Adlerian Therapy

Adlerian Therapy

Adlerian Concepts

■ Basic Mistake- faulty, self defeating perceptions attitudes and beliefs, personal myths

■ Fictional Finalism- imagined central goal that gives direction to behavior and unity

■ Holism- study of humans as integrated beings

■ Insight- special form of self awareness

■ Style of Life- individual’s ways of thinking feeling and acting

■ Complexes

• Inferiority complex- normal feelings of incompetence exaggerated, feeling its impossible and hopeless to reach goals
• Superiority complex- very high opinion of self, bragging, quick to argues often

■ Organ Inferiority- everyone is born with some physical weakness, this motivates life choices

■ Aggression Drive- reaction to perceived helplessness or inferiority, lashing out against the inability to achieve or master

■ Masculine Protest- kids work to become independent from adults and people in power.

■ Perfection striving- people who are not neurotically bound to an inferiority complex spend their lives trying to meet fictional goals

• Elimination of perceived flaws
• “As if” philosophy
• Gives motivation and focus

■ Social responsibility and understanding of social issues
o Occupation tasks

• career
• self worth

o Societal tasks

• Creating friendships
• Social networks

o Love tasks

• Life partner

■ Positive and Goal Oriented Humanity
o People striving to overcome weakness to function productively
o Urge to contribute to society

Adlerian Therapy Process

■ The role of the client
 o Explore private logic- concepts about self, others and life
o Discover purposes of behavior or symptoms of basic mistakes associated with their coping.
o Learn how to correct faulty assumptions and conclusions

■ The Client Therapist Relationship
 o Based on mutual trust, respect, confidence and alignment of goals.
o Collaborative relationship
o Develop a therapeutic contract (goals for therapy)
o Emphasis of responsibility on client for his or her own behaviors


Techniques

■ Establish a therapeutic relationship
 o Therapists gets to know the client as a person
o Collaborate on goals for therapy
o Supportive therapist creates caring human connection
o Therapist work to make client feel deeply understood and accepted.
o Client focuses on what needs to change in therapy.

■ Explore the psychological dynamic operating in the client
 o Consists of a subjective interview
o Clients tells own story as expert on own life
o Therapists listens for cues to client’s coping and approach to life
o Objective interview ■ Family constellation
■ Early recollections
■ Personal priorities
■ Integration and summary

■ Encourage development of self understanding (insight into purpose)
 o Understanding motivates that operate in client’s life
o Client disclosure and therapist interpretation (open ended manner)
o Make unconscious into conscious
o Confront resistance to help client and therapist align
o Explore purposes of symptoms, feelings, behaviors and human difficulties or block

■ Help client make new choices (reorientation and reeducation)
 o Encouragement process
o Change and search for new possibilities
o Make a difference through change in behavior, attitude and perceptions.



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