Adlerian
Encyclopedia
Pertaining to the theory and practice of Alfred Adler
(1870 - 1937), whose school of psychoanalysis is called Individual Psychology
(Individualpsychologie). Central to the Adlerian approach is to see the personality as a whole and not as the mere net result of component forces. Thus the term individual (indivisible) psychology. Adlerians adopt a radical stance that cuts across the nature-nurture
debate by seeing the developing individual at work in creating the personality in response to the demands of nature and nurture but not absolutely determined by them. The self-created personality operates subjectively and idiosyncratically. The individual is endowed with a striving both for self-development
and social meaning, expressed in a sense of belonging, usefulness and contribution, and even cosmic consciousness.
Neurosis and other pathological states reveal the safe-guarding or defensive strategems (largely unconscious or out of awareness) of the individual who believes him- or herself to be unequal to the demands of life. In "normal" development the child has experienced encouragement and accepts that his or her problems can be overcome in time by an investment of patient persistence and cooperation with others. The "normal" person feels a full member of life, and has "the courage to be imperfect" (Sofie Lazarsfeld).
Adlerians see a process of compensation at work as the individual strives, consciously and unconsciously, to overcome and solve the problems of life, moving "from a felt minus to a felt plus", overcoming feelings of inferiority.
In cases of discouragement the individual, feeling unable to unfold a real and socially valid development, erects a fantasy of superiority in some backwater of life, which offers seclusion and shelter from the threat of failure and annihilation of personal prestige. This fictional world, sustained by the need to safeguard an anxious ego, by private logic at variance with reason or common sense, by a schema of apperception which interprets and filters and suppresses the real-world data, is a fragile bubble waiting to be burst by mounting tension within and by assaults from the real world. The will to be or become has been replaced by the will to seem.
At the heart of Adlerian psychotherapy is the process of encouragement, grounded in the feeling of universal cohumanity and the belief in the as yet slumbering potential of the patient or client, This process of encouragement also makes the Adlerian approach so valuable to all those professions that concern themselves with the development and education of children.
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
(1870 - 1937), whose school of psychoanalysis is called Individual Psychology
Individual psychology
Individual psychology is a term used specifically to refer to the psychological method or science founded by the Viennese psychiatrist Alfred Adler...
(Individualpsychologie). Central to the Adlerian approach is to see the personality as a whole and not as the mere net result of component forces. Thus the term individual (indivisible) psychology. Adlerians adopt a radical stance that cuts across the nature-nurture
Nature versus nurture
The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
debate by seeing the developing individual at work in creating the personality in response to the demands of nature and nurture but not absolutely determined by them. The self-created personality operates subjectively and idiosyncratically. The individual is endowed with a striving both for self-development
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
and social meaning, expressed in a sense of belonging, usefulness and contribution, and even cosmic consciousness.
Neurosis and other pathological states reveal the safe-guarding or defensive strategems (largely unconscious or out of awareness) of the individual who believes him- or herself to be unequal to the demands of life. In "normal" development the child has experienced encouragement and accepts that his or her problems can be overcome in time by an investment of patient persistence and cooperation with others. The "normal" person feels a full member of life, and has "the courage to be imperfect" (Sofie Lazarsfeld).
Adlerians see a process of compensation at work as the individual strives, consciously and unconsciously, to overcome and solve the problems of life, moving "from a felt minus to a felt plus", overcoming feelings of inferiority.
In cases of discouragement the individual, feeling unable to unfold a real and socially valid development, erects a fantasy of superiority in some backwater of life, which offers seclusion and shelter from the threat of failure and annihilation of personal prestige. This fictional world, sustained by the need to safeguard an anxious ego, by private logic at variance with reason or common sense, by a schema of apperception which interprets and filters and suppresses the real-world data, is a fragile bubble waiting to be burst by mounting tension within and by assaults from the real world. The will to be or become has been replaced by the will to seem.
At the heart of Adlerian psychotherapy is the process of encouragement, grounded in the feeling of universal cohumanity and the belief in the as yet slumbering potential of the patient or client, This process of encouragement also makes the Adlerian approach so valuable to all those professions that concern themselves with the development and education of children.
Notable Adlerians
- Alexandra AdlerAlexandra AdlerAlexandra Adler was a neurologist and the daughter of psychoanalyst Alfred Adler. She has been described as one of the "leading systematizers and interpreters" of Adlerian psychology. In 1937, Adler and Tracy Jackson Putnam conducted a study on a brain of a multiple sclerosis victim...
(USA), deceased - Heinz AnsbacherHeinz AnsbacherHeinz Ludwig Ansbacher was a German-American psychologist specializing in the theories of Alfred Adler.-Biography:...
(USA), deceased - Robert ArmstrongRobert ArmstrongRobert Armstrong may refer to:*Robert Archibald Armstrong , Gaelic lexicographer*Robert Armstrong , American professional baseball player*Robert Armstrong , film actor...
(Canada) - Phyllis BottomePhyllis BottomePhyllis Forbes Dennis was a British novelist and short story writer who wrote under her birth name, Phyllis Bottome . She was born in Rochester, Kent to an American clergyman, Rev...
(UK), deceased - Rudolf DreikursRudolf DreikursRudolf Dreikurs was an American psychiatrist and educator who developed psychologist Alfred Adler's system of individual psychology into a pragmatic method for understanding the purposes of reprehensible behaviour in children and for stimulating cooperative behaviour without punishment or...
(Austria and USA), deceased - Loren GreyLoren GreyLoren Grey was an educational psychologist and author of several books in that field. He also managed the legacy of his father, western author Zane Grey....
(USA), deceased - James HemmingJames HemmingDr. Clifford James Hemming FBPS FRSA , better known as James Hemming, was a British child psychologist, educationalist and humanist.-Biography:...
(UK), deceased - Henry Jacoby (Germany)
- Russell KingRussell KingRussell King is the maintainer of the ARM architecture in the Linux Kernel. He did the original porting of the Linux kernel to that architecture and has since maintained and kept the code in sync.- External links :* *...
(Canada) - Arthur KronfeldArthur KronfeldArthur Kronfeld was a German Psychiatrist.-1933 - 1941: Suppression and exile :...
(Germany) - Fritz KünkelFritz KünkelFritz Künkel was known both as a German psychiatrist and an American psychologist. He might best be understood as a social scientist who sought to integrate psychology , sociology and religion into a unified theory of human being...
(Germany & USA) - Sofie Lazarsfeld (Austria)
- Kevin LemanKevin LemanDr. Kevin Leman is a psychologist and New York Times Bestselling Author of more than 30 books. He is dealing with topics that range from raising children and birth order to business and marriage....
(USA) - Victor LouisVictor LouisVictor Louis was a French architect, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1755.Louis was responsible for the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux of 1780 and the galleries of the Palais-Royal in Paris. A full biography was published in Bordeaux in 1881. In 1770 he married the pianist and composer .-References:...
(Switzerland), deceased - Harold Mosak (USA)
- Alexander Mueller (Switzerland), deceased
- Karl Nowotny (Austria)
- Hertha Orgler (Germany and UK)
- Linda Page (Canada)
- Paul Rom [Paul Plottke] (Germany and UK)
- Otto RühleOtto RühleOtto Rühle was a German Marxist active in opposition to both the First and Second World Wars, and a founder with along with Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg, Franz Mehring and others of the group and magazine Internationale, which posed a revolutionary internationalism against a world of warring...
(Germany) - Alice Rühle-Gerstel (Germany and Mexico)
- Manes SperberManès SperberManès Sperber was an Austrian-French novelist, essayist and psychologist. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Jan Heger and N.A. Menlos....
(Germany), deceased - Mark StoneMark StoneMark Stone may refer to:* Mark Stone , baritone* Mark Stone , bass guitarist for "Mammoth", 1972–1974* Mark Stone , fictional character* Mark Kennedy , also known as Mark Stone...
(USA) - Henry T. Stein (USA)
- Richard WattsRichard WattsSir Richard Watts was a successful businessman and MP for Rochester, Kent in the 1570s. He supplied rations for the English Navy as deputy victualler and supervised the construction of Upnor Castle...
(USA) - Erwin Wexberg (Austria and USA)
See also
- Classical Adlerian psychologyClassical Adlerian psychologyClassical Adlerian psychology is a values-based, fully integrated theory of personality, model of psychopathology, philosophy of living, strategy for preventative education, and technique of psychotherapy...
- North American Society of Adlerian PsychologyNorth american society of adlerian psychologyThe North American Society of Adlerian Psychology is the primary organization in the United States for the promotion of the psychological and philosophical theories of Alfred Adler, known as individual psychology...
- Alfred AdlerAlfred AdlerAlfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
- Rudolf DreikursRudolf DreikursRudolf Dreikurs was an American psychiatrist and educator who developed psychologist Alfred Adler's system of individual psychology into a pragmatic method for understanding the purposes of reprehensible behaviour in children and for stimulating cooperative behaviour without punishment or...