Alfred Adler: Adlerian Therapy

As did Jung and Erikson, Alfred Adler worked with Freud and studied psychoanalysis. Instead of viewing people as a collection of drives and instincts, Adler saw a person as a complete whole. The future of a person was more important then the past, which was in direct conflict with Freudian psychoanalysis. Adler and Freud parted company, with Freud calling Adler a heretic. Adler went to form his own theories, which became known as Adlerian Therapy. Adlerian therapy came to include many components, such as the study of human nature, perception of reality, patterns of human personality, social and community interests and the dynamics of birth order.

Alfred Adler

Alfred Adler was born in 1870 in Vienna. His childhood was difficult as Adler almost died of pneumonia at four years old. Adler was often sickly, leaving him weak and frail. His parents did not think he would live to adulthood. Adler was a poor student, and his parents were told he would not amount to anything. Despite setbacks, Adler worked hard and eventually became top of his class. Adler’s difficult childhood played a role in the development of this theories, where birth order was a major component. Adler worked with Sigmund Freud, and was trained in psychoanalysis. Adler parted company with Freud and began to develop his own theories. Adler focused on child rearing practices, school reform and prejudice. During World War I, Adler served as a medical officer, and helped to create 32 child guidance clinics in Vienna after the war. Adler worked hard through much of his life, and became a leading figure in Psychology. He died in 1937 of heart failure.

Views on Human Nature

Unlike Freud, Adler felt humans were driven more by the conscious rather than the unconscious. During the first six years of life, a child begins to form a basic personality. While past events are an influencing factor, humans have the ability to choose their paths, allowing people to make conscious decisions. Instead of being driven by sexual urges, a person is driven by social urges, more in the line with Erickson than with Freud.

Feelings of inferiority are also important, as they can become a source of strength and motivation. Adler’s sickly nature as a child helped him to see his limitations and to raise to the challenge. Instead of a weakness, understanding one’s own limitations can help foster creativity, resulting in success. It is important to understand one’s weaknesses, and to find methods to compensate for them.

Unlike many theories, heredity and environment are not the sole contributing factors when it comes to success. Adler believed choice was a central component, as humans have the ability to choose their future regardless of their past or genetic makeup. While Adler felt choice was important, he was also a realist, as humans cannot choose to be anything they wish, because their choices are limited to their environment.

Subjective Perception of Reality

Adler believed in order to understand someone, you must look at life through their eyes. The way a person views the world will directly impact their behavior. By looking at someone’s perception of reality, the therapist can gain insights as to why the client makes the choices they make. This is a very important component of Adler’s theory, one that most other theories will adopt. Instead of looking at solutions for a client, it is better to understand the client’s viewpoint, as to better help the client come up their their own solutions for their problems.

Patterns of Human Personality

In order to fully understand someone, the whole of the person must be explored. To do so, one must look at goals, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, convictions, attitudes, traits and actions.

• Behavior as purposeful and goal oriented: All human behavior has a purpose. People form goals, then work to achieve them. All actions taken are in service toward these goals. Adler saw humans as future oriented, and goals allowed a person to form plans for their future.
• Striving for significance and superiority: All humans wish to strive for mastery and superiority, without being taught. During early years of development, children are often reminded on the things they cannot do. These feelings of inferiority begin to drive the child to learn and accomplish. Weaknesses become strengths and serve as motivation.
• Lifestyle: The core beliefs and assumptions held by an individual help form a person’s lifestyle. The entirety of a person’s actions, values, and perceptions help formulate a person’s lifestyle. Adler saw humans as actors, creators, and artists.

Social Interest and Community Feeling

Humans are not islands into themselves; they are a part of a larger community. By becoming part of a larger community, one can become larger than oneself and can work to diminish lingering feelings of inferiority. Happiness and success largely revolve around others; therefore it is in our best interests to form a community that looks towards the future. There are three universal life tasks all humans must master: building friendships (social task), establishing intimacy (love-marriage task), and contributing to society (occupational task). All people must work towards all life tasks, regardless of age, culture, or nationality.

Birth Order

Adler’s theory is unique because it values birth order as important to psychological development. Adler identified five psychological positions: oldest, second of only two, middle, youngest, and only. These positions lead to different psychological traits, and are important to consider.

• Oldest: The oldest child will often receive a majority of the attention, especially when they are the only child. Once a sibling arrives, the oldest may feel threatened by the new sibling for attention and may grow to resent the new sibling.
• Second Child: The child shares attention from birth with the older sibling, and feels is in a race with the oldest sibling for attention. This may lead to competition between the two children, as the second child looks for weakness within the oldest.
• Middle Child: The middle child may feel cheated as the first born and newest child receive the majority of attention. This can lead to feelings of inferiority. However, the middle child may become the peacemaker between the first born and newest child.
• Youngest Child: Often is spoiled and pampered, will receive much attention from parents. The child will often do things in their own way, often in ways not expected by the family.
• Only Child: Will often possess high achievement and drive, but may suffer from a lack of social skills especially with other children. The only child may relate better with adults than with children. The only child can become pampered resulting in dependence on one or both parents.

In Conclusion

Unique from the works of Freud, Adler’s Adlerian Therapy incorporates choice, motivation, birth order and social consciousness. Adlerian therapy became well known, and influenced many future theories within Psychology.

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