uk Therapy

ADLERIAN COUNSELLING

Read the author's review of 'Adler for Beginners'...

There are Adlerian terms that you may be familiar with. Adler was the first person within Psychotherapy to acknowledge the 'empty nest' syndrome. Although not so relevant today, when women have careers as well as families, this is a well recognised response to children growing up and leaving home and is a form of bereavement for the parent (when Adler was writing, this parent was always presumed to be the mother). Adler's other most famous theory was the 'inferiority complex' and it's attendant complex the 'superiority complex'. The two conditions are interlinked in that, in order to overcome some people's inherent sense of inferiority, they go to the other extreme and portray themselves as innately superior.

Adler's other main theory is regarding the child's place in the family (Family Constellation). E.g. are you an only child? The first born? The youngest? The middle child in the family. The position of the child in the family can pre-determine the psychology of the individual child and the adult as s/he matures.

Early recollections (e.g. the client's 'first memories') are important in Adlerian Counselling. Clients' first memories are often extremely revealing of the client's psychology and their impact on their aims in life.

Adler was also interested in dreams and their meanings. He shared this interest with Freud. Adler thought that the subconscious reveals itself through dreams and is therefore a useful interest for the client and counsellor.

Adler was also interested in different character traits, such as:- vanity, ambition, jealousy, envy, avarice and hate - all aggressive traits. He considered that non-aggressive character traits are:- Isolation, anxiety and 'faint heartedness'.

The various 'types' of person are extremely interesting and relate to all of us. There are many personality types e.g. 'The Pleaser'. Some people slot into different roles. The Pleaser is one of the most difficult. Yes, it is good to please others, but not at the expense of yourself. This is a huge issue today - people putting their work needs before their personal and family needs. Pleasing others before pleasing yourself and/or your family.

Where Freud used the following principles:- Causal principles, e.g. actions are caused; look for the cause of the behaviour; mistaken actions are due to instinctual drives. Adler's principles include:- human actions are purposive , to understand goals is to understand the person has the freedom of choice, self-determination and creativeness.

Adler strongly believed in the equality between the client and counsellor - although this may be a given now, in Adler's day (early 20th Century), it was revolutionary.

Also, 'Action' is an important part of Adler's concepts. He expected Adlerian Counsellors to make expectations, give encouragement and expectations so that the client would actually do something to change their lives.

Lastly, one of the most valuable aspects of Adlerian Counselling (Individual Psychology) is its flexibility. Nothing is absolute, or definite, just probable.

The skills and ideas evoked by Adler are tools which Counsellors can use in addition to other skills related to other disciplines. Within the Counselling relationship there is always space for flexibility. Eclectic is just another term for 'all encompassing'.

Adler believed that human life is goal orientated and all behviour is socially-embedded. Nobody exists outside of society. A lot of our behaviour has the goal of moving us from a feeling of minus to a feeling of plus, from inferiority to superiority. Those people who always feel inferior are really suffering from faulty thinking.

Clients deserve the best, the best of all various disciplines. If it suits the client then it is the best method.

Josette Morgan

www.empathyandempowerment.com