Psychological Disorders: Adlerian Therapy

Adlerian Therapy is beneficial for people who have a psychological disorder that can cause them to be out of touch with reality, like anxiety, inferiority complex, or narcissistic personality disorder. The therapy focuses on both personal and social interactions. The social side of the therapy is the most crucial as it helps the person adjust to society in a healthy way. The client’s life, physical and mental, is analyzed to find the root of the problem and discover the flaws in his or her thinking. The therapists who practice this therapy believe that it is the actions towards a person’s environment and genetic makeup that determines behavior. Therapists try to keep an open and accepting environment as those who feel criticized and insulted

The basis of the therapy is that people are motivated by having a goal or meaning in life. It follows the principles that life always has a meaning, motivation comes from finding the meaning, and a person has freedom in how he or she acts in a situation. Victor Frankl, the creator of the therapy claimed that meaning can be discovered by completing work, experiencing people or situations fully, and the attitude towards a person’s suffering. Therapists follow certain assumptions that cannot be proven about mankind. These assumptions include that individuals are all unique, meaningful decisions respond to life’s demand, people have the freedom to find their own meaning, all people have a meaning, life has a meaning in all circumstances, and the human body is made up of the body; mind; and spirit. The three main techniques used by therapists are dereflection, paradoxical intention, and socratic dialogue. Dereflection is when the person’s thoughts are deflected from how the situation impacts the person and instead look at how it does, or would have, impacted someone else. The act of thinking about someone else can make the suffering seem minor. Paradoxical intention is when a person increases the thing that they most fear. In turn, this may decrease the unwanted

The therapy focuses on the use of intrinsic motivation to alter behaviors. The therapist and client work together to strengthen the client’s want to change through communication. There is three basis of motivational interviewing: collaboration, evocation, and autonomy. Collaboration is the support of the therapist who works to understand the client not impose new thoughts. Evocation is helping the client uncover why he or she wants a change as the client’s realization is stronger than just being told by the therapist. Autonomy is the belief that the client is the expert and the therapist is there for support. Therapists must express empathy, support self-efficacy, understand struggles, and highlight discrepancies. The discrepancies highlighted focus on the differences between where the client currently is compared to his or her future goals. Therapists guide the client to change talk, statements and nonverbal cues, that show that the client is ready for change. They use open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries to elicit change talk. Open ended questions force the client to think more about the issue to lead to the possibility of change. Affirmations highlight the client’s strengths to increase both confidence and positivity, so the client sees the change as possible. Reflections are when the therapist guides