense of completion and wholeness.
–Because of subjective final goal, we have the
creative power to choose what we will
accept as truth, how we will behave, and
how we will interpret events

23. IV. BEHAVIOR IS PURPOSEFUL AND GOAL-DIRECTED
•Creative power- Implies
movement toward a goal, and
direction.
–Enables people to be in control of
their lives.
–It makes each person a free
individual.

24. IMPORTANT CONCEPT OF ADLERIAN THEORY
I. Subjective perception of reality
II. Unity and patterns of human personality
III. Striving for superiority and significance
IV. Behavior is purposeful and goal-directed
V. Lifestyle
VI. Social Interest
VII.Birth order and sibling relationship

25. V. Lifestyle
 Our perception regarding our self,
others and the world
A way of seeking to fulfill particular
goals that individuals set in their lives.
unique repertoire of behaviors,
cognitions, and values.

26. HOW DO WE PORTRAY OUR LIFESTYLE?
–Individuals use their own
patterns of beliefs, cognitive
styles, and behaviors as a way
of expressing their style of life.
Often style of life or lifestyle is
a means for overcoming
feeling of inferiority.

27. •
towards his/her
Subjective Final Goal
Is reflected from the response to
Early feelings of
inferiority
Individual’s Private
Logic
Compensatory
behaviors
STYLE OF LIFE
Unique

28. LIFESTYLE accounts for why
all of our behaviors fit
together to provide
consistency to our actions

29. VI. Social Interest
–All behavior occurs in a social context.
Humans are born into an environment with
which they must engage in reciprocal
relations.
–Adler believed that social interest was
innate but that it needed to be nurtured in
a family where cooperation and trust were
important values.

30. Social Interest
Children who feel
badly about
themselves
Develop poor
empathy skills and
social interest
Become adults who
compensate for
their feelings
inferiority and
develop subjective
final goals that are
not in the interest
of the common
good
Children who have not
been burdened by
feelings of inferiority
Become adults who build love and
work relationships marked by
empathy, caring acceptance, and
concern for the common good as
they strive to reach their goals in life

31. VII. BIRTH ORDER AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIP
• Among the factors that lead to different
life-styles are the ordinal positions of
birth and different experiences in
childhood.
• Birth order can greatly affect how one
feels about oneself

32. POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE TRAITS
OLDEST CHILD
Nurturing and
protective of others;
good organizer
Highly anxious;
exaggerated feelings
of power;
unconscious hostility;
fights for acceptance;
must always be
“right”; highly critical
of others;
uncooperative

33. POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE TRAITS
SECOND CHILD
Highly motivated;
cooperative;
moderately
competitive
Highly
competitive; easily
discouraged

34. POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE TRAITS
YOUNGEST CHILD
Realistically
ambitious
Pampered style of
life; dependent on
others; wants to
excel in everything;
unrealistically
ambitious

35. POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE TRAITS
OLDEST CHILD
Nurturing and protective of
others; good organizer
Highly anxious; exaggerated
feelings of power; unconscious
hostility; fights for acceptance;
must always be “right”; highly
critical of others; uncooperative
SECOND CHILD
Highly motivated; cooperative;
moderately competitive
Highly competitive; easily
discouraged
YOUNGEST CHILD
Realistically ambitious Pampered style of life; dependent
on others; wants to excel in
everything; unrealistically
ambitious
ONLY CHILD
Socially mature Exaggerated feelings of
superiority; low feelings of
cooperation; inflated sense of
self; pampered style of life

36. POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE TRAITS
ONLY CHILD
Socially mature Exaggerated feelings
of superiority; low
feelings of
cooperation; inflated
sense of self;
pampered style of life

37. Therapeutic Goals
1. Primary purpose of therapy is to encourage the client
to develop healthier ways of living out who they are.
2. Encourage clients to develop social interest, which is a
measurement of health.
3. Encouragement is used throughout therapy to help
the client build self-confidence and stimulate courage.

38. Therapist’s Function and Role
1. To provide encouragement
2. To help the client increase his/her self-
awareness
3. To conduct a comprehensive assessment of the
client’s lifestyle by looking at his/her birth order,
family constellation, and earliest recognitions.

39. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPIST AND CLIENT
1. A good therapeutic relationship in Adlerian
therapy is collaborative in nature.
2. The relationship is based on cooperation,
mutual trust, respect, confidence and
alignment of goals.

40. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPIST AND CLIENT
3. Goals of therapy are decided
collaboratively.
4. Clients are considered as active
participants in a relationship between
equals.

41. APPLICATION:
THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES & PROCEDURES
• Therapy is structured around four
central objectives, which
correspond with four phases of
the therapeutic process.

42. Four Phases of the Therapeutic Process:
• Phase 1: Establishing a relationship
• Therapy is collaborative
– Goals established together prior to start
– Supportive, caring human connection
• Faith
• Hope
• Love
• empathy

43. Phase 1: Establishing a relationship
• Initial focus of session is on the person, not
the problem
• The therapist seeks to build a positive
relationship with the client through active
listening, responding, demonstrating respect
for his/her capacity to understand purpose
and seek change
• Therapist attempts to understand the client’s
world from his/her subjective perspective.

44. Phase 2: exploring individual’s dynamic operating in the client-
assessment (exploring individual’s dynamic or assessment)
• Assist with overcoming the ‘Five basic mistakes’:
1. Overgeneralizations- “There is no fairness in the
world”
2. False of impossible goals of security- “I must please
everyone if I am to feel loved”

45. Phase 2: exploring individual’s dynamic operating in the client-
assessment (exploring individual’s dynamic or assessment)
• Assist with overcoming the ‘Five basic mistakes’:
3. Misperceptions of life and life’s demand- “life is so
difficult for me”
4. Minimization of denial of one’s basic worth- “I’m
basically stupid so why would anyone like me”
5. Faulty values- “I must get to the top, regardless of who
gets hurt in the process”

46. Phase 2: exploring individual’s dynamic operating in the client-
assessment (exploring individual’s dynamic or assessment)
• Involves a subjective interview and an
objective interview, which are
intertwined.
–The subjective interview involves
facilitating the client to share his/her story
as completely as possible by showing
empathic listening, interest, and response.

47. Phase 2: exploring individual’s dynamic operating in the client-
assessment (exploring individual’s dynamic or assessment)
Objective interview which involves specific questions
designed to assess:
1. family constellation and atmosphere
• The number and birth order, as well as the personality
characteristics of members of a family. 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.

48. Phase 2: exploring individual’s dynamic operating in the client-
assessment (exploring individual’s dynamic or assessment)
Objective interview which involves specific
questions designed to assess:
2. Early recollection
• Memories of actual incidents that clients recall from
their childhood. Adlerians use this information to make
inferences about current behavior of children or adults.

49. Phase 3:
Encouraging Self-Understanding and Insight
• Insight
- understanding of motivations (the whys)
that operate in client’s life
• Self-understanding
- only possible when hidden purposes
and goals of behaviour are made
conscious

50. Phase 4: Helping with
Reorientation and Reeducation
• Reorientation
– shifting rules of interaction, process and
motivation
• Reeducation
– Teach, guide, provide information and
encouragement

51. Phase 4: Helping with
Reorientation and Reeducation
• Encouragement process
– Encouragement is the most powerful method
available for changing a person’s beliefs
– Courage will help individuals become aware of their
strengths, when they feel they belong and are not
alone, and when they have a sense of hope and can
see new possibilities for themselves and their daily
living.

52. Phase 4: Helping with
Reorientation and Reeducation
• Change and search for new possibilities
– Allow to “catch themselves in the process of repeating
old patterns that have lead to ineffective behaviour.
– They must commit to change-willing to set task for
themselves in everyday life and do something specific
about their problems.
• Transfer new insights into concrete actions

53. Phase 4: Helping with
Reorientation and Reeducation
• Making a difference
– Seek to make a difference in the lives
– Manifest a change in behaviour, attitude or
perception

54. TECHNIQUES
1. Encouragement:
– Important in all phases of therapy. Involves
offering hope, empathy, and understanding to
client.
2. “Spitting in the Client’s soup”:
– Involves exposing the client’s intentions in such a
way as to make them unpalatable.

55. TECHNIQUES
3. Acting “as if”:
– Asking the client to as “as if” for the next week in
response to their expression of “If only I could”.
4. Catching oneself:
– Once the client has made personal goals and
wants to change, they are instructed to catch
themselves “with their hands in the cookie jar”.

56. TECHNIQUES
5. The Push-Button Technique:
– Helps clients realize that they create their own
emotions and are not merely victims to them.
6. Socratic method ;
• The ultimate aim of this dialogue is to
encourage the client to seek the underlying
reasons why the particular style of life has
been developed.

57. TECHNIQUES
• Encouragement:
– Important in all phases of therapy. Involves offering hope, empathy, and understanding to client.
• “Spitting in the Client’s soup”:
– Involves exposing the client’s intentions in such a way as to make them unpalatable.
• Acting “as if”:
– Asking the client to as “as if” for the next week in response to their expression of “If only I could”.
• Catching oneself:
– Once the client has made personal goals and wants to change, they are instructed to catch themselves “with
their hands in the cookie jar”.
• The Push-Button Technique:
– Helps clients realize that they create their own emotions and are not merely victims to them.
•
• Socratic method ;
• The ultimate aim of this dialogue is to encourage the client to seek the underlying reasons why the
particular style of life has been developed.
• Avoiding the tar baby:
– By not falling into a trap that the client sets by using faulty assumptions, the therapist encourages new
behavior and "avoids the tar baby" (getting stuck in the client's perception of the problem).
• Homework:
– Specific behaviors or activities that clients are asked to do after a therapy session

58. TECHNIQUES
7. Avoiding the tar baby:
– By not falling into a trap that the client sets by
using faulty assumptions, the therapist
encourages new behavior and "avoids the tar
baby" (getting stuck in the client's perception of
the problem).
8. Homework:
– Specific behaviors or activities that clients are
asked to do after a therapy session

59. ADVANTAGES:
1. It can be used for numerous issues and
disorders.
2. Uses encouragement.
3. It is phenomenological.
4. It does not consider people to be
predisposed to anything.
5. Applicable to diverse populations and
presenting issues

60. Disadvantages/limitation/Critiques
1. Difficult to learn (e.g., making dream
interpretations)
2. Works best with highly verbal and intelligent
clients.
3. This might leave out many people who do
not fit that category.
4. Might be too lengthy for managed care.
5. Adlerians do not like to make diagnoses