Adlerian Theory and Therapy

Running head: ADLERIAN THEORY AND THERAPY

COUN 503, Dr. Robbins

December 7, 2005

Holy Family University

Abstract

At the core of psychological exploration is the quest to discover the nature of personality, behavior, thought, and emotion. These elements shape humanity and understanding them provides insight into how to solve the problems which prevent men and women from living life fully, happily, and productively. One of the psychologists who took on the challenge to explain human nature was Alfred Adler. As a former follower of Freud, Adler broke off from the Freudian school of thought to offer his own conceptions of the human psyche. In many ways Adler’s ideas ran contrary to Freud’s, particularly his emphasis on teleology, phenomenology, and social interest. Adler’s theory is based on these core principles, which serve as the foundation for his explanation of personality and the therapeutic practice of his Individual Psychology. Ultimately this theory seems to be the ideal basis for counseling practice not only because of its appealing explanation of human nature but also because it is flexible, optimistic, socially conscious, and appropriate for multicultural clients.

Adlerian Theory and Therapy

Introduction

The Core Principles of Adlerian Theory

Adler’s conception of human nature and the human psyche was based on the principles of teleology, phenomenology, and social interest. Teleology is the idea that every action, behavior, belief, and emotion is guided by a fictional final goal created and nurtured by the individual. Adler described this goal-directedness when he noted:

All the phenomena of our psychological existence may be considered as preparations for some future situation. The soul, indeed, seems to consist chiefly of a force moving toward a goal, and Individual Psychology considers all manifestations of the human spirit as though they were directed toward such a goal. (p. 15)

This focus on the future is a defining element of Adlerian theory and what separates it from almost all other theoretical orientations (Ferguson, 2003). This idea of fictional finalism is particularly in contrast to the Freudian philosophy of historical determinism. While Freud emphasized the past and inherent biological factors as the driving force of human nature, Adler saw the future goals of individuals as the vital motivating influence (Ferguson, 2003). Yet, how is this goal developed? According to Adler (1964), the final fictional goal is the product of objective and subjective factors. Although the objective factors of heredity and environment do exert some directive power, it is the individual’s personal creativity which is the most influential in the formation of the final goal (Edgar, 1985). Ultimately, because an individual’s goals are subjectively determined, the individual is solely responsible for his or her choice (Manaster, 1987; Mosak & Maniacci, 1999). Nevertheless, whatever the final choice of goal is, it serves to unify the personality and provides it with a consistent structure (Adler, 1964).

While the teleological final goal may be the unifying guiding force, it is social interest and social embeddedness which is at the very heart of Adlerian theory. Ideally everyone possesses social interest and is able to accomplish the life tasks Adler deemed essential to a healthy social feeling. The basis of each of these tasks is contributing to society in some meaningful way. For Adler (1964), these tasks included: communal life, work, and love. Adler (1964) suggested that social interest is “innate [but] social interest must be developed” (p. 134). Adler believed developing social interest provided numerous benefits to the individual. According to Adler (1964), increasing social interest results in the following:

The mind improves…the feeling of worth and value is heightened, giving courage and an optimistic view, and there is a sense of acquiescence in the common advantages and drawbacks of our lot. The individual feels at home in life and feels his existence to be worthwhile just so far as he is useful to others and is overcoming common, instead of private, feelings of inferiority. Not only the ethical nature, but the right attitude in aesthetics, the best understanding of the beautiful and the ugly, will always be founded upon the truest social feeling. (p. 155)

Ultimately the concept of social interest suggests the individual’s internal phenomenological world and their personal final goals have social meaning (Ferguson, 2003). Therefore, since humans do not live in isolation, a person cannot be understood without taking into consideration their social context (Adler, 1998).

In addition to teleology and social interest, phenomenology is also a central element of Adlerian theory. It is a principle that an individual’s final goal and their level of social feeling cannot be comprehended without understanding the whole individual’s subjective perception of the world. Furthermore phenomenology is the idea that humans are not driven solely by biological, social, and environmental conditions; rather the whole mind directs the individual (Manaster & Corsini, 1982). According to Adler (1964), “[The individual] relates himself always according to his own interpretation of himself and of his present problem” (p. 206). In short, Adler was concerned primarily with an individual’s perceptions of reality not reality itself (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999). Thus the core principles of Adlerian theory essentially imply that behavior is guided by a creatively defined final goal, which is modified by social conditions and which at its best aims to serve a greater social interest. To understand this goal, however, the whole individual must be taken into account as a unified being rather than a merely the sum of his parts.

Personality Structure, Development, and Pathology

Adlerian theory is essentially an explanation of personality. The majority of Adler’s work was occupied in seeking to describe the structure and development of personality as well as the rationale for its pathology. Adler contended that an individual’s personality, or what he called “life style,” resulted from a combination of biological factors, social factors, family factors, inferiority feelings, and the desire to overcome these things to achieve a final goal. For Adler (1964):

The goal influences the philosophy of life, the pace and the schema of life of an individual and guides his expressive movements. The character traits are thus only the outer forms of the movement line of a person. As such they convey to us an understanding of his attitude toward the environment, his fellow man, the community at large, and his life problems. They are devices which join to form a method of living. (p. 219)

Life style, therefore, is what links together all of an individual’s actions, behaviors, and beliefs. It includes not only an individual’s values and perceptions of themselves, but also an individual’s values and perceptions of others and society (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999). It is through these core beliefs—this life style—that people approach life and find meaning.

In terms of the influence of drives and biology on the development of personality or life style, Adler’s early work paralleled Freud in many respects. He deviated, however, in his categorization and explanation of these effects. Drives, for example, were not simply seeking to fill an innate need for pleasure and aggression. Instead, for Adler (1964), the most influential drive was the drive for power (perfection and superiority), and biological influences were exclusively relegated to organ inferiority. According to Adler (1964):

Children who have an organ inferiority, who are weak, clumsy, sickly, retarded in growth, ugly or deformed, or have retained infantile forms of behavior are very prone to acquire through their relations to the environment a feeling of inferiority. This feeling rests heavily upon them, and they aim to overcome it by all means. (p. 53)

Thus, in Adler’s earlier estimations, an individual’s personality is shaped by a drive for power and the desire to overcome biological inferiorities.

These biological variables and drives, however, are only moderately influential in the shaping of an individual’s personality. Adlerian theory, instead, places profound emphasis on society as a factor in personality development. In congruence with the idea of social interest, Adler argued that the individual’s personality largely formed as a result of his or her interactions with the community and society. Adlerian theory’s second-most important figure, Rudolf Dreikurs, wrote a lot on this issue. Dreikurs (1991) contended the nature and character of the individual is determined by “the experiences he encounters in the community within which he grows up” (p. 6). The social environment is subjective, however, which allows society to shape each individual differently according to his or her attitude toward society. Ideally, according to Dreikurs (1991), an individual will develop a personality which ultimately serves society.

Besides society in general, some of the family characteristics which Adler and later Adlerians viewed as most influential in the development of personality were the child’s material environment and his or her birth order. According to Adler (1998), “The psychological goal toward which every human being’s actions are directed is determined by those influences and impressions that are imposed on the child by his environment” (p. 17). The material environment refers to a myriad of factors such as: abnormal relationships, economic condition, racial background, and parenting style (Adler, 1998). Each of these factors acts as a determinant of personality and plays a significant role in the development of a child’s goals. Birth order, in particular, has been cited by Adlerians as having an important function in personality development.

Being an only child, first-born, middle child, or youngest child profoundly impacts one’s interpretation and interaction with the world—it shapes individuals’ goals and ultimately their life style. For example, according to Adler (1998), a first-born or oldest child develops a lifestyle in which she is hard-working and dependable because after becoming accustomed to a lot of attention she must now compete for the love she believe she has lost. An only child develops a different lifestyle because of his privileged and exclusive place in the family constellation. He may be a high-achiever but also be uncooperative. He will be more comfortable around adults than his peers. In his critical review of birth order research, Watkins (1992), found that in almost every case, studies have confirmed Adler’s ideas. Specifically, studies have shown that achievement motivation patterns vary with birth order, firstborns often manifest the firstborn profile found in Adlerian literature, and birth order effects may vary as a result of ethnicity (Watkins, 1992). Thus birth order has a central role to play in the development of an individual’s lifestyle. This lifestyle comprises an individual’s interpretation of the world as well as his or her goals and beliefs. Since each person is located in a different position the family, he or she will approach life in an entirely different way. This is what gives us our varied lifestyles and ultimately what makes us unique.

Adler also suggested personality emerged out of an individual’s feelings of inferiority. Adler believed humans are constantly striving for perfection, and because perfection is always just beyond reach, the inevitable feelings of inferiority continually motivate individuals to achieve their goals (Adler, 1964). In short, “feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, and insecurity determine the goal of an individual’s existence” (Adler, 1998, p. 61). Although Adler viewed inferiority feelings as a perpetual part of the human condition, he also understood the danger of someone possessing too great a sense of their own inferiority. For Adler (1964), “The greater the feeling of inferiority that has been experienced, the powerful is the urge to conquest and the more violent the emotional agitation” (p. 116). Therefore it is ultimately the inferiority feelings that result from family experiences and biological deficits are the elements composing the core of an individual’s personality (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999).

Life style is thus a product of the integration of biological factors, family characteristics, and inferiority feelings. Each of these things comes together in the formation of the individual’s personal goals for his or her life, which provides a window into the personality. Of course, some people form healthier methods of living than others. Indeed the development of personality inevitably leaves some individuals with highly adaptable and socially integrated life styles and others with more pathological ones. For Adler (1964), such neuroticism is rooted in misguided final goals for superiority, which leads the individual to live life merely to satisfy their own needs at the expense of social interest. Adler labeled the most significant misguided goals basic mistakes. These basic mistakes closely parallel the irrational beliefs of Ellis’s REBT and the cognitive distortions of Beck’s CBT. They include: overgeneralizations, false/impossible goals of security, misperceptions of life’s demands, minimalization/denial of one’s worth, and faulty values (Manaster & Corsini, 1982). Ultimately the only way to help the individuals who suffer from these basic mistakes is to understand “the meaning he finds in life and the meaning he gives to his own life” (Adler, 1964, p. 197). It is this idea which serves as the foundation of Adlerian therapy in practice.

Adlerian Therapy in Practice

Adlerian therapy essentially seeks to understand the individual—her goals, her misperceptions, and her feelings of inferiority—in order to provide the insight and knowledge necessary to guide the individual toward new goals based on rational assumptions that will ultimately lead to greater social interest. When someone comes to an Adlerian counselor, he or she is not labeled as sick only discouraged (Manaster & Corsini, 1982). Therefore it is the counselors primarily task to provide encouragement. Due to the Adlerian belief that individuals operate in and are shaped by society, it is also crucial for them to understand social significance of their clients’ emotions and behaviors (Bitter & Nicoll, 2004; Ferguson, 2003). According to Manaster and Corsini (1982), the Adlerian counselor has several goals including: establishing a good relationship, discovering client’s private logic and hidden goals, increasing client awareness, and reorienting clients with better goals. In order to achieve these goals, however, requires certain therapist structure, therapist characteristics, skills and techniques.