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For Counseling Theories CSLG 6100 at UNC Charlotte, Summer 2001.

One can hardly turn around today without bumping into the ghost of Alfred Adler. Among Adler's significant contributions to counseling and psychotherapy has been his influence on other systems (Watts, Pietrzak 2000). He appears, sometimes disguised in different nomenclature, in a panoply of modern and postmodern psychology theories and approaches. He surfaces in the self-help movement and in the practices of Alcoholics Anonymous, and his approaches are becoming synonymous with the emerging field of multicultural counseling. However, Adler and his contributions have been largely overlooked, and his ideas either neglected or seriously distorted (Utay & Utay 1996). This paper will explore Adler's often-unrealized presence and the influence his theory and approaches have had on other counseling models. While not an exhaustive examination of the literature, this paper will show Adler's influence on Existential, Humanistic, Reality, Cognitive, Systems, Multicultural and Solution-Focused Brief therapies, as well as his impact on the self-help movement.

One of Adler's key tenets was that power, not sex, provided the key factor in neurotic behavior. This separated him from Freud, his contemporary, and set him on a path that continues today. In developing his idea of the "inferiority complex," Adler felt much neurotic behavior stemmed from feelings of inferiority. For example, the youngest child in a family, trying to compete in a world of adults, may overcompensate at the expense of normal social behavior or, as Adler would term it, "social interest" (Hutchinson, 2000). Adler's response was to create a counseling environment that responded to the discouragement people felt by providing support and encouragement, in short, "assist in the process of restoring patterns of hope." (Watts & Pietrzak 2000). Because Adlerian psychology is so broad and flexible, parts of it have been adapted, sometimes unknowingly, into other therapeutic approaches.

The existentialists also owe a great debt to Adler. Viktor Frankl, among the giants in existential therapy, found much relevance in Adler's theory. Adler's belief that people were oriented toward accomplishment is completely congruent with the core existential concept of the importance of meaning in a person's life. In the late 1920s, Frankl was an ardent Adlerian. (Hoffman, 1995). Frankl, active in the democratic socialist movement, lectured throughout Central Europe on "The Meaning of Life," which he interpreted as being experienced by helping to build an economically just society. Watts & Pietrzak (2000) note that Adler held strong beliefs about the importance of social equity for women, contributed to the understanding of gender issues, spoke against marginalizing minority groups and predicted the rise of the Black Power and Women's Liberation movements. Clearly, Adler saw "being" as actualized through expressed "meaning" by a strongly developed social interest and, therefore, set out the psychological framework for existentialists.

Take, for example, Rogers' "core conditions" of empathy, unconditional positive regard and congruence. Taken together, these three concepts line up very well with Adler's "social interest." Adler, for his part, has described social interest in terms of empathy (Watts, 1996):

"By social interest or social feeling, we understand something different from that which other authors understand. When we say it is a feeling, we are certainly justified in doing so. But it is more than a feeling; it is an evaluative attitude toward life …. We have found in an English author a phrase which clearly expresses what we could contribute to an explanation: 'To see with the eyes of another, to hear with the ears of another, to feel with the heart of another."

In addition, Watts (1996) notes that "the behavioral characteristics of agape-perseverance, benevolence, trustworthiness, humility, altruism, unselfishness, optimism - are remarkably similar to both Adlerian descriptions of social interest and Rogerian descriptions of the core conditions, especially unconditional positive regard." Rogers' sense of congruence may be the least specific parallel. However, Watts (1996) again notes Adler's belief that therapists with developed social interest had self-awareness and related to clients with honesty, or, to use Rogers' word, genuineness.

William Glasser's Reality Therapy is firmly grounded in Adlerian psychology. Both theories view behavior as purposeful and goal directed, and advocate a phenomenological perspective. (Nystul, 1995). The Adlerian concept of encouragement-discouragement is similar to Glasser's view of success and failure identities, and "although there are differences in the thoughts of Adler and Glasser, there are, amazingly, no basic conflicts." (Whitehouse, 1984, as cited in Nystul, 1995). In developing a problem-solving model that integrates Adler and Glasser, Nystul (1995) notes that both approaches provide methods for enhancing motivation, with strong parallels in the language of the two. Glasser contended that clients will be motivated to change their behavior if they discover what they are doing is not working for them, while the Adlerian counselor will seek to understand an individual's frame of reference and mistaken notions or goals. Once that occurs, the behavior can be understood, faulty cognitions can be addressed to motivate movement toward goals. (Nystul, 1995).

Because of its clear articulation of family constellation issues, the pragmatic and optimistic approach Adlerian psychology takes makes it ideally suited for integration into many other treatment models, including those dealing with children and families. Glass & Myers (2001) note one example in applying individual psychology to adventure-based counseling. Adventure-based counseling includes wilderness camps and outdoor structured activities such as challenge courses. This combination of experiential learning, outdoor education and group counseling incorporates behavior, cognitive and affective elements and integrates them to promote positive change. (Glass & Myers, 2001). Adler's outlook had cognitive aspects in that he believed that people were influenced by their interpretation of facts, rather than facts themselves. He also saw all behavior as having a purpose and that people chose different behavior based on individual goals that reflected their own private logic. When this private logic produces destructive behavior patterns, Adlerians help people recognize and change their behavior, allowing them to take part in society fully (social interest), giving and receiving as an equal. Glass & Myers (2001) used low-element challenge courses (LECC) as a way to integrate Adlerian concepts into adventure-based counseling. The purpose of the LECC was to increase cohesion among the students and provide some lessons for life, which from an Adlerian perspective would translate to helping group members gain a positive sense of social interest and cooperation. After processing the exercises and shared responsibility, participants were encouraged to apply what they had learned to everyday problems in their lives. This approach finds its way into marriage and family therapy, which focuses on family systems in understanding an individual's behavior. (LaFountain & Mustaine, 1997). Although formal acknowledgement of Adler usually is lacking, these system theories have their roots in Adler's work. This is evident in the Consultation Model school counselors use. Consultation, as a problem-solving approach, encourages adults in a student's life to work together to address and improve social and academic concerns. (White & Mullis, 1998). Adler was the first person to work in consultation with clients in a public forum in front of other parents, teachers and doctors so they could learn through observation and large-group teaching. (White & Mullis, 1998). Said Adler in 1930, "No educator or teacher should believe that he is the only educator of a while. The waves of outside influence stream into the psyches of the children and mould the children directly or indirectly …" (as cited in White & Mullis, 1998).

In the systemic perspective, Goldberg & Goldberg (1996) note that "all behavior is seen as part of a sequence of ongoing, repetitive, transactional patterns taking place among family members. " (as cited in LaFountain & Mustaine, 1997). For Adler, the family is the main context for seeing individuals in a social context, so that Adlerians derive social interest from the interlocked patterns of behavior by individuals within a family. The overriding goal of structural family counseling is to "change the underlying systemic structure." (LaFountain & Mustaine, 1997). According to Carlson et. al. (1997), the general goal of Adlerian family counseling is to encourage change in family members, as well as the family as a whole, to create a more egalitarian arrangement.