The following questions, answers, and comments about Classical Adlerian philosophy, theory, and practice have been excerpted from discussion forums, newsgroups, and e-mail correspondence. The text has been edited minimally for clarity and readability. New topics will be featured each week. Your questions may be posted on the Classical Adlerian Discussion Forum at Behavior OnLine. All of this material is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the expressed consent of Dr. Stein.
| 7. Undivided Self | 8. Self-Esteem | 9. Main Tools in Therapy |
| 10. Metaphors in Therapy | 11. Gestalt and Adlerian Theory | 12. Limitations of Typologies |
Question from Forum: It seems to me to that Adler, through his insistence on dynamic unity, both acknowledges 'the dark side' and puts it in perspective. Both 'the dark side' and the conscious self are dedicated to the pursuit of the fictional goal. Any comment?Dr. Stein: Adler did not make a sharp distinction between conscious and unconscious, nor did he assume internal conflicting forces. He did not believe that everyone had a hidden dark side. Consequently, his model of the personality does not include anything similar to Jung's 'shadow' or Freud's 'Id'.
Adler's conceptions of the unity and self consistency of the personality suggest that any 'dark side' is an invention of the individual--a devise that may be useful in the pursuit of an aggressive or defensive goal.
Question from Forum: You mentioned that one of Adler's suggestions for preventing crime was "instituting group sessions with prison inmates to heighten their self-esteem". At this time in our profession, this term is used to mean many different things by different persons. Would you elaborate on Adler's conception of 'self-esteem'?Dr. Stein: An early feeling of belonging gives children the foundation for building self-esteem, one that is rooted in being content with who they are, and strengthened by being accepted and liked by parents, siblings, and friends. If children have enough activity and courage, and use their creative power to find ways of conquering what is bothering them, and struggle to overcome the difficulties they face, they can develop normal self-esteem.
Self-esteem is not given to children by their parents. It comes from the feeling that they can do things on their own, that they don’t always need help. It comes from trying, failing, and trying repeatedly until they succeed. Encouragement is generally necessary when they begin to feel discouraged. If children are always criticized for their mistakes, or they are helped too much, they may be prevented from developing genuine self-esteem. Aspiring to goals that are too high or unrealistic for their age, or intense competitiveness with older or accomplished siblings may deny children any feelings of success and pride in their accomplishment. They may then deviate into fantasy, or rely on the opinion or behavior of others for the illusion of an exaggerated self-esteem.
Adults can also set mistaken benchmarks for their self-esteem. Money, power, possessions, and fame are seductive substitutes for the feeling of personal value in our culture. Most people have the opportunity of doing the best they can with what they have inherited, to improve their living situations, and to develop their interests and capacities. Satisfaction and pride in one’s progressive improvement, and the willingness to share what one has developed for the benefit of others can provide not only life-long self-esteem, but earn the esteem and appreciation of others.
(Additional comments about inferiority and aggression.)
Parental neglect, rejection, or abuse can easily provoke deep, painful feelings of insecurity or worthlessness in children. Many grow up yearning for revenge. However, pampering, overprotection and indulgence can also set the stage for intensified inferiority feelings. Pampered children may "feel humiliated" when they are not the center of attention or given everything they want. Spoiled children can become very aggressive or abusive toward parents if they eventually discontinue their indulgence. Very ambitious, competitive children, who have accomplished or preferred siblings, may feel painfully inferior by comparison, and harbor "dark thoughts" about their rivals.
Children, as well as adults, can temporarily mask or relieve their inferiority feelings with high activity, anger, and aggression. They can get "high" on this volatile mixture and often have the illusion of being very powerful. By dominating, hurting, frightening, or exploiting others they indulge in pretenses of victory. Their shallow conquests frequently involve the perverse satisfaction of defeating someone. This "dark side" strategy can become very addictive and result in a progressive indifference to the pain of others.
Question from Forum: Adler used two main tools in therapy; were they the family constellation and life-style?Dr. Stein: The main “tools” in Adlerian therapy are encouragement and the feeling of community. Some constructs, like family constellation, birth order, style of life, inferiority feeling, striving for superiority, fictional final goal, antithetical scheme of apperception, private logic, and earliest recollections, may emerge as more important than others in a particular case or at a specific stage of psychotherapy.
Question from Forum: How did Adler use metaphor therapy?Dr. Stein: Alfred Adler did not use "metaphor therapy," if by that term you mean the use of metaphors as the primary focus in diagnostic and treatment strategies. He was very creative in treatment and used whatever technique seemed appropriate to each client. Being "creative" implies the invention of strategies that can capture the uniqueness of each individual, and that facilitate each stage of treatment. For this reason, in the Classical Adlerian approach, we use a variety of cognitive, affective, and behavioral strategies that might include: the Socratic method, eidetic and guided imagery, role-playing, bibliotherapy, dream and daydream analysis, as well as metaphors.
Metaphors can frequently be used by clients to intensify negative feelings and avoid common sense. Countering a negative metaphor with a positive one, usually offers some encouragement, but unless the underlying goal and style of life are modified, any affective or behavioral changes may be superficial and temporary.
Question from Forum: Is there any relationship between Adlerian Theory and Gestalt Therapy?Dr. Stein: In The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, p. 11-12, Heinz Ansbacher points out the similarities between Individual Psychology and Gestalt psychology: "emphasis on the whole rather than elements, the interaction between the whole and parts, and the importance of man's social context." On page 149, he also comments about the "close theoretical relationship between the Gestalt school and Adler in the area of intelligence."
My mentor, Sophia de Vries, who studied with Adler, believes that Adlerian psychology has more in common with the early European Gestalt theorists, rather than with later American practitioners like Fritz Perls.
To my knowledge, there is not much of a dialogue today, in the United States, between the Adlerian and Gestalt advocates. Constructs like the fictional final goal and the feeling of community seem to differentiate us from many other approaches that have some limited similarity.
Several years ago, I read Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy by Paul Zinker. I found the first third of the book, about the therapist as an artist, most stimulating and consistent with the Classical Adlerian style of treatment. However, the balance of the book described Gestalt therapeutic strategies that I found less adaptable to the Adlerian model.
Question from Forum: I was caught off guard the other day when a student at the local university mentioned that her professor had stated that Adler believed that there were four major typologies: The dominant or ruling attitude; the "expectant attitude"; the "avoidant attitude"; and the "solution oriented attitude". It had been my belief that Adler had mentioned these types as examples of potential types. In Ansbacher's "Superiority and Social Interest" (pg 68), Adler states that these four types are presented for "...teaching purposes only." How do you understand this passage?Dr. Stein: Simplified typologies are useful as preliminary (and temporary) schemes for orienting students at the beginning of their training. However, if we wish to do justice to Adler's view of the uniqueness of each individual, in clinical practice we must eventually abandon all typologies and learn to capture a dynamic picture of each individual's actual movements in relation to external problems and an internal, fictional final goal.
A complete style of life analysis embraces many of Adler's constructs, including: childhood prototype; type and depth of inferiority feelings; degree and radius of activity; level of community feeling; compensatory, fictional final goal; attitudes toward the three life tasks; antithetical scheme of apperception; and private logic. These diagnostic constructs provide very useful guidelines for the course of therapy and the potential dissolution of the style of life.
Although it may be tempting to use simplified typologies in practice, they never capture the uniqueness of the individual sufficiently to help clients feel deeply understood, nor do they provide adequate reference points for precise, effective treatment planning. After mastering Adlerian theory, it takes many years of supervised case analysis, with an expert clinician, to learn the art of capturing that uniqueness diagnostically.
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Alfred Adler Institute of Northwestern Washington
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