Theories Midterm 8
Running head: THEORIES MIDTERM
Adlerian and Existentialist Theories
Jane Westervelt
University of Idaho
“I believe quite literally that each of us is a handicapped person, diminished in vitality, and intuiting, either acutely or vaguely, that our nature holds unrealized potential.” (Bugental, 1976, p 2)
Existentialism as a theory began to develop in the mid-1800s, but really came into its own in the mid-1900s. It is probable that people have from the very beginning wondered about the meaning of life and their purpose in the world. Several of the more recent theorists, such as Viktor Frankl, lived in Europe, and were faced with the harsh realities of a war-torn continent. In America, theorists like Rollo May had survived the Great Depression. It is no surprise that a theory developed in which the harsh realities of life and death figures prominently. For existentialists, it is the inevitability of death that motivates life. It is important to existentialists that people accept the realities of death and life, thereby motivating them to live life more fully as they recognize life is finite.
According to Yalom (1980), “Existential psychotherapy is a dynamic approach to therapy which focuses on concerns that are rooted in the individual’s existence.” Central to this theory is the idea that although we have no control over many things in life, people can still control much of their life through the decisions that they make, and life is what we make of it. The client brings in her own concerns, and the existential therapist helps her to explore how her choices up to this time have affected where she is at now, and then to come up with new and realistic options to go forward. Van Deurzen (2002) speaks similarly of the existentialist view: that life does make sense and people create their meaning of life; the intrinsic flexibility of human nature; that although people can exert significant control over their lives, there are boundaries to human freedom, set by a universal order; and that it is necessary to recognize the limitations of abilities and inabilities. These assumptions guide a therapeutic style that encourages exploration of options given the limitations of the circumstances, and finding the ability for the client to choose the one that works best for her. This process of stepping out of one’s “comfort zone” causes anxiety, but anxiety that is used in a constructive manner and motivates life is considered to be normal anxiety of the human condition. There is no reason to alleviate this type of anxiety.
Corey (2009) lists six propositions of the existentialist view: people have the capacity for self-awareness; freedom and responsibility; creation of identity and the establishment of meaningful relationships; anxiety as necessary to living; a search for meaning; and awareness of death. Again the theme of acknowledging death arises, this is central to the existentialist theory. Both Corey and van Deurzen talk about the need for people to create a meaning for their life through recognizing they have choices and can choose what best fits this meaning. In this sense it is considered respectful of multicultural counseling as choices are made within the limitations of the environment or in this case, culture.
Existentialism also lends itself to brief therapy counseling, with a limited number of sessions. Brief therapy parallels existentialism in the idea that life, like therapy, is finite. It can serve as a catalyst to clients to be actively involved in every session (Corey, 2009). In this case, goals must be succinct and carefully outlined, and in keeping with existentialism, must be client driven. Not all situations lend themselves to brief therapy, however, and the client and therapist must collaboratively decide if such an approach is appropriate (Sharp and Bugental, 2001, as cited in Corey, 2009). In making this decision, consideration is given to the problem at hand and whether or not a goal can be sufficiently focused.
In the case of group therapy, the group must be agreed to helping all explore their individual meanings of life, and therefore must be committed to a deep exploration of their own existence. They must work to enable members to be honest with themselves and address reality, to widen their perspectives of themselves and the world around them, and to clarify what gives meaning to their life (Corey, 2009). As with any group, members need to be honest with others, and provide honest feedback. Behavior in the group mirrors behavior in the world, allowing members to understand how others react to them and identify areas where they want to make different choices.
There are no specific techniques in existentialist therapy; instead counselors are able to draw on a wide variety of techniques from other methods. They cannot, however, simply choose whatever sounds good at the moment—techniques that are chosen must be congruent with the theory. For example, working with clients to help them understand they are alone in their existence and must make their own choices in the world is not congruent with then turning around and giving them homework (van Deurzen, 2002).
A situation where this type of therapy would work well is of a woman with an infant who finds herself under a great deal of stress. Family and friends encourage her to take time away from the baby to relax, but she believes this will only make the problem worse. Existentialism could help her recognize another option—that her true enjoyment does come from taking care of the baby, in light of the constraints of the situation—that taking care of a baby is not all fun but also a lot of work. This therapy would do well in situations where one is “stuck,” where there are a number of constraints in the situation that the client would need to work within to find an answer.
I would use this in practice in the situations like that above, when the client has a number of constraints on her solution. The underlying theory is one that I might use to base my theoretical orientation, and indeed it is considered to be the base of many other theories. Without some experience of working with clients, it is hard for me to project the ways I would work this into practice.
Alfred Adler’s What Life Should Mean to You (1958) starts out much the same as an existentialist book might, with a discussion of the meaning of life and how each person chooses her own path to meaning. However, his theory does not end there, and goes on to add a social-psychological and teleological view of the development of human nature. Like existentialism, the past is less important than where one is heading in the moment and in the future, although the past is still useful for drawing parallels and understanding patterns of behavior.
Adler studied under Freud for many years, and the two initially were quite close. But Adler began to differ from Freud with the belief that behavior is more psychosocially influenced than Freud’s narrow beliefs of instinct and biology. Adler emphasized a phenomenological view, or the attempt to view life from the client’s subjective view of reality. The facts of the situation are considered less important than how the client interpreted the event, as it is this interpretation that determines how an incident affects her. By letting go of preconceived notions that the therapist might have, and entering the world of the client, the therapist is better situated to understand the client’s point of view.
Adler also developed the concept that birth order plays a role in a person’s development, and originally identified 5 positions: Only child, oldest child, second child, middle child, and youngest. Since this time, this view has been changed to identify additional positions; Stein (2009) describes twelve. These newer descriptions allow for twins, only girl among boys and only boy among girls, all boys or girls, and others. These positions may provide insight into why the client has developed the way she has, although it is possible for siblings to take the role of another if circumstances permit. Adler also noted that when three or more years separate siblings, sub-groupings may appear. It is possible that for some birth order will not play a large role in shaping the person’s personality; but other factors including parenting, gender, and socioeconomic status may figure more prominently.
As one grows, the concept of social interest begins to play a greater role. Everyone has the capacity to live in society; some have simply developed this ability more than others. Ultimately, however, it is necessary for a person to interact with society for its betterment or risk isolation and deteriorating mental health. It is through social interest that we come to live our lives in ways that benefit the community, and find genuine security (Stein, 2009).
A number of techniques are used in Adlerian therapy, including Socratic questioning, role-playing, and guided imagery. Műller, as cited in Stein (2009), recommended the use of imagery when the client knew a change was necessary, but still lacked the incentive to put the change to action. A common technique used often in the initial assessment is the exploration of early memories, with the idea that themes discovered in these early memories will parallel current themes of behavior.
Adlerian therapy would work well in a variety of situations, especially in situations where the client’s past is holding her back in the present and from moving forward in the future, or where the client finds herself repeating the same patterns again and again. Adlerian therapy provides a base to explore the early memories and learn how the patterns came to develop, so a plan can be put together to keep from repeating them from now on. I do believe our early experiences frame our patterns of behavior, until such time as we examine these patterns and choose to break those that are maladaptive. The experiences that are most meaningful to us are the ones we remember, so early memories can be valuable in uncovering early patterns.
I also believe in the birth order theory. Siblings can be very different from each other, and have different experiences based on where they fall in the birth order. The family dynamic changes with each new child, thus each child’s experience in the family changes too. Although Adler’s original five positions was limiting, the way it has been expanded into twelve categories is much more encompassing of various family structures. The birth order of a family and the client’s position provide a starting point for gathering information about a client.
We are social creatures, and have a responsibility to the greater society. Adler believed this responsibility lead to the meaning of life. This meaning may vary somewhat from person to person, but ultimately it is about finding meaning through being with others. I agree with this point of view and would use this to help clients find meaning in their own lives.
While I do like the existential theory, at this point it may be a bit nebulous to put into practice. Working from an Adlerian point of view, which provides more guidance and structure, feels “safer” to me at this point of developing a therapeutic style. And of course, there are many other theories to cover before deciding on such a style. While I want to be able to, to some extent, be able to pick and choose techniques from the various theories, bringing them into one cohesive umbrella is more important to me, a challenge I expect to develop with time.
Adler, A. (1958). What life should mean to you. New York: Capricorn Books, G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Bugental, J. F. T. (1976). The search for existential identity: Patient-therapist dialogues in humanistic psychotherapy. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.
Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy, (8th ed). Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.
Stein, H. T. and Pienkowski, D. (2009). Classic Adlerian psychology. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/HStein/
van Deurzen, E. (2002). Existential counseling and psychotherapy in practice (2nd ed.). London, GBR: Sage Publications, Incorporated.
Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers.