The Four Stages Of Adlerian Therapy

The theory of Alfred marks the departure from the unconscious. This was a significant departure in his time when psychoanalytic theory held sway. Adler’s theory focuses on inferiority feeling which he sees as normal condition of all people and as a source of all human striving. Inferiority can be the well spring of creativity. They motivate us to strive for mastery success and completion. (slide share, 2014). Individual are classified as social beings. Alfred was interested in how individuals strive for perfection he also states that social feeling is learned from early attachment.
Adler’s five basic principles of Individual Psychology:
We are social beings who want to belong. Our problems are therefore social problems: problems of relationship

We are oftentimes unaware of the purpose of our strivings and behaviours, but they do have a purpose. They are goal oriented. Most non-Adlerian efforts to understand behaviour are directed towards causes, but causes can only be speculated upon and usually cannot be changed. Different individuals react to causes differently. Of course, different individuals react to different goals differently also, but goals can be changed. Once recognized, the changing of a goal offers a choice. One may change, a fact which is encouraging, or one may remain with the goal, but is aware of

People in therapy are also encouraged to acquire a more positive and productive way of life by developing new insights, skills, and behaviours. These goals are achieved through the four stages of Adlerian therapy:
Engagement: A trusting therapeutic relationship is built between the therapist and the person in therapy and they agree to work together to effectively address the problem.
1. Assessment: The therapist invites the individual to speak about his or her personal history, family history, early recollections, beliefs, feelings, and motives. This helps to reveal the person 's overall lifestyle pattern, including factors that might initially be thought of as insignificant or irrelevant by the person in therapy.
2. Insight: The person in therapy is helped to develop new ways of thinking about his or her situation.
3. Reorientation: The therapist encourages the individual to engage in satisfying and effective actions that reinforce this new insight, or which facilitate further insight (good therapy,