1. Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy TENTH EDITION
Gerald Corey
Cengage Learning

2. CHAPTER 5
Adlerian Therapy

3. Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology (slide 1 of 2)
For Adler, Individual Psychology meant indivisible psychology
Is based on the concept of holism
Is a phenomenological approach
Provides a teleological explanation of human behavior
Stresses social interest
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4. Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology (slide 2 of 2)
Focuses on birth order and sibling relationships
Therapy involves teaching, informing, and encouraging
Considers basic mistakes in the client’s private logic
The therapeutic relationship is a collaborative partnership
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5. The Phenomenological Approach
The world is seen from the client’s subjective frame of reference
How life is in reality is less important than how we believe life to be
Our present interpretation of childhood experiences matters more than the actual events
Unconscious instincts and our past do not determine our behavior
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6. Social Interest Adler’s most significant and distinctive concept
Embodies a community feeling and the capacity to cooperate and contribute to something bigger than oneself
Mental health is measured by the degree to which we share with others and are concerned with their welfare
People express social interest through shared activity, cooperation, participation in the common good, and mutual respect
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7. Lifestyle (slide 1 of 2)
One’s perceptions regarding self, others, and the world
Characteristic way we think, act, feel, perceive, and live
A life movement that organizes our reality, giving meaning to life
“fictional finalism” or “guiding self ideal”
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8. Lifestyle (slide 2 of 2)
Faulty interpretations may lead to mistaken notions in our “private logic”
Lifestyle is how we move toward our life goals
Unifies behaviors to provide consistency and makes all our actions “fit together”
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9. The Life Tasks We must successfully master three universal life tasks:
Building friendships (social task)
Establishing intimacy (love–marriage task)
Contributing to society (occupational task)
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10. Inferiority and Superiority
Inferiority Feelings
Are normal and a source of all human striving
Are the wellspring of creativity
Develop when we are young—characterized by early feelings of hopelessness
Superiority Feelings
Promote mastery and enable us to overcome obstacles
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11. Birth Order Five psychological positions:
1) Oldest child– receives more attention, spoiled, center of attention
2) Second of only two– behaves as if in a race, often opposite to first child
3) Middle– often feels squeezed out
4) Youngest– the baby
5) Only– does not learn to share or cooperate with other children, learns to deal with adults
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12. Four Phases of Therapy (slide 1 of 4)
Phase 1: Establishing the Proper Therapeutic Relationship
Supportive, collaborative, educational, encouraging process
Person-to-person contact with the client precedes identification of the problem
Help client build awareness of his or her strengths
Life style – convictions developed early in life, to help them understand, predict control experiences…
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13. Four Phases of Therapy (slide 2 of 4)
Phase 2: Exploring the Individual’s Psychological Dynamics
Lifestyle assessment
Subjective interview
Objective interview
Family constellation
Early recollections
Basic mistakes
Life style – convictions developed early in life, to help them understand, predict control experiences…
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14. Four Phases of Therapy (slide 3 of 4)
Phase 3: Encouraging Self-Understanding/Insight
Interpret the findings of the assessment
Hidden goals and purposes of behavior are made conscious
Therapist offers interpretations to help clients gain insight into their private logic and lifestyle
Life style – convictions developed early in life, to help them understand, predict control experiences…
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15. Four Phases of Therapy (slide 4 of 4)
Phase 4: Reorientation and Re-education
Action-oriented phase; emphasis is on putting insights into practice
Clients are reoriented toward the useful side of life
Clients are encouraged to act as if they were the people they want to be
Life style – convictions developed early in life, to help them understand, predict control experiences…
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16. Encouragement
Encouragement is the most distinctive intervention and is central to all phases of Adlerian therapy
It is a fundamental attitude more than a technique
Expecting clients to assume responsibility for their lives builds their self-confidence and courage
Discouragement is the basic condition that prevents people from functioning
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17. Adlerian Techniques Avoiding the traps Immediacy Confrontation Advice
Use of stories and fables
Early recollection analysis
Lifestyle assessment
Encouraging
Task setting and commitment
Homework
Terminating and summarizing
Immediacy
Advice
Humor
Silence
Paradoxical intention
Acting as if
Catching oneself
Push-button technique
Externalization
Reauthoring
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18. Application to Group Counseling
Group provides a social context in which members can develop a sense of community and social-relatedness
Sharing of early recollections increases group cohesiveness
Action-oriented strategies for behavior change are implemented to help group members work together to challenge erroneous beliefs about self, life, and others
Employs a time-limited framework
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19. Other Areas of Application
Child guidance
School psychology and counseling
Parent education
Couples and family counseling
Cultural conflicts
Correctional and rehabilitation counseling
The community mental health movement
Mental health institutions
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20. Strengths from a Diversity Perspective (slide 1 of 2)
Adlerian therapy focuses on multicultural and social justice issues and addresses the concerns of a contemporary global society
Concepts of age, ethnicity, lifestyle, sexual/affectional orientations, and gender differences emerge in therapy
Adlerians focus on cooperation and socially oriented values
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21. Strengths from a Diversity Perspective (slide 2 of 2)
Adlerians investigate culture in much the same way that they approach birth order and family atmosphere
The approach offers flexibility in applying cognitive and action-oriented techniques to help clients explore their problems in a cultural context
Adler was one of the first psychologists at the turn of the century to advocate equality for women
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22. Limitations from a Diversity Perspective
The approach focuses on the self as the locus of change and responsibility, which may be problematic for some clients
Exploring past childhood experiences, early memories, family experiences, and dreams may not appeal to all
If clients expect the therapist to be the “expert,” they may be dissatisfied with the Adlerian’s collaborative stance
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23. Contributions of Adlerian Therapy
This approach is flexible and integrative; it allows for the use of relational, cognitive, behavioral, emotive, and experiential techniques
It is suited to brief, time-limited therapy
Many of Adler’s ideas were revolutionary and far ahead of his time. Many of his ideas have found their way into most of the other therapeutic approaches
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24. Limitations of the Adlerian Approach
Adler spent most of his time teaching his theory as opposed to systematically documenting it
Many of Adler’s ideas are vague and general, which makes it difficult to conduct research on some concepts
Although brilliant in many ways, Adler was not scholarly
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