Adlerian Therapy: Solving Problems & Benefiting Society - Essay Sample

Introduction

Adlerian therapy is a methodology used by therapists while working with clients to identify the challenges and develop ways of solving the problems. Adlerian therapists seek to gain insights into the issues so that the clients can overcome the feelings of inferiority (Sharf, 2016). They believe that people get fulfilled while working towards social interest; therefore, they benefit the entire society. The conceptualization of problems and life of the client, Adler considered both the individual and whole life of an individual. He emphasized the significance of a person's interaction with the rest of society.

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Adlerian therapy emphasizes the individual as a whole organism. The model views an individual as goal-oriented and creatively responsible for his or her fate (Sharf, 2016). Adler recognizes the human need and striving for superiority and perfection of individuals, which conflicts with the social nature and the entire society. The examination of the basic concepts of underlying Adler's psychology makes it easier to understand particular specific elements of life, such as social interest, style of life, inferiority, and birth order. Adlerian therapy emphasizes the ability of an individual to bring positive changes in his or her life.

The Adlerian approach to psychotherapy and counseling are varied based on creative and educational modes in the application of Adlerian principles. Therapists can use different formats as a foundation for group therapy. The lifestyle group is typical of Adlerian groups. The members of a group develop a mini-lifestyle that entails early recollections, family relationships, and comparisons with siblings (Sharf, 2016). Leaders have the role of summarizing other people's mistaken assets, perceptions, and goals. Adlerian therapists help people solve problems by discussing their lifestyle based on goals and beliefs as the basis for making decisions. Therapists help them develop ways of initiating change founded on the problems facing the clients.

Values and Beliefs

My values include perseverance, peace, wisdom, achievement, respect, happiness, and freedom. I believe that humans are generally good at their young ages, but their personality changes based on upbringing and interaction with the environment. These values and beliefs significantly align with the approach taken by the Adlerian theory (Sharf, 2016). The model is not only limited to therapy but also counseling of the client (Sharf, 2016). Therapy and counseling focus on the personality values and beliefs of a client before establishing the course of action and influencing the client to accept the recommended treatment. The understanding of the values and beliefs helps create a cooperative relationship that needs to be maintained throughout the therapy. A therapist analyzes individuals' constellations and dreams, interprets their comments, and aligns them with the goals of the therapy. Adlerian theory assists a therapist in helping clients stop their ineffective behaviors and beliefs related to their problems.

Currently, I am an independent-thinker regarding then nature of people regardless of my cultural identities and bias. Humans are both good and selfish, although the environment significantly influences their personalities. Human nature is good. After children are born, they do know how to commit crimes and have no concept of good and evil. However, as they grow, they develop unique characteristics where some are familial and others as a result of their interactions with the environment.

My cultural identity is influenced by the Chinese Confucian culture that's characterized by systems of ethical and social philosophy. The culture is based on the excellent ideas, institutions, and social values within the traditional Chinese society. It follows established human relationships with defined mutual obligations and roles; each person understands his role in society. Although I grew in the culture, sometimes I feel it is gender-biased to the definite gender roles at the family and community level. Men have the primary goal of providing their families with all the needs while women attend to domestic duties.

Theory of Personality

The theory of personality explains the psychological perceptions that define the thoughts and behaviors of an individual. The characteristics of an individual make him or her unique. Psychologically, people have unique psychological structures, and some of these features are only for one person. The unique characteristics help to compare a person with the rest. Adlerian personality theory influences my thoughts on the uniqueness of people. I believe that the individual characteristics of a person determine their behaviors needed to overcome feelings of inferiority.

I believe that people are the way they are due to their experiences in workplaces, relationships, and the general environment. The assessment and analysis process of the Adlerian theory focuses on an individual's behavior to understand the contributors to self-defeating behavior. The observations and outcomes developed are compared as the therapists seek projective techniques to assist the client. However, the cause of a majority of the problems in therapists is linked to the behaviors of the clients. The Adlerian theory extends the assessment of a person's problems to consider properties such as assets and other things that make an individual's life meaningful.

For example, psychologically, people are likely to procrastinate due to a lack of self-control and motivation needed to complete a task. When one needs to get a task completed, he or she relies on self-control to bring the self to do it. Self-control receives support from the motivating factors which induce a person to complete a task timely and in the right way. Whenever there are demotivating factors such as excessive perfection, fear of failure and anxiety, one becomes less motivated to undertake a task. The Adlerian theory suggests that individuals have an ego, and whenever there is a threat to it, they are likely to avoid completing tasks. Adlerian theory is based on Freud's theory that states that anxiety is a warning of an existing threat to the ego when people face dangerous things that they could not have realized previously (Sharf, 2016). Whenever the ego faces a threat, individuals develop a defense mechanism that primarily involves avoiding a task. Consequently, procrastination is a behavior acquired in the past motivated by a person's experience and interactions in the workplace and the general environment.

The Adlerian theory explains that people are motivated to work to achieve competence. The author believes that superiority is a fundamental and natural motivation for every person to achieve personal goals. Individuals tend to use all the available strategies to fulfill their desires, whether positive or negative approaches. Humans are generally selfish and will try to gain fame and wealth through unethical ways due to their need to attain superiority and competence in life. However, the positive attributes of an individual might influence him or her to use the rightful ways of becoming competent through social dealings, ethical business practices, education, and other methods. The positive strive for superiority develops a strong social interest that motivates people to work.

Psychopathology

The Adlerian theory suggests that unwanted behaviors in people are caused by three primary factors than include style of life, social interests, and the inferiority and superiority concept (Sharf, 2016). The style of life impacts the way people adapt to obstacles in their lives and the strategies adopted in solving problems and meanings of achieving their goals. The style of life is mostly developed in early childhood, where children strive in their wants to gain superiority and perfection. It is worth noting that Adler believed that birth order could also influence how children relate to society, particularly in the development of their life cycle. The assessment of the lifestyle of individuals should be attached to early family relationships between siblings and their parents, although it should extend to include friends and educators.

Adler considers social interest to have three stages in an individual's life that include aptitude, ability, and secondary dynamic features (Sharf, 2016). Everyone has an innate aptitude or ability to cooperate and exist in social living. People develop abilities to express their social cooperation in different ways after the development of the aptitude. Later, they develop secondary dynamic characteristics where they express their interests and attitudes in a social context.

Goals of Therapy

The primary objective of the Adlerian theory is to assist therapists in acquiring insights that would allow them, facilitate the personal growth of the clients. The framework promotes confidence and self-worth to help an individual interact naturally in societies and build strong relationships that support their wellbeing. Adlerian theory is based on the theoretical constructions of fictionalism goals (Sharf, 2016). Fictions entail the ideas that do not exist in reality, although they are critical in enabling people to deal with reality effectively. For instance, the concept that "all men are equal" is a fiction. Even though such a statement may offer hope for everyday life, it is not a reality. The Adlerian theory offers similar fictions to facilitate interactions with and amongst people, although they may not be true objectively. The concept of fiction assists in helping clients assess the meaning of their lives to boost their confidence and self-worth.

Adlerian therapy constitutes four stages that assist therapists in solve psychological issues presented to them. They include engagement, assessment of personal history, insight and interpretation, and reorientation. The engagement stage includes the initial interaction between the client and the therapist, which entails the assessment of family dynamics and constellation. The objective of this stage is to create a trust relationship between the two parties. The assessment of personal history includes the critical focus of family history and early childhood memories. The insights and interpretation stage constitutes a phase where therapists are informed about the challenges faced by the clients. The reorientation phase includes a phase for continued growth where clients are allowed to return to their occupations and society based on the new insights given to alter previous negative perspectives and responses actively.

Limitations/Multicultural Implications

The Adlerian theory faces several limitations and multicultural implications. Based on my analysis, I find the theory to lack scientific depth; it is superficial and lacks a foundation that would fully address the diverse psychological needs of clients such as procrastination. The theory is also highly founded on assumptions that offer undue weight to various concepts of human development. It is based on excessive concepts that primarily focus on an individual's characteristics as the basis for change. Adlerian theory impacts the multicultural implications of the clients since therapists need to first cultivate the background information of the clients before offering judgments.

Therapists need to carefully consider the core components of individual psychology, such as personality values and cultural backgrounds. Adlerian models provide the wholeness and unity of society. It uses the self-interests of individuals, fragmentations of reality, and collaborative efforts to solve various problems in the community.

Conclusion

The Adlerian theory would help treat this psychological problem by a criti...