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A Review of the Lexicon of Adlerian Psychology: 106 Terms Associated with the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler (2nd ed., 2007)

The Lexicon of Adlerian Psychology: 106 Terms Associated with the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler (Second Edition, 2007) by Jane Griffith and Robert L. Powers
A Review by James Robert Bitter
East Tennessee State University

        Recently, a young woman from another university asked me, "What makes Adlerian Psychology a phenomenological approach?"  She was specifically interested in Adler's meaning for phenomenology.
Good question, really:  I know what phenomenology means. I even know what Husserl, the philosopher most associated with the term, meant by it (Welton, 1999).  But Adler?

        In the old days, I would have picked up the Ansbachers' (1956) The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler, starting with their index and then a search through many different pages to find an answer.  With the publication of Griffith and Powers' (1984) original Adlerian Lexicon, some of that searching came to a very convenient end.  The revised edition, The Lexicon of Adlerian Psychology(Griffith & Powers, 2007), provides almost double the number of terms defined, greatly expands the references to Adlerian primary sources, and is organized alphabetically so that any of the 106 terms can be found easily.

        To be sure, this lexicon is an essential time-saver for all Adlerian scholars and teachers.  It should also be the first next source for students who want to know more than they are being offered in survey courses on theories of personality, counseling theory and practice, or clinical approaches to psychotherapy.

        In an educational period when students of psychology and counseling no longer read original sources until they get to a doctoral program--and when 45-minute video presentations hold more of their interest than actual books--much of the psychological foundation, the view of human nature, the approach to learning and change, and the moral values of any model get lost in simplified textbook overviews and a focus on "what works in therapy."  Many of the most used textbooks over-emphasize some Adlerian phrases (e.g., spitting in one's soup) and ignore some of the most important, like The Question.  Some textbooks even create terms for Adlerian psychology that can't be found in original sources, like Hall and Lindzey's invention of the Creative Self(Hall, Lindzey, & Campbell, 1977), rather than Adler's emphasis on the creative power of the self, the child, or the individual (see Griffith & Powers, 2007, p. 21).

        Even some of the most accomplished practitioners of the Adlerian approach have lost at least some of the connection to the ideas and concepts that are the foundation of the model.  Try these questions:  Are irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions the same as private logic?  And conversely, are rational ideas the same as common sense?  If there is a difference, would it make any real difference in how therapy is practiced?  What did Adler mean by arrangements and do they help us understand unusual behavior today?  Is Adlerian therapy essentially a cognitive-behavioral therapy or does it have links to existentialism, field theory, feminism, or family and systemic process?  Do you have a sense of what Adlerian dream work would be like?

        Adler--and those who have followed him--developed a highly complex and fully integrative psychological model for human understanding and effective therapeutic interventions.  The model has been so thoroughly validated that many of Adler's most significant terms have been incorporated in the practical, everyday language of western societies.

       The Lexicon of Adlerian Psychology provides a crucial link between language and meaning.  It reclaims Adlerian psychological formulations from common parlance and defines the distinctions that make an actual difference.

        So what about phenomenology?  From Adler as originally noted by the Ansbachers:

        I am convinced that a person's behavior springs from his opinion.  We 
        should not be surprised at this, because our senses do not receive 
        actual facts, but merely a subjective image of them, a reflection of the
        external world.  Omnia ad opinionem suspensa sunt [Everything 
        depends opinion--Seneca) (Griffith & Powers, 2007, p. 80).

        I couldn't have said it better.

References

Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Basic Books.

Griffith, J., & Powers, R. L. (1984). An Adlerian lexicon.  Chicago:  American Institute of Adlerian Studies.

Griffith, J., & Powers, R. L. (2007).  The lexicon of Adlerian psychology:  106 terms associated with the individual psychology of Alfred Adler (2nd ed.). Port Townsend, WA: Adlerian Psychology Associates.  [http://www.adlerianpsychologyassociates.com]

Hall, C. S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J. B. (1997).  Theories of personality (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ:  Wiley.

Welton, D. (Ed.).  (1999).  The essential Husserl:  Basic writings in transcendental phenomenology. Bloomington, IN:  Indiana University Press.

The Lexicon of Adlerian Psychology: 106 Terms Associated with the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler (Second Edition, 2007) by Jane Griffith and Robert L. Powers is available at
Adlerian Psychology Associates.  [http://www.adlerianpsychologyassociates.com]           

     

 

 

 

 

Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice

Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice
By Jon Carlson, Richard E. Watts, and Michael Maniacci
Washington, D. C. APA Books, 2005, 304 pp. ISBN 1-59147-285-7 $59.95 ($44.95 to Members and Affiliates)
Reviewed by Eva Dreikurs Ferguson
Eva Dreikurs Ferguson, Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1121. E-mail: efergus@siue.edu

This review appeared in an APA electronic journal devoted to reviews. It appeared in the February 22, 2006 issue of PsycCRITIQUES

Alfred Adler’s name is familiar to most introductory psychology students. However, their knowledge typically comes from small textbook paragraphs in connection with Freud, Adler’s name being a kind of post script to psychoanalysis. Occasionally students associate ‘’birth order" with Adler’s name. When undergraduate majors and graduate students learn more about Adler, often that entails misinformation. At one time the European and American public had knowledge of this famous psychiatrist who was a staunch advocate for the welfare of children and for women’s rights. Today, the public as well as modern psychologists and psychiatrists have little awareness of Alfred Adler’s massive contribution, nor do they know that Adler’s theory and methods are widely applied and practiced today.

Adler’s Mature Work from the 1920s and 1930s is Alive and Well Today
Many professional psychologists think Adlerian psychology was practiced only in the early part of the 20th century. They do not know of the world-wide Adlerian activities in the 21st century. Readers of Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice will now have the opportunity to learn that Alfred Adler’s approach is at the forefront of contemporary psychology, in clinical practice as well as in the fields of developmental, educational, and social psychology. The cognitive-social-dynamic theory of Adler, widely promulgated by his younger colleague, Rudolf Dreikurs, was many years ahead of its time (Ferguson, 2001) and, as a result, is now congruent with many facets of contemporary psychology.
By 1937, when Adler died, his methods and ideas were known and practiced in many countries. Today they are actively applied in the fields of education (Dreikurs, Cassel, & Ferguson, 2004) and parenting (Dreikurs & Soltz, 2005), as well as in psychotherapy and counseling (Grunwald & McAbee, 1998). It was Adler, in the 1920s, who first placed pivotal importance on ‘the need to belong’ (Ferguson, 1989). This is a prominent concept in modern social psychology, usually discussed without reference to its origin in Adler’s work. Happily, social and clinical psychologists now have the opportunity to have a better understanding of the richness of Adlerian theory and practice. The American Psychological Association is to be commended for publication of Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice, a book that promises to bring to light many of the potent ideas and methods that are part of contemporary Adlerian psychology.
Jon Carlson, Richard Watts, and Michael Maniacci clearly describe the way contemporary Adlerian psychotherapy is practiced. Two of the authors received doctoral training in the Adlerian institute founded by Rudolf Dreikurs, and their mentors, Bernard Shulman and Harold Mosak, were long-time colleagues of Dreikurs. The book, Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice, describes many of the key concepts and methods developed by Adler. Emphasis is properly placed on Adler’s psycho-educational approach, the importance of ‘social interest’ (also known as ‘community feeling’) and the need to belong and to contribute to the human community, the key motivational dynamics of goals, the importance of beliefs and cognitions in both healthy and pathological functioning, and life-style as the core of personality.
Readers will appreciate the clear exposition of how DSM categories can be translated in functional and dynamic ways. Whereas the DSM for clinical diagnoses has a medical and largely non-dynamic foundation, and Adler’s approach to diagnosis and psychotherapy is in terms of dynamic and educational processes, contemporary clinicians will find it useful that the book gives examples of how a functional perspective is possible when using the DSM in diagnoses. Readers will also benefit from the examples that show how life style can be analyzed, how family constellation and family dynamics play a key role in the adult’s personality and symptoms, how brief therapy fits the Adlerian model, and how therapy can help individuals alter pathological beliefs and goals. The importance of social interest-community feeling for effective functioning is clearly described, and therapists will be able to follow why social psychological concepts are so prominent in Adlerian therapy.

The authors highlight the importance of cognitive processes throughout the book while properly integrating the dynamics of goals with cognitions. Adlerian psychotherapy is, indeed, a cognitive therapy, but it differs from other cognitive approaches in its emphasis on motivation and on the pivotal role of goals. One cannot understand behavior, motivation, and emotion without appreciating the overarching importance of goals (Ferguson, 2000), and the authors ably bring this perspective forward in their writing. They show the ‘subjective’ aspect of Adler’s approach, and how individuals make choices and decisions in their adaptation to life’s demands. They properly integrate the concept of Adler’s tasks of life, with healthily functioning individuals having close friends, maintaining deep love relationships, and doing effective work that contributes to society. They describe the therapeutic relationship as one of cooperation and they show the necessity for the therapist to provide encouragement. Importantly, they lead the reader to understand the optimism inherent in Adler’s theory and practice. If choices and decisions in early life can create pathology in adulthood, then with new insights the adult can make new choices and decisions and set new goals. This ‘soft determinism’ characteristic of Adler’s theory is expressed well in the book, as is the fact that Adler’s psychotherapy is eminently congruent with the emphasis today on positive psychology.

What Can Adlerian Theory and Practice Bring to Contemporary Psychologists?
The authors of Adlerian Therapy: Theory and Practice have in many respects preserved the holistic, contextual, psychosocial, and dynamic aspects of Adlerian theory and practice. They have given case material that shows the importance of context, such as the life situation that triggers pathological functioning in a previously ‘healthy functioning’ individual. That is, for a given life style, when circumstances are benign and support the personality with its goals and beliefs, an individual can function well, but when a crisis situation occurs and new beliefs and goals are called for so that the person can meet the demands of life, the person may experience extreme stress and adopt pathological methods of coping. This contextual aspect of Adlerian theory and practice is brought forth well in the book. The authors also show the holistic aspect of Adlerian concepts and methods by excellent descriptions of both top-down and bottom-up processes. That is, organ deficiencies or biological weaknesses (bottom-up processes) are shown to play a role while the impact of social beliefs and goals for finding one’s place in the human community (top-down processes) are ably described in their power to change a person’s bodily functioning. The authors bring out well the Adlerian concept that ‘biology is not destiny,’ and they ably show that our social-personal beliefs can change our physiology and chemistry as much as the latter can influence the former. In this way, the book contributes to a broadening perspective for all psychologists, and the psychosocial holism of Adler’s theory and practice is easy to follow in the book.
The influence of mechanistic thinking on psychology is well known to students of the history of psychology. Many prominent psychologists have viewed the task of science to be a careful understanding and description of mechanisms. Behaviorism emphasized mechanisms, and associationism in its various forms throughout the history of psychology has tended to treat mind and behavior in mechanistic terms. Thus, much of psychology has placed major importance on either structure or biology. In contrast, Adlerian theory and practice places importance on function and psycho-social processes. The Gestalt principles of holism and the importance of context on mind and behavior are not a major theme in the history of psychology, in spite of attempts like those of Tolman to integrate cognition with the dynamics of motivation and the pivotal role of context. It is easier to think of dynamics in biological terms, as Freud did, or to think of environmental influences in mechanistic terms or in molecular ways that are characteristic of associationistic theories, than to explain mind and behavior in relativistic, holistic, and socially adaptive ways as does Adlerian theory and practice.

Adler Speaks

Adler Speaks

by Mark Stone and Karen Drescher

Reviewed by Jesyca Vilensky

            Adler Speaks-The Lectures of Alfred Adler, was very well compiled and edited by Mark H. Stone and Karen A. Drescher.  Both of these editors are faculty members of the Adler School of Professional Psychology and give excellent commentary throughout the book to help elucidate Adler’s main ideas.  This book is a profound collection of the lectures that Adler gave during the end of the 1920’s and the early 1930’s mostly throughout the New York City area.  Even though the chapters are short and concise, they offer the depth and breadth needed for a clear understanding of Individual Psychology.

The purpose of the book is first to point out how the misguided behavior of the individual affects the harmony of our social and communal life; second, to teach individuals to recognize their own mistakes; and finally, to show them how to adjust harmoniously to their social environment.This book, therefore, is dedicated to the task of illuminating society’s progress towards a better understanding of human nature.

            Adler believed that in order to understand people, we have to understand them more as unified wholes than as a collection of bits and pieces, and we have to understand them in the context of their environment, both physical and social; this created the theory of Individual Psychology and the idea of holism.  Instead of talking about a person’s personality, with the traditional sense of internal traits, structures, dynamics, conflicts, and so on, Adler preferred to talk about style of life or life style.  Life style refers to how you live your life, how you handle problems and interpersonal relations.

Adler’s idea of social interest or social feelings, which was translated from the German term Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, could be translated as community feeling.  Adler felt that social concern was not simply inborn, nor just learned, but a combination of both.  It is based on an innate disposition, but it has to be nurtured to survive.  Adler meant social concern or feeling not in terms of particular social behaviors, but in the much broader sense of caring for family, for community, for society, for humanity, even for life.  Social concern is a matter of being useful to others.  On the other hand, a lack of social concern is, for Adler, the very definition of mental illness.  All problems in life are due to a lack in social interest.

            The book creates an overview of Adler’s essential theories and contributions to society through his Individual Psychology.  The beginning lectures are somewhat of a comparison of some of Freud’s theories and his ideas that make up “Drive Psychology” to Adler’s beliefs and his ideas that make up Individual Psychology.  There is a more thorough presentation of cooperation, unity, movement toward a goal, and an individual’s style of life, while Adler just touches on such issues as bashfulness, laziness, eating disorders, stuttering, and migraines.

            Adler very effectively discusses the ideas of cooperation, parenting, the unity of the person, and the meaning of life, as the underlying important themes throughout the book.  “All the good characteristics are those of cooperation: to be good, to be true, faithful, brave, courageous and to be optimistic”.  “Cooperation is the most important thing for living” (p. 3).  There is a significant difference between compliance and cooperation, in that cooperation is not the obedience of something, instead the joining and contributing of efforts for the problems of life and social problems.

            “It is not possible that in the mind of an individual there are two different tracks.  It must always be unity.  Parts of an individual produce coherence only when combined as a whole” (p. 4).  This concept is the essence of Individual Psychology and the unity of the person.  The unity and style of life is said to be fixed at the mere age of four or five years old in childhood.

            The theory of Individual Psychology is very future oriented, which involves the movement toward a goal.  “The goal is the future.  The future is our mind.  The future is accomplishment in our mind, not the past.  Both mind and bodies are in movement toward the goal” (p.25).  Also, along the lines of future orientation, Adler’s lectures and ideas involved the love task.  This is emphasized as a task for two and “the welfare of society is dependent upon the future of love” (p. 69).

For someone seeking to understand Alfred Adler’s work and his relationship to other psychologists of the day, this work is a must.There is an overview of each major thought/idea.Through the use of his own lectures he helps to place the teachings into context.This book, as a collection of his personal lectures is an attempt to acquaint the general public with the fundamentals of Individual Psychology. At the same time it is a demonstration of the practical application of these principles to the conduct of one’s everyday relationships, not only to the world, and to one’s friends and acquaintances, but also to the organization of one’s personal life.Adler is an excellent lecturer, and his simple language and the clarity of his thoughts make this a great read.

As much as this book had its benefits, I also think it had its drawbacks.  His advice and theories leave me with a bit of a hole. It seems that he too often illustrates all the negative aspects of certain types of human behavior stemming from various childhood experiences without offering as much of a solution to the problems as I would have hoped for. He might throw in a short paragraph of advice at the end of a passage but overall it is not as much as an Adlerian clinician in this field could really benefit from.

Adler’s clear descriptions of people’s complaints, his straight-forward and common-sense interpretations of their problems, his simple theoretical structure, his trust and even affection for the common person, all make his theory both comfortable and highly influential.  All of this incorporated into Adler Speaks-The Lectures of Alfred Adler make this book most beneficial to clinicians, Adlerians, and students in the field of psychology.  I highly recommend it and know it has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf!

Reference

Adler Speaks. The Lectures of Alfred Adler compiled by K.A. Drescher and M.H. Stone

Lincoln, NE(2004). : iUniverse, Inc. A Long-Awaited Book on Adlerian Psychotherapy for the Modern Reader