Running Head: ADLERIAN THERAPY

Adlerian Therapy

Trevor Anderson

EGC504 DAR Paper

City University of Seattle

June 2018
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Describe

Alfred Adler broke from most Freudian psychoanalytical theory in the early 1900s

to form a more holistic approach to psychotherapy. Adler’s psychodynamic model

stressed that people are co-creators of their own lives and supports the relevance of

choice and responsibility. Adler believed behavior is purposeful and goal driven

towards having social connectedness to community and culture. The result of this

social-psychological view of human nature is now known as Adlerian therapy, and has

been adopted and supported by many modern day psychotherapists and theories.

Unlike Freud, Adler did not believe that the human experience was deterministic

or based on the unconscious of the individual. In this theory, the human experience

stems from relational, social and cultural factors and the unity of these factors is

necessary to be understood as a whole person. A key element of Adlerian therapy is a

life assessment of the human experience which is accomplished through subjective and

objective interviews. In this method, importance is placed on birth order of the client,

the role in which a person operates in the family dynamic, and the socio-cultural context

of one’s life. This psychoeducational approach to reality encourages the client to

become fully aware of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, values and beliefs. This supports

a basic goal of Adlerian therapy, which is to help people identify and change feelings of

inferiority.

Another important component in Adler’s theory is the viewpoint that humans

innately feel inferior. In this framework, we are born inferior and thus are drawn to be in

a better place in life by overcoming obstacles. This concept is the foundation of

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individuality, lifestyle and personality. Having a basic understanding of inferiority versus

superiority is critical to a person’s sense of belonging, social interest and community

feeling.

Encouragement is an essential element of Adlerian therapy, which assumes that

clients are typically lacking courage to change things in their lives. The client-therapist

relationship is built with collaboration, with the goals of helping clients gain social

interest, identifying and changing faulty thinking, overcoming feelings of

discouragement, and gaining a sense of belonging in society.

In comparing Adlerian theory with Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial

development, it is best aligned with the fourth stage, industry versus inferiority. In

Erikson’s model, from the ages of 5 to 12 years, children are striving to gain

competencies which will keep them in social and emotional congruence with their peer

group and to feel confident in accomplishing goals. If children are not encouraged

during this stage, feelings of inferiority can occur. Because one foundational strategy is

using encouragement in the Adlerian therapy process, it would be well-fitted to be used

in the counseling of a student struggling in the stage of inferiority.

The first stage of Adlerian Therapy is building a relationship with the student,

which requires that the therapist has a caring and engaged interest and establishes

clear goals and agreements. This relationship should be collaborative and encouraging

throughout the whole process. The goal is to establish a foundation of trust, which

helps the student be more open to a broader perspective on their life.

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The next stage of Adlerian therapy is assessment, which gives the therapist a

better understanding of the student’s lifestyle. During this time of assessment,

therapists look for misguided thinking, faulty beliefs and common fears of the student.

The subjective interview is used to allow the student to tell their story as completely as

possible. One technique used by the therapist is “The Question”. The student is asked

what would be different in their life if they did not have the problem. The student is the

expert in the subjective interview, and the therapist maintains a sense of fascination and

encouragement. This technique helps flush out the story and uncover patterns in the

students life and way of thinking. The objective interview is used to gather relative

information about the student’s life, such as birth order, family dynamics, cultural values

and early childhood memories.

The third stage of the counseling process involves insight and awareness. The

therapist helps the student interpret the findings of the assessment and understand the

limitations of negative beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This is done with open-ended

questions, hunches and interpretations. In the collaboration of the therapist and the

student, goals to change based on new self-awareness can be made. This stage serves

as a foundation for change.

Lastly, the student must put new desired goals and insights into action. This is

the last stage of reeducation and reorientation. Building courage to change is vital

during this stage of counseling. The student will need unconditional encouragement to

make changes in their life. If the student is committed to change, the therapist can use

techniques to encourage the student to practice making positive change. One

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technique used by the therapist is to have the student act as if they are the person or

the change they want to be. This technique helps the student challenge negative

thoughts and beliefs. To practice, the student and counselor roleplay the new desired

behavior or thought patterns.

Analyze

​Adlerian therapy offers a solid platform for school counseling, which can be

easily integrated with other techniques and approaches. It is a growth model that is

flexible and gives the counselor a lot of freedom. It is a brief therapy to attain the goal

of helping students identify negative beliefs and changing them to be better situated in

society.

The goals of Adlerian therapy are aligned with many ASCA mindsets and

behaviors for student learning which makes it a good fit for school counseling. For

example, mindset 3 encourages students’ sense of belonging in the school

environment. Also, behavior learning skill 9 teaches students to gather evidence and

consider multiple perspectives to make informed decisions.

Like many therapies, Adlerian is similar to those requiring a strong, caring and

trusting relationship between counselor and student. This is an essential piece to

school counseling on which everything else is based. Building this relationship is the

foundational element that stresses unconditional encouragement and deconstruction of

faulty thinking. Therapeutic approaches can be cognitive, behavioral, emotive and

existential in nature which are found in a variety of therapies, including narrative and
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personcentered. Adlerian therapy allows for integration of a variety of approaches

which a school counselor needs to able to execute in any given moment.

Adlerian embraces the social and cultural context of one's life. It is the crux of the

subjective interview process and enhances the counseling experience from the

multicultural perspective. Marginalized and disadvantaged students would benefit

greatly having a counselor that offers unconditional encouragement to explore and

define themselves within their cultural narrative.

Refection

As a paraeducator in a special needs classroom, I experience firsthand what the

power of encouragement can have on students. Students with special needs are

oftentimes marginalized for what they can’t do rather than for the abilities they do have.

Many special needs students have anxiety issues that inhibit opportunities to enhance

social, emotional and academic opportunities. I have witnessed firsthand how

encouragement can liberate the human spirit. The benefit of working in a middle school

building is having the experience of interacting with the demographic I will be serving as

a school counselor. I believe Adlerian principles of encouragement and

growth-mindness to be at the core of what adolescents require today.

Giving the time restraints and caseload of counselors, the brief therapy modality

of Adlerian fits well for school counseling. Students encounter a diverse sets of issues

that many times require a quick solution. Through a rich and trusting relationship and
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subjective inquiry, counselors can assess problems fast and begin helping the student

redefine, re-orientate and re-educate themselves towards positive self awareness.

​References

​ elment, CA:
Corey, G. (2009). ​Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. B

Brooks/Cole.

Hall, T (2018, April). ​EGC504​ Class lecture. City University Tacoma