Individual Psychology Alfred Adler

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Individual PsychologyAlfred Adler

• Chapter 3

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The Case of James

• 16-year-old single African American male
• Behavior problems that might interfere with
  adjustment to new foster home
• Little insight into current problems
• Admits desire to work on temper and get along
  better with others

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Basic Philosophy

• Optimistic view of humans
• Soft-determinism
• Social constructivism

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Human Motivation

• Humans
• Innately strive for perfection
• Need the support of others
• Create their own life path
• Are able to change their life path goals

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Central Constructs

• Life Style
• Goals
• Influence of parents/family
• Social interest
• Physical problems
• Discrimination based on sex, race, or class
• Inferiority Feelings
• Superiority complex

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Central Constructs

• Basic Life Tasks
• Solving the problem of Communal Life
• Occupational tasks
• Love
• Coping with the self
• Existential
• Basic Mistakes

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Theory of the PersonHealthy Personality

• Well-developed social interests
• Contributes to society
• Succeeds at the tasks of life
• Contributes to the community
• Finds a partner of the other sex
• Finds useful work
• The courage to be imperfect

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Theory of the PersonUnhealthy Personality

• Safeguarding
• The individual has the goal of personal
  superiority the life style is aimed at
  protecting self-esteem
• Discouragement
• Due to mistaken life styles that are selfish
  rather than socially oriented

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Types of Psychological Dysfunction

• Neurosis
• Rooted in childhood
• Organ inferiority
• Pampered child
• Neglected child
• Tendency to evade life tasks
• Strive for personal superiority
• The yes, but personality

• Psychosis
• The goal to be godlike in order to fend off very
  deep feelings of inferiority
• Withdraws from others because he does not have
  the interpersonal skills, occupational interests,
  and/or confidence to deal with life

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Nature of TherapyTherapeutic Atmosphere

• Faith
• Client must have faith in the counselor
• Hope
• Counselor should encourage the client to accept
  the challenges of life and therapy
• Develops in the client as a result of feeling
  understood
• Love
• Client MUST feel that the counselor cares about
  him

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Nature of Therapy

• Assessment
• Formal
• Adlers Structured Interview
• The Question
• Dreikers Family Constellation Interview
• Early Recollections
• Dreams
• Informal

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Nature of Therapy

• Role of the counselor
• An educator
• An encourager
• Admits own fallibility
• Models a courageous approach to life
• Role of the client
• Learn about faulty lifestyle

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Nature of Therapy

• Goals of Therapy
• Help client uncover and resolve unconscious
  conflicts
• Psychoanalytic Constructs
• Insight
• Resistance
• Transference
• Countertransference

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Process of Therapy

• Establishing the relationship
• Analysis and assessment
• Development of insight
• Reorientation

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Therapeutic Techniques

• Interpretation
• Counselor uses information to form hypotheses
  about the clients lifestyle
• Encouragement
• Helps client find his own strengths and
  recognize his power to affect the world through
  choices

• Consequences
• Natural
• Logical
• Acting As If
• Pushing the Button
• Catching Oneself
• Creating Images
• Pleasing Someone
• Paradoxical Intention

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Evaluation

• Qualities
• Precise/Testable
• Empirically valid
• Stimulating
• Research Support
• Outcome research
• Theory-testing research

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Issues of Individual and Cultural Diversity

• Pros
• Recognized effects of class differences
• Advocated for equality between the sexes
• Focused on social involvement

• Cons
• Stereotypic views of womens roles
• Emphasizes individual choice and control
• View of homosexuality as a perversion