Chapter 4 - Adlerian Therapy Flashcards
Alfred Adler ?
- (1870 - 1937)
- one of 9 children, but one of his brothers died in childhood. His motivation to become a physician came about from almost dying from pneumonia when he was 4 yrs old.
- started as an ophthalmologist, then went to general medicine, then neurology/psychiatry - also had a keen interest in childhood diseases.
- published Understanding Human Nature
- major contributor to intitial development of the psychodynamic approach to therapy
- did work Sigmund Freud for a decade - Freud had a more biological/deterministic point of view and Adler was more social-psychological and teleological (goal-oriented) for human nature. They grew up in the same city, same era, same medical school, but very different childhoods - had very different views of human nature!
- Point of View: social-psychological, teleological, unity of personality was stressed (are we integrated and complete beings?), our behaviour has purpose, what direction are we striving for in life? (not where we came from), we create ourselves instead of merely being shaped by our childhoods.
- This type of therapy used a lot in child guidance, family therapy, couples couselling, parent-child couselling, group counselling. For diverse populations, social justice work, various cultural/racial/ethnic groups,
- Extra Readings: The Drive for Self (Edward Hoffman, 1996) & Alfred Adler Revisited (Carlson & Maniacci’s, 2012). (look up Jon Carlson – amazing psychologist who has contributed A LOT to society)
Pros & Cons:
PROS:
1. Group counselling
2. Family Counselling
3. Child Guidance,
4. Parent-Child Counselling
5. Diverse cultural/racial/ethnic groups
6. Social Justice work
7. Good for a brief or time-limited approach
DUE TO:
* emphasis on individual in familial and sociocultural context
* role of social interest/contributing to others
* focus on belonging/collectivism
* cultures that stress social group and emphasize family unit
* therapy being grounded in individuals culture & worldview rather than fitting them into preconceived models
* culture is seen as a vantage point which life is experienced, whether from Canada or from Japan.
CONS:
* focus on self as the focus of change/responsibility
* may be difficult for some cultures (family birth order is oriented towards Western nuclear family dynamics)
* some cultures may not want to explore childhood experiences, dreams, family experiences
* some cultures may see the therapist the expert, and provide the solutions
Key Points of the Adlerian Approach:
Adler abandoned Freud’s basic theories b/c he believed Freud was excessively narrow in his emphasis on biological and instinctual determination
- Believed person begins to form approach to life somewhere in 1st six years of life
- human behaviour not determined by heredity/environment - we interpret, influence, create events. What do we do with the abilities and limitations we possess? Of course, Adlerians realise that biological/environmental conditions can limit our capacity to choose and to create!
- purposeful and goal-oriented behaviour : cornerstone of Adlerian therapy –our behaviour has a purpose!
- inferiority (and superiority): a normal condition with people and the source of motivation, in order to compensate. Not a sign of weakness or abnormality but a source of creativity. and can strive for success, completion & perfection. Change a weakness into a strength.
- subjective view of reality: how do we interpret our past and how does it influence in our present day? Relates our past to see if we have maladaptive style of living, not to show a causal connection between past and present. Looks for continuity and common themes in a person’s life.
- motivated by social relatedness (not sexual urges) - ppl can change through social learning. Social interest does relate to mental health.
- stresses consciousness (not the unconscious)
- unity of personality: we have choice, responsibility
- lifestyle : due to a person’s goal in life, a person has core beliefs and assumptions and these guide a person’s movement through life. Has perceptions about self, others, world. Aka ‘plan of life’, ‘style of life’, ‘strategy for living’, ‘road map of life’.
- encouragement
Relationship between client and therapist?
- it’s between equals
- based on cooperation, mutual respect, confidence, collaboration, alignment of goals
- 2 person’s working toward a specific, agreed-upon goals
- facilitated by empathy and support
- a relationship is essential to success
What is meant by Individual Psychology?
- (in reaction to Freud) He didn’t want the reductionist view of Freud such as id, ego, superego – Adler really meant ‘indivisible psychology’ (unity of person and understanding the WHOLE person and their life)
- A person is interconnected (we are unified toward a life goal)
What is meant by Holistic concept?
- can’t be understood in individual parts
- all parts are related and make a whole
- including culture, family, school, work (the whole SOCIAL thing)
- we are an integral segment of a social system and this emphasizes our interpersonal relationships (not internal psychodynamics)
What is fictional finalism?
- a term Adlerians use to explain the imagined, central goal that gives direction to behaviour and unity to the personality
- an image of what people would be like if they were perfect and perfectly secure.
- Adler later replaced it with ‘guiding self-ideal’ and ‘goal of perfection’
- because of our (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.
What is meant by ‘social interest’?
Central indicator of mental health!
Gemeinschaftsgefühl - sense of community
(gemeenschapsgevoel)
- Adler’s most significant and distinctive concepts : a sense of identification with humanity, feeling of belonging in a community, an interest in the common good.
- believed social interest to be innate, but also that it must be learned, developed, and used
- sense of identification and empathy with others (“to see with the eyes of another, to hear with the ears of another, to feel with the heart of another”)
What is meant by ‘community feeling’?
An individual’s awareness of being part of the human community. Community feeling embodies the sense of being connected to all humanity and to being committed to making the world a better place.
Lack of it? become discouraged and end up useless and feeling like we don’t belong, having anxiety
3 ‘life tasks’ Adler believed we must succesfully master?
Universal problems in human life, including the tasks of
1. friendship (community, social task),
2. work (a division of labor, occupational task), and
3. intimacy (love and marriage task).
We, regardless of age, history culture, nationality, need to address these tasks.
WHY? believed it’s an indicator of psychological disorder if the basic life tasks had any impairment and will seek counselling if not dealt with:
* friendship & belonging
* contribution & self-worth
* cooperation
Birth Order : outline the 5 psychological levels
- Oldest : dependable, hard-working, when new child arrives, tends to become more of a model child- more bossy of siblings, high achievement drive
- 2nd child, of only two total : shares attention with another child, acts like if in a race and competitive, likes to find weakness in older child and strive to surpass these and win praise, often opposite to 1st born
- middle child : feels squeezed out, may feel life is unfair and is cheated, ‘poor me’ attitude, maybe a problem child, in disfunctional families - may become the switchboard and peacemaker
- youngest child : baby of family, most pampered one, may develop helplessness and an expert at putting others at his service, tend to go their own way, may outshine other children and forge their own path.
- single child : high achievement drive, may not learn to share or cooperate with other children, learns to deal with adults well, pampered by parents, may become dependent on them, may want centre stage all the time.
Actual birth order itself is less important than a person’s interpretation of his or her place in the family. Not a deterministic concept but does increase an individual’s probability of having a certain set of experiences
In therapy, ‘private logic’?
Basic convictions and assumptions of the individual that underlie the lifestyle pattern and explain how behaviors fit together to provide consistency.
- concepts about self, others, life (that constitutes client’s lifestyle philosophy)
- Developed in early childhood, but may not be appropriate later in life (often not socially appropriate)
- therapy will help correct these faulty assumptions and conclusions (‘basic mistakes’) and why client is still clinging to these mistakes
Examples of BASIC MISTAKES:
Adlerian Therapists look at the following key things:
‘Basic mistakes’ ?
‘Family Constellation’ ?
‘Early Recollections’?
In order to do a ‘life assessment’ (The process of gathering early memories, which involves learning to understand the goals and motivations of the client), the therapist does the following:
- Faulty, self-defeating perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs that may have been appropriate at one time but are no longer useful. These are myths that are influential in shaping personality (mistrust, selfishness, unrealistic ambitions, and lack of confidence)
- The social and psychological structure of the family system; includes birth order, the individual’s perception of self, sibling characteristics and ratings, and parental relationships. Each person forms his or her unique view of self, others, and life through the family constellation (parents, siblings, and others living in the home, life tasks, and early recollections). Therapist forms a perspective on client’s success/failures, how they pursue life goals, critical influences in life
- (ER’s) Childhood memories (before the age of 10) of one-time events. People retain these memories as capsule summaries of their present philosophy of life. From a series of early recollections, it is possible to understand mistaken notions, present attitudes, social interests, and possible future behavior (particularly useful as a functional assessment device because they indicate what clients do and how they think in both adaptive and maladaptive ways)
What does Adlerian therapy mean by ‘encouragement’?
-to build courage
The process of increasing one’s courage to face life tasks; used throughout therapy as a way to counter discouragement and to help people set realistic goals.
