Lecture #3 (Adlerian Therapy)

Alfred Adler

Developer of Adlerian Therapy/Individual Psych

How was Adler’s childhood?

Very difficult; Was prone to illness + accident, also felt inferiority (due to birth order) + parental overprotectiveness (due to sickness)

What was Adler trying to find connection b/w?

Connection b/w physical health + mental processes

Is Adler interested in whole of person?

Yes

Adler + Psycho-Analytical Society

Was involved in Freud’s society for sometime but disagreed with Freud’s beliefs that sexual impulses are determinants for psych dev → eventually left

Individual Psych

Theory of development that emphasizes unique beliefs and skills that people develop from early childhood and that serve as a reference for their attitudes, behaviors, and private view of self, others, and society

Strengths Based Approach

Big part of Adlerian therapy; Mental health probs are a result of normal dev difficulties, and people have the capability to reach their potential

4 Phases of Alder Developing his Theory

1. Adler’s completion of med school

2. Adler’s involvement with Vienna Psych-Analytical Society (focus on emotional dev but disagreed with Freud’s ideas)

3. Adler’s disengagement from Vienna Psych-Analytical Society (dev of own ideas)

4. Adler’s completion of psychiatrist in WW1 (basic motivation for ppl is social interest)

Pattern of Human Personality

People can be understood only as a whole person, not as their parts; optimistic view of people suggesting that individuals strive to be their best selves

Inferiority

Feeling of inadequacy and incompetency that develops in infancy and promotes striving for superiority

Pattern of Human Personality

Inferiority Complex

Strong belief that oneself is not good enough

Pattern of Human Personality

Superiority

Drive that allows individuals to become skilled, competent, + creative

Pattern of Human Personality

Superiority Complex

Mask feelings of inferiority by being arrogant

Pattern of Human Personality

What are people constantly trying to do according to Adlerian therapy?

Constantly trying to grow, reinvent selves, + find perfect self

Pattern of Human Personality

Lifestyle Def + List

Combination of people’s aspirations that motivates them to accomplish their goals; Ppl fall into 1/4 types of lifestyles

1. Dominant Lifestyle

2. Getting Lifestyle

3. Avoiding Lifestyle

4. Socially Useful Lifestyle

Pattern of Human Personality

Lifestyle Types List

1. Dominant Lifestyle

2. Getting Lifestyle

3. Avoiding Lifestyle

4. Socially Useful Lifestyle

Pattern of Human Personality

Dominant Lifestyle

Assert control over others

Lifestyle Types List

Getting Lifestyle

Personal satisfaction from the way others treat them

Lifestyle Types List

Avoiding Lifestyle

Avoidance of social difficulties + uncomfy feelings

Lifestyle Types List

Socially Useful Lifestyle

Act in ways that promote their well-being + society’s well-being

Lifestyle Types List

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Composition of fam members, roles within fam, + reciprocal transaction b/w family members

Oldest Children Characteristics

Intelligent, achieving, strong verbal skills, well-behaved, may feel dethroned when next sibling is born (jealousy, angry, fearful)

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Second Children Characteristics

Compete with older sibling, choose goals and activities that older sibling is unskilled at, receive less attention and have fewer rules, caring, friendly, and expressive

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Middle Children Characteristics

Many strengths of the second child, may feel like they’re not special and can become discouraged; with positive parenting, they can become friendly, creative, and ambitious

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Youngest Children Characteristics

3 common pitfalls include – spoiled, constant striving to catch up with older siblings, and discouragement about competing with siblings; strong feelings of inferiority; empathic, easygoing, sociable, innovative

Family Constellation + Birth Order

3 Common Pitfalls for Youngest Kids

1. Spoiled

2. Constant striving to catch up with older kids

3. Discouragement about competing with siblings

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Only Children Characteristics

Have much in common with oldest and youngest children

Family Constellation + Birth Order

Social Interest

Being as concerned about others as one is about oneself; Three life tasks

1. Work

2. Love

3. Social Interest

3 Life Tasks

1. Work

2. Love

3. Social Interest

Community Feeling

The sense of belonging and connectedness to all of humanity and commitment to making the world a better place; Ppl have an innate desire to feel connect to others + to make a pos impact

What do ppl have an innate desire to do?

Ppl have an innate desire to feel connect to others + to make a pos impact

What do community feelings + social interest do?

Decrease feelings of inferiority, alienation, and anxiety and increase feelings of happiness and belonging

Therapeutic Goals for Adlerian Therapy

• Increase ppl’s feelings of belonging + promote social interest/community feeling

• Promoting awareness that people’s pain is a result of faulty logic

• Gain insight into + modify basic mistakes

• Reduce feelings of inferiority + gain self-confidence

• Edu dev

• Physical dev/bio + genetic factors

• Cog dev

Most Important Therapeutic Goal of Adlerian Therapy

Increase ppl’s feelings of belonging + promote social interest/community feeling

How to increase feelings of belonging + promote social interest/community feeling?

Can be done via promotion of self-awareness + modifying lifestyles

How to promote awareness that ppl’s pain is a result of faulty logic?

Can be done through edu + encouragement

How do therapists assess clients?

• Lifestyle assessment

• Family constellation

• Early recollections

• Dreams

Do therapists label, diagnose, or pathologize clients?

No

Private Logic

Our beliefs about ourselves and our place in the world, which is subjective and based on lifestyle; Can be irrational/faulty, used as a way to justify lifestyle + to achieve goals

Awareness of private logic can lead to modifications of thoughts, feelings, behav, + goals to become more fulfilling

Awareness of Private Logic

Awareness of private logic can lead to modifications of thoughts, feelings, behav, + goals to become more fulfilling

Positive Therapeutic Alliance includes

• True caring + involvement

• Empathy

• Solid listening skills

• Supportive + encouraging

Egalitarian

Part of psychotherapy; Client is as much expert as the therapist is

Change Agents

Therapists in psychotherapy are change agents; A specific causative factor, element, or entire process that results in improvement

Phases of Adlerian Therapy List

1. Phase 1 → Est a Relationship

2. Phase 2 → Assessing clients’ psych dynamics

3. Phase 3 → Encouraging insight + self understanding

4. Phase 4 → Putting insights into practice

Phase 1 Adlerian Therapy

Establishing a relationship, the 1st priority; Techniques like providing encouragement

Can begin by agreeing on goals for counseling + making a contract

Phases of Adlerian Therapy List

Phase 2 Adlerian Therapy

Assessing clients’ psych dynamics; Include lifestyle assessment, family constellation, birth order, dreams, earliest recollections, + priorities + ways of behaving

A deep understanding of client background, personality, mental health, lifestyle

Phases of Adlerian Therapy List

Lifestyle Assessment

Semi-structured assessment tool that consists of 10 sections and may include exploration of the following: Sibling relationships, physical development, school experience, meanings given to life, sexual development, social development, parental influences, cultural values, hero identification, collection of early recollections, childhood attributes, personal strengths, gender guidelines, dream analysis, three wishes

Phase 2 Psychoanalysis Therapy

3 Most Important Parts of Phase 2

1. Family constellation + birth order

2. Dreams

3. Earliest recollections

Phase 2 Psychoanalysis Therapy

Phase 3 Adlerian Therapy

Encouraging insight + self understanding; Variety of techniques that involve confrontation + interpretation

Can use techniques like catching oneself, pushing the button, spitting in the client’s soup, aha response

Phases of Adlerian Therapy List

“The Question” Technique

Allows clients to create goals and to start thinking about possible solutions for their problem. Therapists ask clients, “How would your life be different if you no longer had this problem?”

Catching Oneself

Clients learn to notice and become aware of their own self-defeating thoughts, feelings, or behaviors right as they begin

Pushing the Button

Using this technique, therapists help clients become better aware of the control they can have over their emotions, as opposed to allowing their emotions to control them. Therapists encourage clients to alternately imagine pleasant and unpleasant experiences, observe the emotions that accompany each image, and recognize that they can determine which button to push (the pleasant or the unpleasant button)

Spitting in the Client’s Soup

Points out the hidden payoffs of a self-defeating behavior to ruin its appeal

Ex. The client can still choose to continue their bad habit, but they can no longer do it with a clean conscience or pretend they do not know why they do it

Immediacy

A technique where the therapist focuses directly on the "here-and-now" interactions happening between the counselor and the client in the present moment

Prescribing the Symptom/ Paradoxical Intention

A technique where the therapist asks the client to voluntarily engage in, exaggerate, or repeat the exact problem behavior they want to stop

Task Assignments

Practical activities given between sessions to help clients test new behaviors, build social interest, and shift unhelpful lifestyle goals

Acting As If

Consciously behaving like the person you want to become—such as acting confident or assertive—before you actually feel that way internally

Reflecting As If

A counseling method that combines Alfred Adler's classic "acting as if" technique with constructivist and solution-focused therapy ideas

Aha Response

A client's sudden explosion of insight into the solution of a problem

Confrontation

Facing conflict head on

Phase 4 Adlerian Therapy

Interpretation

Expressing insights to their clients that relate to goals

Phase 4 Psychoanalysis Therapy

Phase 4 Psychoanalysis Therapy

Putting insights into practice, clients will begin to change their behav + gain new ideas; Reorientation + change phase

Primary Goal → Solidify + generalize progress + pos growth

4 Parts:

1. Clarification of goals

2. Dev of healthy thinking

3. New learning is applied

4. Barriers to progress are addressed

Phases of Psychoanalysis Therapy List

Reinorientation

Clients changing their lifestyles by altering their rules of interaction and their behaviors; New perspective, more rewarding lives, feelings of belonging, social interest, acceptance of imperfections

Primary Goal of Phase 4

Solidify + generalize progress + pos growth

4 Parts of Phase 4

1. Clarification of goals

2. Dev of healthy thinking

3. New learning is applied

4. Barriers to progress are addressed

What concerns can be addressed with Adlerian therapy?

Traumatic experiences, grief + loss, self-esteem issues, behav probs

Who can Adlerian therapy be used for?

A wide variety of populations → kids, teens, adults, groups

Is Adlerian therapy good with 12 step groups?

Yes; Can help ppl struggling with addictions

Adlerian Therapy + Group Counseling Focus

Focuses heavily on early recollections to develop insights + on goals and behav change (with techniques like acting as if + catching oneself)

Members have chance to dev social interest, feelings of belongingness, + community feeling - also encouraged to utilize what they learned in their everyday life

Adlerian Therapy + Group Counseling Members

Members have chance to dev social interest, feelings of belongingness, + community feeling - also encouraged to utilize what they learned in their everyday life

Adlerian Therapy + Family Therapy/Parenting

Often includes whole family but can also be done with couples; Parents are included in the process + are taught a variety of helpful ways of interacting (reflecting on how they contrib to kids feeling of inadequacy, taught to be more empathetic + encouraging, helping kids meet their needs in healthy ways, how to provide praise + support when kids behav well)

What can Adlerian Therapy teach parents?

• Reflecting on how they contrib to kids feeling of inadeqacy

• Taught to be more empathetic + encouraging

• Helping kids meet their needs in healthy ways

• How to provide support + praise when kids behav well

CARE Acronym

One way therapists can help parents interact with children from an Adlerian pov

C → Catch

A → Assess

R → Respond

E → Executed

Adlerian Therapy + Family Therapy/Parenting

Is Adlerian therapy good for diverse populations?

Yes

Why is Adlerian therapy good for diverse populations?

Due to focus on social interest + community particularly consistent with those from collectivist backgrounds, with religion + spirituality also seen as important; Also addresses discrimination + disenfranchisement (acknowledging + challenging feelings of inferiority can be helpful for those discriminated)

Racism, Discrimination, + Prejudice in Adlerian Therapy

Seen as misguided efforts to gain superiority

Adlerian Therapy + Disabilities

Particularly helpful for those with disability due to the higher likelihood of feelings of inferiority + discrimination → focus on dev of self-esteem, healthy ways of coping, + promoting responsibility

Why should Adlerian Therapists be careful?

Extensive info gathering may be seen as intrusive, + indiv responsibility may not be approp for individuals from non-western cultures

Pros Adlerian Therapy

• Influenced many modern counseling theories

• Easily + effectively integ with other approaches

• Social equality of women, respect for cultural + religious diversity, + addressing discrim

• Respect for indiv dif

Cons Adlerian Therapy

• Lacks of empirical support

• Many concepts too simple + not well def

• Doesnt account for bio/genetic influences on pathology

Step by Step Procedure for Eliciting + Analyzing Earliest Recollection

1. Eliciting Recollections

2. Processing each Memory

3. Analyzing Memories

4. Interpretation + Application

Eliciting the Recollections

Step 1; Ask client about memories they have when they were a kid

Step by Step Procedure for Eliciting + Analyzing Earliest Recollection

Processing each Memory

Step 2; Ask client about feelings, actions, relationships with others, importance + meaning of memory

Step by Step Procedure for Eliciting + Analyzing Earliest Recollection

Analyzing the Memory

Step 3; Look for commonalities b/w memories shared

Step by Step Procedure for Eliciting + Analyzing Earliest Recollection

Interpretation + Application

Step 4; Develop + present a hypothesis about what the memories tell about the person’s goals + lifestyle

Human dev as drive to move from what to what

Felt minus to a perceived plus

Felt Minus

The innate childhood experience of helplessness, smallness, and dependency

Human dev as drive to move from what to what

Perceived Plus

A subjective feeling of mastery, superiority, + achievement above peers

Human dev as drive to move from what to what

Fictional Final Goal

Mental schema of ideal self; Est b/w ages 6 + 8 to overcome perceived deficiencies in 5 areas

1. Intellectual Ability

2. Physical Appearance

3. Ambition

4. Cooperation/Opposition

5. Independence/Dependence

5 Basic Mistaken

1. Overgeneralizations (everyone hates me)

2. False or impossible goals

3. Misperceptions of life + its demands (life is too difficult for me to handle)

4. Denial of one’s basic worth

5. Faulty values (i must be the best before someone beats me to it)

4 Mistaken Goals

1. Attention-Seeking

2. Power-Seeking

3. Revenge-Seeking

4. Displaying Inadequacy/Feelings of Inferiority

Attention-Seeking

To feel valued, I need others to pay attention to me

4 Mistaken Goals

Power-Seeking

I am only important when I have control

4 Mistaken Goals

Revenge-Seeking

I want you to feel bad when I feel bad

4 Mistaken Goals

Displaying Inadequacy/Feelings of Inferiority

I am going to fail, so dont ask me to try

4 Mistaken Goals

5 Year Birth Spacing Rule

A gap of 5+ years b/w kids resets birth order dynamics - causing younger child or be treated as only or firstborn

Gender Nuances + Birth Order

Firstborn child of either gender is often treated as firstborn

Ex. Only daughter among 2 sons